JOHN CLEVELAND
Twayne Publishers, 1975
This is the only book-length study of the seventeenth-century poet, John Cleveland. He was best known for his poems in a metaphysical style, and often reckoned to have been England’s most popular poet for a brief period. Cleveland was rhetoric reader at Cambridge the year before John Milton assumed the same office. He was also a serious political essayist and supported King Charles in the Civil War. His achievement as a satirist is one of the focal points of this book.
CONTENTS
About the author
Preface
Chronology
1. “The Grand Malignant of Cambridge” 19
2. “Clevelandism” 31
3. Cleveland’s Lyric Voice 49
4. “The Political Cleveland” 63
5. The Satiric Strain 80
6. Epistles and Characters: The Prose 114
7. The Critical Reputation 146
Notes and References 154
Selected Bibliography 159
Index 160