Background
John Denham was born in 1614 or 1615 in Dublin, Ireland. He was the only son of Sir John Denham, lord chief baron of the Exchequer in Ireland.
John Denham was born in 1614 or 1615 in Dublin, Ireland. He was the only son of Sir John Denham, lord chief baron of the Exchequer in Ireland.
Denham received his education in grammar learning in London and in Michaelmas term 1631 he entered as a gentleman commoner at Trinity College, Oxford. He had remained at the university for three years and having been examined at the public schools for the degree of bachelor of arts he entered himself in Lincoln’s-Inn, where he was generally thought to apply himself pretty close to the study of the common law.
Denham began his literary career with a tragedy in five acts "The Sophy", which was published in 1642, the subject of which was drawn from Sir Thomas Herbert's travels. The first edition was anonymous: subsequent editions show numerous alterations, and the poem did not assume its final form until 1655. This famous piece, which was Pope's model for his Windsor Forest, was not new in theme or manner, but the praise which it received was well merited by its ease and grace.
Moreover, Denham expressed his commonplaces with great dignity and skill. He followed the taste of the time in his frequent use of antithesis and metaphor, but these devices seem to arise out of the matter and are not of the nature of mere external ornament. At Oxford, he wrote many squibs against the Roundheads. One of the few serious pieces belonging to this period is the short poem "On the Earl of Strafford's Trial and Death".
From this time Denham was much in Charles I's confidence.
He was entrusted with the charge of forwarding letters to and from the king when he was in the custody of the parliament, a duty which he discharged successfully with Abraham Cowley, but in 1648 he was suspected by the Parliamentary authorities and thought it wiser to cross the Channel.
He helped in the removal of the young Duke of York to Holland, and for some time he served Queen Henrietta Maria in Paris, being entrusted by her with despatches for Holland.
In 1650 he was sent to Poland in company with Lord Crofts to obtain money for Charles II.
They succeeded in raising £10, 000.
After two years spent at the exiled court in Holland, Denham returned to London and being quite without resources, he was for some time the guest of the Earl of Pembroke at Wilton.
In 1656 an order was given that Denham should restrict himself to some place of residence to be selected by himself at a distance of not less than 20 m. from London; subsequently, he obtained from the Protector a license to live at Bury St Edmunds, and in 1658 a passport to travel abroad with the earl of Pembroke.
He eventually secured the services of Christopher Wren as deputy- surveyor.
John was known for his poem "Cooper's Hill"(1642). It is the first example in English of a poem devoted to the local description, picturing the Thames Valley scenery around his home at Egham in Surrey. Denham wrote many versions of this poem, reflecting the political and cultural upheavals of the Civil War.
John also received extravagant praise from Samuel Johnson, who quoted Denham's verse to exemplify the use of several words, but the place now assigned him is more humble.
( Sir John Denham FRS was born in 1614 or 1615 (an exact ...)
John married firstly in 1634 to Ann Cotton, by whom he had three children, a son who died young and two daughters who reached adulthood. He married secondly in 1665 Margaret Brooke, daughter of Sir William Brooke and his second wife Penelope Hill. His unhappy second marriage was the cause of much gossip, and Margaret's sudden death in 1667 gave rise to unfounded rumors that he had poisoned her.
