De Vere was born at Castle Hedingham in Essex, April 2, 1550 (May 1). The de Vere family was hereditarily the Lord Chamberlains of England (May 1). They had been among the country's finest Earls since they had arrived from Normandy with William the conqueror (Ogburn 4).

Edward's father, the sixteenth Earl, was a kind and popular man who owned a company of theatrical players at Hedingham (May 2). He died when Edward was 12, and Edward then moved to London with William Cecil, the most powerful man in the country (Green letter). De Vere's relationship with Cecil was never very good, even after he married Cecil's 14-year-old daughter Anne (Ogburn 12).

Edward earned a Bachelor's degree at the age of 14, a Masters at 16, then studied law (Ogburn 6). He lost vast sums of money by backing failed trips to the New World and selling off most of his inheritance (Green letter). De Vere was a fan of the arts. He was associated with the growth of the

5.) Ogburn, Dorothy and Charlton. The Renaissance Man of England.

One might say that all literature of the renaissance is very similar, but that's where the Earl's poetry is different. It is full of alliteration and allusions to classical mythology. In his brief list of poems you will find 11 different metrical and stanza forms, including one English sonnet (Looney 12). Structurally, the poems are organized and brought to well formed conclusions. However that's not all, de Vere did things with the mid century lyric that no one had ever seen before. He incorporated the idea of a recap in the last stanza of his longer poems. He used a very powerful epigrammatic last line to grab his readers. And more complex was his weaving of a double refrain into a conventional structure. The flow, along with the sensory effect, ingenuity and imagination is what makes Edward de Vere's work so appealing for the time period.

Edward's 16 poems are the product of an intelligent and experimental author writing in the pre-established mid century lyric verse. Most of the poems are related to or dealing with love (Looney 6). Four, analyze the lover's predicament; five are complaints of love in general; and three seem to praise a loved one (Looney 8). No one can seem to pinpoint whom de Vere is talking about in these poems. This is probably a result of the lack of personal emotion in the writing, which was a characteristic of many Elizabethan poets (Looney 8). De Vere probably did this on purpose and was a mode of style. The only poem to stray from the theme of love was an odd philosophical piece with no clear meaning (Looney 9). Referred to as #16, because none of his poems were titled, this poem is probably his most famous.

public theatre, he was the leader of a group of writers dedicated to developing the English language, and is regarded as one of the finest Elizabethan poets (Frisbee 27).

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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)