Below is a detailed biography of Thomas Lodge, a British poet, prose author, and an excellent dramatist. His contribution to the field of English literature has been impeccably noted as his addition of a romantic perspective to writing.
The early life of Thomas Lodge
Thomas Lodge was born in the year 1557 in West Ham in London. He was the second son of Sir Thomas Lodge, the lord mayor of London in the year 1562. He went to Merchant Taylor’s school and later learned law at Lincoln’s Inn in the year 1578. He also went to Trinity College, Oxford to complete his BA.
Against the wishes of his family, Thomas went on to pursue literature. His first work remained the answer to the Satirist Stephen Gosson’s attack on stage plays. He published a pamphlet. He tried all kinds of literature and was relatively good at all of them.
Important Works of Thomas Lodge
Thomas published his next work in the year 1584. It was called ‘An Alarum Against Usurers’. It was basically a knowledgeable rant that informed about the ways in which moneylenders at the time lured young heirs and nobles into debt. In the same year, he published his original work ‘The Delectable History of Forbonius and Prisceria’.
Many of Shakespeare’s works were inspired by those of Thomas Lodge. A typical example was his romantic prose – Rosalynde that inspired William Shakespeare to write ‘As you like it’. ‘Venus and Adonis’ by Shakespeare were also inspired by Scillaes Metamorphosis that was written by Lodge in 1589. It was one of the first English poems to retell a classical story with imaginative adornments.His ‘Sonnets to Phillis’ came out in 1593 which contained many French and Italian origins. One of his significant romantic works is ‘A margarite of America’ a classic love story between a Peruvian Prince and the daughter of the King of Muscovy. Much other romantic work was spread across his many beautiful poems. His pamphlets often grew stronger with a theme of moral principles. The ‘Wits Miserie and the Worlds Madness that came out in 1596 was one of them.
His playwriting work included the famous ‘The Wounds of Civil War’ and ‘A Looking Glass for London and England’ which were published in 1594. He traveled to the Canary Islands and to South America by taking large voyages from 1588 to 1591. He also learned medicine and graduated from the University of Avignon in 1598. Being in the environment typically he wrote ‘Gunpowder Plot’ in the year 1605.
Later Life of Thomas Lodge
In the year 1612, Thomas returned to London. He made use of a medicine degree by becoming a physician. He worked until he died while fighting the plague in early autumn of the year 1625. He published the dramatic prose – A treatise of the Plague in 1603 and two major translations ‘The Famous and Memorable Works of Josephus that came out in 1602. Most of his work has gone through many editions and iterations. Post the 1600s much of his work comprised of translations of French and Italian works.
He was however significantly known for his contribution in poetry, pamphlets, and romantic prose writings. His writings are a representation of the essence of life in London throughout his lifetime. He inspired the entire way the English literature went forward and his works were referred to by many writers apart from William Shakespeare.
His long expeditions certainly added to his knowledge of the way of the world which is why his many pamphlets were read and taken into a great deal of consideration by many in London. Not only did he create his own writing but he also re-published and translated a lot of work of French and Italian writers that gave the English society more perspectives than one.
