Thomas Bancroft (c. 1596 – 1658) was a minor seventeenth-century English poet, He wrote a number of poems and epigrams addressed to notable people into which he embedded clever puns.

Life

Thomas Bancroft was a native of

Swarkestone Swarkestone is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 187. Swarkestone has a very old village church, a full cricket pitch, a plant nursery/ garden centre and re ...

, a

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

village on the

River Trent The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...

: he has an epigram in celebration of his father and mother buried in Swarkestone Church. He matriculated at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

in 1613, where he was a contemporary of

James Shirley James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 – October 1666) was an English dramatist. He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Charles Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so m ...

, to whom he addresses an epigram. He was an usher (a junior grammar school master who taught the rudiments of Latin to 7- to 10-year-old students) at Market Bosworth grammar school in Leicestershire, a position he acquired through his connection with Sir John Harpur of Swarkestone, who was related to the family of

Wolstan Dixie Sir Wolstan Dixie (1524/1525 – 1594) was an English merchant and administrator, and Lord Mayor of London in 1585. Life He was the son of Thomas Dixie and Anne Jephson, who lived at Catworth in Huntingdonshire. Wolstan was the fourth son ...

, the school's founder. In 1626 he married Rebecca Errington, a widow from

Osgathorpe Osgathorpe is a small village which lies in a fold of the hills in North West Leicestershire, England, and is about a quarter of a mile from the A512 road, A512 Coalville to Loughborough Road. The civil parish population at the 2011 census wa ...

. Bancroft's sister, Elizabeth, had married a John Errington in 1621, perhaps the brother of Rebecca's husband. Bancroft had apparently only a younger son's fortune, his elder brother died in 1639, having broken up the little family-property. He seems to have lived for some time in his native Derbyshire, where Sir

Aston Cockayne Sir Aston Cockayne, 1st Baronet (1608–1684) was, in his day, a well-known Cavalier and a minor literary figure, now best remembered as a friend of Philip Massinger, John Fletcher, Michael Drayton, Richard Brome, Thomas Randolph, and other w ...

, as a neighbour and fellow-poet, appears to have visited and been visited by him. On the evidence of one of his own epigrams and Sir Aston Cockayne's commendatory lines, in 1658 he was living in retirement at

Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

now in the public domain near Ashbourne, Derbyshire. He continued there until his death, recorded in the church register there. It was said that Bancroft was 'small of stature', and that he published sermons. He was referred to as 'the small poet,' partly in reference to his stature, and partly in allusion to his ''small'' poems.

Work

Bancroft's first publication was ''The Glvtton's Feaver'' (1633), a narrative poem in seven-line stanzas of the parable of the

rich man and Lazarus The rich man and Lazarus (also called the parable of Dives and Lazarus or Lazarus and Dives) is a parable of Jesus from the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Speaking to his disciples and some Pharisees, Jesus tells of an unnamed rich man an ...

. Prefixed to that work is a poem that perhaps puns on

William Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

stature as it does on Ben Jonson's obesity, George Chapman's appearance, and Francis Beaumont's family connexions: ::But the chast bay not euery songster weares, ::Nor of Appollo's sonnes prooue all his heires: ::'Tis not for all to reach at ''Shakespeares'' height, ::Or thinke to grow to solid ''Iohnsons'' weight, ::To bid so faire as ''Chapman'' for a fame, ::Or match (your family) the ''Beaumonts'' name. Bancroft's next and better-known book was his ''Two Bookes of Epigrammes and Epitaphes. Dedicated to two top-branches of Gentry: Sir Charles Shirley, Baronet, and William Davenport, Esquire'' (1639). These epigrams were quoted partly because of the notability of the people they celebrate. The names include

Philip Sidney Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philip ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

Thomas Overbury Sir Thomas Overbury (baptized 1581 – 14 September 1613) was an English poet and essayist, also known for being the victim of a murder which led to a scandalous trial. His poem ''A Wife'' (also referred to as ''The Wife''), which depicted the ...

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

Francis Quarles Francis Quarles (about 8 May 1592 – 8 September 1644) was an English poet most notable for his emblem book entitled ''Emblems''. Early life Francis Quarles was born in Romford, Essex, and baptised there on 8 May 1592. His family had a long hist ...

, Thomas Randolph and Shirley. Several examples show his propensity to punning: ::118. ''To Shakespeare.'' :: ::Thy Muses sugred dainties seeme to us ::Like the fam’d apples of old Tantalus : ::For we (admiring) see and heare they straines, ::But none I see or heare those sweets attaines. ::119. ''To the same.'' ::Thou hast so us'd thy Pen (''or shooke thy Speare'') ::That Poets startle, nor thy wit come near. ::136. ''To Dr. Donne.'' ::Thy muses gallantry doth farre exceed ::All ours; to whom thou art a ''Don'' indeed. ::192. ''To John Ford the Poet.'' ::The Verse must needs be current (at a word) ::That issues from a sweet and fluent ''Ford''. In 1649 Bancroft contributed to

Alexander Brome Alexander Brome (1620 – 30 June 1666) was an English poet. Life Brome was by profession an attorney, and was the author of many drinking songs and of satirical verses in favour of the Royalists and in opposition to the Rump Parliament. In 166 ...

's ''Lachrymce Musarum, or the Teares of the Muses,'' a poem ''To the never-dying memory of the noble

Lord Hastings Baron Hastings is a title that has been created three times. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1290, and is extant. The second creation was in the Peerage of England in 1299, and became extinct on the death of the first holder in ...

.'' Finally he published, in 1658, ''The Heroical Lover, or Antheon and Fidelta'', and the collection of verse ''Times out of Tune, Plaid upon However in XX Satyres''. This last is a series of moralizing satirical poems directed against (''inter alia'')

whoring Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penetr ...

gluttony Gluttony ( la, gula, derived from the Latin ''gluttire'' meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items, particularly as status symbols. In Christianity, it is considered a sin if ...

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

hedonism Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decr ...

lying A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deception, deceiving or Deception, misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a l ...

, pride in clothing,

false friends In linguistics, a false friend is either of two words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly in meaning. Examples include English ''embarrassed'' and Spanish ''embarazada'' 'pregnant'; English ''parents'' ...

ambition Ambition, Ambitions or Ambitious may refer to: Music * Ambitions (One Ok Rock album), ''Ambitions'' (One Ok Rock album), 2017 * Ambition (Tommy Shaw album), ''Ambition'' (Tommy Shaw album), 2014 * Ambition (Wale album), ''Ambition'' (Wale album ...

cowardice Cowardice is a trait wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumbs to cowa ...

cruelty Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve viol ...

, and the abuse of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

. Full of invective, the subjects Bancroft chose for this collection seem to leave few aspects of life to enjoy.

Thomas Corser Thomas Corser (1793 – 24 August 1876) was a British literary scholar and Church of England clergyman. He was the editor of ''Collectanea Anglo-Poetica''. Life Corser, third son of George Corser of Whitchurch, Shropshire, banker, and his wi ...

wrote: ''There is a smoothness and grace, as well as force and propriety, in Bancroft's poetical language, which have not, as we think, been sufficiently noticed.''

, ''Collectanea Anglo-Poetica'' (pt. 1)

References

Criticism about and excerpts fro
''The Glvttons Feauer.''

External links

*Criticism about and excerpts fro
''The Glvttons Feauer.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Thomas People from South Derbyshire District 17th-century English poets 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English writers 1590s births 1658 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Year of birth uncertain English male poets People from Derbyshire Dales (district)