English Literature, 1500 to 1799: Biographies

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature Further reading

Giles Fletcher

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Giles Fletcher the elder, 1548?–1611, English writer and diplomat. He became a member of Parliament and later treasurer of St. Paul's. An envoy to Russia in 1588, he published an account of his experiences, Of the Russe Common Wealth (1591). His principal poetic work is a sonnet sequence, Licia (1593).

His younger son, Giles Fletcher, the younger, b. 1585 or 1586, d. 1623, was also a poet. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he served as a reader in Greek until 1618, when he took holy orders; he became rector at Alderton, Suffolk, in 1619. His best poem, Christ's Victory and Triumph (1610), an example of baroque devotional poetry, owed much to Spenser.

Giles Fletcher the elder's first son, Phineas Fletcher, 1582–1650, was a poet also. Educated at Eton and Cambridge, he was ordained in 1611. Although he was called the Spenser of his age and had an influence on the writing of Milton, he is chiefly remembered for The Purple Island (1633), a belabored allegorical poem on the human body and mind. His other works include The Locusts or Apollyonists (1627), Britain's Ida (1628), and A Father's Testament (1670).

Bibliography: See The English Works of Giles Fletcher, the Elder, ed. by L. E. Berry (1963).

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Giles Fletcher." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Giles Fletcher." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-FletcherG.html

"Giles Fletcher." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-FletcherG.html

Learn more about citation styles

Fletcher, Giles, the elder

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

Fletcher, Giles, the elder (1546–1611), was sent as an envoy to Russia in 1588. He published Of the Russe Common Wealth (1591), a pioneering account of Russian government. His Licia, or Poemes of Love (1593) is one of the first sonnet sequences to follow the publication of Astrophel and Stella (1591). He was the uncle of John Fletcher and father of Giles and Phineas Fletcher.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Fletcher, Giles, the elder." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Fletcher, Giles, the elder." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-FletcherGilestheelder.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Fletcher, Giles, the elder." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-FletcherGilestheelder.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Giles slump is just a blip says Fletcher; CRICKET.(Sport) Newspaper article from: Coventry Evening Telegraph (England); 3/13/2001
	Fletcher backing for off-form Giles.(Cricket) Newspaper article from: Birmingham Evening Mail (England); 3/13/2001
	Cricket: Fletcher backing for off-form Giles Newspaper article from: Birmingham Evening Mail (England); 3/13/2001