Gower, John
Gower, John (c.1330–1408). Poet. A contemporary and friend of Chaucer, Gower was probably born in Kent and then lived in Southwark. He wrote in French, Latin, and English. His main work, Confessio Amantis (c.1386), contained 141 examples and stories of love in a conversation between a lover, Amans, and a priest of Venus, Genius. He drew on the classics and on medieval romances. By the time the lover had understood the nature of love, he was too old and tired to care. Of Gower's political works, Vox clamantis (c.1382) recorded the upheaval of the Peasants' Revolt and his hope that Richard II's reign would prove a blessing: when it did not, he transferred hope to Henry IV in Cronica tripertita. Highly thought of in the Tudor period, Gower's lack of humour led to Chaucer overshadowing him.
J. A. Cannon
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Gower, John