{\b Thomas Carew}.

{\b Date of Birth}.: 1594-5 (exact date uncertain)

{\b Date of Death}.: 22 March 1640

{\b Works}.

English Cavalier poet. His longest poem is 'A Rapture', which effectively 
combines wit and eroticism. His famous Elegy for John Donne was included in 
the first edition of Donne's Poems in 1633. He also wrote many lyrics and a 
masque, Coelum Britannicum (1634). Other Cavalier poets include Sir John 
Suckling, Robert Herrick and Richard Lovelace.

{\b Featured Works}.

'He That Loves a Rosy Cheek', 'Ask Me No More', '"I Do Not Love Thee For That 
Fair"', 'Song: To My Inconstant Mistress', '"Know, Celia, Since Thou Art So 
Proud"', 'The Primrose', 'Epitaph on the Late Mary Villiers'.

{\b General Comment}.

Thomas Carew was the son of a well-connected official and was educated at 
Merton College, Oxford and the Middle Temple in London. He worked as a 
diplomatic secretary in Italy, Holland and France, and soon gained a 
reputation as a poet.

His talent secured him a place at court, and he was privileged to serve at 
Charles I's table. In 1634 his masque Coelum Britannicum was performed before 
the King. His poems, like those of other gentlemen of the era, were not 
published in his own lifetime but hand-written copies were circulated among 
his friends. These included Ben Jonson and John Donne, who both exercised a 
strong influence on Carew's poetry; in his Elegy Carew proclaims Donne 'the 
universal monarchy of wit'. Another poet he admired greatly was the Italian 
Giambattista Marino, whose wit and extravagant lifestyle resembled Carew's own.

Though he never achieved the stature of Donne or Johnson, Carew was an elegant 
writer whose contribution to literature was typical of the stylish Cavalier 
school. A collected edition of his poems appeared shortly after his death.