Richard Lovelace (1618–1657 or 1658) was an English poet and nobleman, born in Lovelace Place, Bethersden , Kent. He was one of the Cavalier poets, and a noted royalist. The "Lucasta" to whom he dedicated much of his verse was Lucy Sacheverell, whom he often called Lux Casta. Unfortunately, she mistakenly believed that he died at the Battle of Dunkirk in 1646 and so married another. He was imprisoned briefly in 1648 for supporting the Royalists during the time of Oliver Cromwell. During this period he spent his fortune to help supply Royalist forces, and died in penury shortly thereafter. His brother then published his poetry posthumously.
His most quoted excerpts are from the beginning of the last stanza of To Althea, From Prison:
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Netpoets.com: Richard Lovelace - Includes a biography and the text of seven of Lovelace's poems.
Richard Lovelace (1618-1657) - Richard Lovelace, a seventeenth century cavalier and metaphysical poet. A biography, collection works, essays and web resources. Webpages devoted to the poet and his works at luminarium.org.
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The Lucasta Poems - Text of the poem in HTML format.
| Eric Portman - To Althea, from Prison - Richard Lovelace | |