John Denham

a.k.a. Sir John Denham

Author Code: EJDE

Educated at Trinity College, Oxford and Lincoln's Inn, London, Denham divided his time between the law and poetry. He was admitted to the bar in 1639. In 1642, he published The Sophy, a play which was well-received and later that same year Cooper's Hill. The latter became an instant popular success and is probably the work for which he is best-remembered. A faithful Royalist, Denham took part in the battles of Dartmouth and Exeter and was a prisoner of war on two occasions. He spent a year in France and two years in Poland raising funds for the Royalist cause. Although his estates had been confiscated during the Revolution, his loyalty to the Crown paid off when the Restoration took place in 1660. He was appointed Surveyor of the Works, where he supervised the construction of Greenwich Palace and Burlington House and the paving of many of London's streets. When Charles II became king, Denham received the Order of the Bath and was appointed Clerk of the Works in the Tower of London. In 1661, he became an MP for Old Sarum. In 1663, he was elected a member of the Royal Society. In addition to his poetry, Denham translated numerous works from French, Greek and Latin and also produced an essay on gambling (one of his strongest passions) entitled The Anatomy of Play (1651). John Dryden considered Denham to be a major poetical force.