The Patron and the Poet

Abstract

The Normandy campaign came to nothing, and the war died down for a time, except for individual actions that lit up the scene, like the last fight of the Revenge in 1591, or the capture of the Madre de Dios in 1592. No glory came Southampton’s way, but at least there were the delights of literature and the pride of being made up to by the poets. It is understandable that the promising new dramatist of the Normandy scenes of Henry VI should appeal to Southampton, though we know nothing whatever of the player-playwright’s introduction to the notice of the young Earl.