George Puttenham

An English courtier and writer of the Elizabethan period, he is chiefly remembered for The Arte of English Poesie, published in 1589. The book became one of the most important early studies of English verse and literary style, explaining poetic forms, ornament, and rhetoric for a growing English-reading audience.

He was active in court circles and appears to have been involved in public affairs as well as literary culture. He has also been linked to A Justificacion of Queen Elizabeth in Relacion to the Affair of Mary Queen of Scottes, a political work associated with the reign of Elizabeth I.

Today he is read mainly for the insight The Arte of English Poesie gives into Renaissance ideas about language, taste, and poetic craft. For listeners interested in the history of criticism, his writing opens a vivid window onto how English literature was being defined in the sixteenth century.