author
Richard Sherry
An early Tudor schoolmaster and writer, he is remembered for helping bring the art of rhetoric into English. His best-known book, A Treatise of Schemes and Tropes, gave readers a practical guide to the figures of speech used by admired authors.
1 Audiobook
A Treatise of Schemes and Tropes
by Richard Sherry
About the author
Richard Sherry was a 16th-century English writer and schoolmaster from the London area. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he earned his B.A. in 1527 and his M.A. in 1531.
He is chiefly known for A Treatise of Schemes and Tropes, published in 1550 and often described as one of the earliest works on rhetoric in English. The book explains figures of speech in a clear, usable way, showing how style and persuasion work in writing.
Sherry also translated Desiderius Erasmus's The Education of Children, which fits with his wider interest in learning and good expression. Although only a small amount is known about his life, his work offers a vivid glimpse of how Renaissance England was adapting classical ideas for English readers.