Anne Locke facts for kids
Anne Locke (also spelled Lock or Lok) was an English writer and translator. She was born around 1533 and passed away sometime after 1590. Anne Locke was a strong follower of Calvinism, a type of Protestant faith. She is known for publishing A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner in 1560. This work is thought to be the first collection of sonnets published by an English author. However, some experts now believe another writer, Thomas Norton, might have written it.
Contents
Her Life Story
Anne was the daughter of Stephen Vaughan, a successful merchant. He was also a royal messenger and an early supporter of the Protestant Reformation. Her mother was Margaret Gwynnethe. Anne was the oldest surviving child from her parents' marriage. She had two younger siblings, Jane and Stephen.
Anne's mother worked as a silkwoman for both Anne Boleyn and Catherine Parr, who were queens of England. After her mother died in 1544, Anne's father made sure his children had a good tutor. He chose Mr. Cob, who taught them Latin, Greek, and French. Mr. Cob was also a dedicated Protestant. Stephen Vaughan passed away in 1549.
Around 1549, Anne married Henry Locke (Lok). His father, Sir William Lok, was a wealthy merchant. In 1553, the famous Scottish preacher John Knox stayed with the Locke family. He and Anne became good friends and wrote letters to each other for many years.
When Mary Tudor became queen, she put pressure on Protestants in England. Many, like Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, were executed. John Knox encouraged Anne to leave London and join other Protestants who had gone to Geneva, Switzerland. He was worried about her safety and her faith if she stayed.
In 1557, Anne left London and arrived in Geneva with her daughter, son, and a maid. Sadly, her infant daughter died soon after they arrived. During her 18 months in Geneva, Anne is believed to have translated John Calvin's sermons from French into English. Her husband, Henry Locke, stayed in London.
In 1559, after Elizabeth I became queen, Anne and her son, Henry Locke, returned to England. The next year, Anne's first book was published. It included a letter to Katherine Willoughby Brandon Bertie, a translation of John Calvin's sermons, and a collection of 21 sonnets based on Psalm 51. This book was very popular and was reprinted several times.
Anne and John Knox continued to write to each other. Anne asked Knox for advice on religious matters. She also gave birth to two more children, Anne (born 1561) and Michael (born 1562). Henry Locke died in 1571. Anne then married Edward Dering, a preacher, in 1572. He died in 1576. Her third husband was Richard Prowse. In 1590, Anne published another translation of a work by Jean Taffin.
Her Writings
Experts have different ideas about whether Anne Locke wrote the first sonnet sequence in English. This sequence, called A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner, has 26 sonnets based on Psalm 51.
Anne Locke also wrote a short, four-line Latin poem. It appeared in a 1572 book called Giardino cosmographico coltivato. This book was given to Robert Dudley by Anne, her second husband Edward Dering, and five sisters who supported the Protestant cause.
Her last known work is a 1590 translation of Of the Markes of the Children of God. This book was written by a Belgian minister named Jean Taffin. It tells the story of Protestantism in Belgium and the Low Countries. Like her earlier translation, this book ends with a short poem written by Anne herself. It is called The necessitie and benfite of affliction.
Two printed comments from Anne Locke's time show different reactions to a woman writing about religious topics. In 1583, John Field praised Anne for her willingness to leave England for her faith. He also admired her access to important writings by preachers like John Knox. He even asked her for more of these writings. In contrast, Richard Carew praised Anne's intelligence and modesty. He said her good behavior showed her religious learning, as well as her writing skills.
About A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner
This collection of sonnets was published in 1560. It appeared alongside Anne Locke's translations of four sermons by John Calvin. The book was titled Sermons of John Calvin upon the Songe that Ezechias made after he had bene sicke...Translated out of Frenche into Englishe. Anne likely had access to Calvin's original writings, which helped her make a very accurate translation.
The book began with a special letter dedicated to Catherine Brandon, the Duchess of Suffolk. The Duchess was a long-time supporter of Protestant writers. She also lived in exile during Queen Mary I's reign. Anne might have known her through their sons, who were both educated at the home of William Cecil. The book was published by John Day, who was known for printing Protestant books.
The sonnet sequence starts with five introductory sonnets. These are called "The preface, expressing the passioned mind of the penitent sinner." Then, a heading "A Meditation of a penitent sinner, upon the 51. Psalme" introduces the other 21 poems. These poems explain each line of Psalm 51. In the 1560 edition, each line of the psalm was printed next to its matching poem. Anne Locke might have translated this version of the psalm herself.
Poetic Style
A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner is part of a long tradition of poems based on the Psalms. This collection uses a style of poetry about feeling sorry for sins, which was also used by poets in the late Middle Ages. Both Catholics and Protestants wrote this type of poetry. However, Protestant reformers especially liked Psalm 51. This is because it focuses on faith being more important than good deeds, which fit their religious beliefs.
The writer of the sequence was probably influenced by Sir Thomas Wyatt's translations of the penitential psalms. These were published in 1549, and Anne Locke could have read them before she went to Geneva. Wyatt's influence can be seen in how the psalm lines are explained. Both the author of the sequence and Wyatt wrote one sonnet for each line of the psalm, except for verses 1 and 4, which each have two poems. The way the author uses enjambment (sentences running from one line to the next) is also similar to Wyatt's.
Even though the sonnet was not a common form of English poetry when this sequence was written, the author used and changed some features of sonnets popular at the time. It is likely that the author also knew the sonnets of the Earl of Surrey. This is because the author uses Surrey's rhyme scheme, which is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This is now best known as the Shakespearean rhyme scheme. The author's consistent use of this form makes them stand out from other early English sonnet writers. Most others followed the traditional Petrarchan sonnet style.
Who Wrote It?
The critic Thomas Roche first said that Anne Locke wrote the sonnet sequence and the translations of Calvin's sermons in 1989. He also said she was the first scholar to name her as the author of the first sonnet sequence in English. However, more recent work by Stephen W. May, an expert on old manuscripts, believes the sequence was written by Thomas Norton. He was a close friend and fellow Protestant of Locke's.
The book's dedication to the Duchess of Suffolk is only signed "A.L." But it is likely that people in London's Protestant community knew it was Anne Locke. Many of them, like Anne, lived in exile in Geneva during Queen Mary I's reign. Using only her initials helped her avoid problems that women writers faced back then. If their work was too public, they might be seen as improper. Choosing to translate and explain Psalm 51 also supports the idea that she wrote the sequence. Psalm 51 says that part of receiving God's forgiveness is speaking His praise, making speech a duty.
Some people who disagree with Locke's authorship think John Knox wrote the sequence. However, when Knox wrote to Locke, he used Scottish English. He would have written poems in the same dialect. The Meditation sonnets do not show any signs of Scottish English grammar or words. According to Stephen May, Thomas Norton is a much more likely author of the sequence.
Published Editions
- Kel Morin-Parsons (editor) (1997), Anne Locke. A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner: Anne Locke's Sonnet Sequence with Locke's Epistle
- Susan Felch (editor) (1999), The Collected Works of Anne Vaughan Lock
Family Connections
Anne's family had many connections to important groups and people. Her father, Stephen Vaughan, was a merchant and worked for King Henry VIII. Her mother, Margaret, was first married to Edward Awpart. Through her father's connection to Thomas Cromwell, Anne's mother became a silkwoman for Anne Boleyn. Anne's stepmother, Margery, was the widow of Henry Brinklow, a merchant and writer.
Henry Lok, Anne's husband, was also a merchant. His father, William Lok, was connected to Cromwell as well. Anne's sister-in-law, Rose Lok (1526–1613), was a Protestant writer. Another sister-in-law, Elizabeth Lok, was also a Protestant who had to leave England during Queen Mary's reign.
See Also
- List of English women writers
- List of women poets
