Charles Bansley facts for kids
Charles Bansley was an English poet who lived a long time ago, around the 1500s. We don't know exactly when he was born or when he died, but he wrote his poems during the time of King Henry VIII and his son, King Edward VI.
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Charles Bansley: The Poet Who Satirized Fashion
Charles Bansley is best known for a special kind of poem called a satire. A satire uses humor and sometimes criticism to make fun of something. Bansley's poem was about how people, especially women, dressed in his time. He thought they were too proud or spent too much money on clothes.
Who Was Charles Bansley?
Even though we don't know much about Bansley's life, his writings tell us a bit about his ideas. He was an English poet, which means he wrote poems in England. He lived during a time when England was going through big changes, especially with religion.
His Famous Poem: A Look at Fashion
Bansley's poem starts with a funny line:
Bo pepe what have I spyed!
This poem was a way for him to talk about what he saw happening with fashion. He believed that some people were too focused on their clothes and looking fancy.
What Was the Poem About?
The main idea of Bansley's poem was to criticize people who were too proud about their clothes. He thought that some mothers were even dressing their children in ways that made them look like "Roman monsters." This was his way of saying they were too over-the-top.
However, Bansley didn't criticize all women. He specifically said that he respected women who were "right worthy, sad, and plain" and who lived in a good way. His main target was really the very expensive and showy clothing, not women themselves.
The full title of his work was: A Treatyse shewing and declaring the pryde and abuse of women now a dayes. This was an old printed book from London, probably made around the 1540s.
Bansley's Views on Religion
Bansley also used his poem to share his strong religious opinions. He believed that the fancy clothing styles he saw came "From Rome," meaning from the Catholic Church, which he didn't agree with. He thought these styles were "filthy baggage" and connected them to "develyshnes." This shows he was against the Catholic Church and supported the new Protestant ideas that were becoming popular in England at the time.
