Jasper Heywood facts for kids

Jasper Heywood (1535 – 9 January 1598) was an English priest and a member of the Jesuit order. He is well-known for translating three Latin plays by Seneca into English. These plays were Troas (translated in 1559), Thyestes (1560), and Hercules Furens (1561).

Jasper Heywood's Early Life and Studies

Jasper Heywood was born in 1535. His father was John Heywood. Jasper studied at Merton College, Oxford, and later at All Souls College. He was a talented scholar at these famous universities.

However, when Elizabeth I became queen, there were big changes in religion in England. Jasper Heywood chose to stick to his Catholic beliefs. Because of this, he had to leave his position at the university. He then moved to Rome, where he joined the Society of Jesus, a group of Catholic priests.

Teaching and Mission Work

For 17 years, Jasper Heywood taught at the Jesuit College in Dillingen, which is now in Bavaria, Germany. He taught about right and wrong, and how to discuss different religious ideas.

In 1581, he was sent back to England to lead the Jesuit mission there. However, he was considered too easygoing in his role. Because of this, he was called back to the Continent.

Arrest and Exile

On his way back from England, a big storm forced his ship to return to the English coast. He was arrested because he was a Catholic priest. Even though people tried to make him change his mind, he stayed true to his beliefs.

He was ordered to leave England forever. If he returned, he would face serious punishment. Jasper Heywood died in Naples, Italy, on 9 January 1598. His nephew was the famous poet John Donne.

Jasper Heywood's Writings

Jasper Heywood's English translations of Seneca's plays were very important. Other writers like Alexander Neville, Thomas Nuce, John Studley, and Thomas Newton also translated Seneca's plays.

Thomas Newton later gathered all these translations into one book. It was called Seneca, his tenne tragedies translated into Englysh (published in 1581). This book was extremely important for the development of English plays and theater.

Heywood also wrote four poems. These poems were published in 1576 in a collection called The Paradise of Dainty Devices.

See also

• Canons of Elizabethan poetry