John Gower facts for kids
John Gower (pronounced GOW-er; born around 1330 – died October 1408) was an English poet. He lived at the same time as other famous writers like William Langland and the Pearl Poet. He was also a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote The Canterbury Tales.
Gower is best known for three long poems: the Mirour de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, and Confessio Amantis. These poems were written in French, Latin, and English, respectively. Even though they are in different languages, they all share similar ideas about right and wrong, and about how society should work.
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John Gower's Life Story
We don't know much about Gower's early life. He was probably born into a family that owned land in Kent and Suffolk, two counties in England. Some experts believe he spent his childhood in both places.
Meeting King Richard II
Gower once met King Richard II. In the introduction to his poem Confessio Amantis, Gower says that the king met him on the River Thames (probably around 1385). The king invited Gower onto his royal boat. Their conversation led the king to ask Gower to write the poem that became Confessio Amantis.
Later in his life, Gower changed his support to the future King Henry IV. Later versions of Confessio Amantis were dedicated to Henry IV. Much of this information comes from clues rather than official documents. The changes in Confessio Amantis, including who it was dedicated to, are still being studied by experts.
How Gower Earned Money
It's not fully clear how Gower made his money. He might have worked as a lawyer in or near London. Records show he was involved in several land deals. Some suggest he might have traded wool.
From 1365, he received rent money from a manor in Essex. From 1382 until he died, he received money from selling land in Norfolk and Suffolk. In 1399, King Henry IV gave him a special gift: an annual payment of two large barrels of wine from Gascony (a region in France).
Friendship with Geoffrey Chaucer
Gower's friendship with Chaucer is well known. In 1378, when Chaucer went to Italy as a diplomat, Gower was one of the people he trusted to handle his affairs in England. The two poets also praised each other in their poems. Chaucer called Gower "moral Gower" in his poem Troilus and Criseyde. Gower returned the compliment by having the goddess Venus praise Chaucer at the end of his Confessio Amantis.
Later Years and Death
Around the mid-1370s, Gower moved into rooms provided by the Priory of St Mary Overie. This place is now known as Southwark Cathedral in London. In 1398, while living there, he got married, probably for the second time. His wife, Agnes Groundolf, lived longer than he did. In his last years, possibly as early as 1400, Gower became blind.
After he died in 1408, Gower was buried in a fancy tomb in the Priory church. His tomb is still there today in Southwark Cathedral.
John Gower's Major Works
Gower's poems are often about religion, politics, history, and morals. He has been called "moral Gower" ever since Chaucer gave him that nickname. He often used allegory, which is a story where characters and events represent deeper meanings. However, he also liked to tell stories in a clear, simple way.
Early French Poems
His earliest works were probably short French poems called ballades. Some of these might have been included later in his collection called Cinkante Ballades. His first surviving major work is also in French: the Speculum Meditantis, also known as Mirour de l'Omme. This poem is nearly 30,000 lines long and talks a lot about religion and good behavior.
Latin Work: Vox Clamantis
Gower's second major work, Vox Clamantis, was written in Latin. The first part of this poem describes the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. It starts as an allegory but then becomes very specific, even mentioning how William Walworth stopped the rebels. Gower supported the nobles, but he also showed that King Richard II struggled to control things.
The rest of the poem criticizes the wrongdoings of different groups in society: priests, knights, peasants, merchants, and lawyers. The last two parts give advice to King Richard II and show Gower's love for England. Gower admitted that he used ideas from other writers in Vox Clamantis.
English Work: Confessio Amantis
His third important work is the Confessio Amantis. This poem is 30,000 lines long and written in English. It uses the idea of a Christian confession as its main structure. In the poem, a lover confesses his "sins against Love." Within this story, many other individual tales are told. Like his other works, the main idea is morality, even when the stories describe behavior that isn't very moral. This poem is what made Gower famous as a poet.
Other Writings
In his later years, Gower wrote several shorter works in all three languages:
- The Cinkante Ballades: A collection of French ballades about romantic topics.
- In Praise of Peace: An English poem where Gower praises King Henry IV. He talks about how good peace is and how bad war is. He also asks the king to be kind and keep peace at home.
- Short Latin poems: These were on various subjects, and some were written for the new King Henry IV.
How Gower's Poetry Was Received
Gower's poetry has been seen differently over time. In the 1500s, he was often considered, along with Chaucer, a founder of English poetry. However, in the 1700s and 1800s, his reputation went down. People thought his writing was too preachy and boring. For example, the American poet James Russell Lowell said Gower "positively raised tediousness to the precision of science."
After a complete collection of his works was published in 1901, he started to get more recognition. Famous scholars like C. S. Lewis praised his work. However, he still isn't as widely studied or celebrated as Geoffrey Chaucer.
Did Gower Predict the Peasants' Revolt?
Some experts believe that Gower's writings seemed to predict the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. In his poem Mirour, he used the image of a stinging nettle to warn about a coming disaster. The end of Vox Clamantis also hinted at trouble coming soon. Gower's warnings and calls for change were not listened to, either before or after the revolt happened.
Chaucer's Influence on Gower
Experts believe that Gower and Chaucer lived near each other between 1376 and 1386. They influenced each other in several ways:
- They both started using Italian poetry styles. They learned to count syllables in a way that made their poems more rhythmic. This led to Gower's regular four-beat lines in Confessio and Chaucer's five-beat lines.
- After 1376, both poets moved from writing about love to more serious topics. Gower wrote about social problems in Mirour and Vox Clamantis. Chaucer explored similar ideas in his poems The House of Fame and Parliament of Fowls.
- Gower only started writing in English after Chaucer had become successful with his poem Troilus and Criseyde.
- Many of the characters in Chaucer's General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales are from social classes that Gower criticized in his works.
- Chaucer seems to criticize Gower in the introduction to The Man of Law's Tale. Some people thought this meant they had a disagreement. However, other experts see it as a friendly competition between the two poets.
Gower's Manuscripts
A recent discovery by Sebastian Sobecki showed that an early manuscript, the Trentham manuscript, proves Gower was not afraid to give strong political advice to King Henry IV. Sobecki also believes he has found Gower's own handwriting in two manuscripts.
List of John Gower's Works
- Mirour de l'Omme, also called Speculum Hominis or Speculum Meditantis (French, written around 1376–1379)
- Vox Clamantis (Latin, written around 1377–1381)
- Confessio Amantis (English, written around 1386–1393)
- Traité pour essampler les amants marietz (French, 1397)
- Cinkante Balades (French, 1399–1400)
- Cronica Tripertita (Latin, around 1400)
- In praise of peace (English, around 1400)
See also
In Spanish: John Gower para niños
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre, a play partly written by Shakespeare. It is based on a story from Gower's Confessio Amantis and features Gower as the narrator.
- Characters named Gower appear in Shakespeare's plays Henry IV Part II and Henry V. However, these characters are not meant to be the poet.
- John Gower is the main character in A Burnable Book and The Invention of Fire. These are the first two books in a mystery series set in the 14th century by Bruce Holsinger.
Images for kids
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The tomb of John Gower in Southwark Cathedral
