William Webbe facts for kids

William Webbe was an English writer and translator who was active between 1568 and 1591. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. After his studies, he became a private teacher, helping to educate the children of important families. This included the sons of Edward Sulyard in Essex and later the children of Henry Grey, also in Essex.

His Ideas on Poetry

William Webbe is best known for his book, Discourse of English Poetrie, which he wrote in 1586. In this book, he talked about how English poetry was written and reviewed many poems from his time.

What is Prosody?

One of the main things Webbe discussed was prosody. Prosody is about the rhythm, sound, and patterns of language in poetry. It's like the music of words in a poem.

Webbe's View on English Poetry

Webbe believed that there hadn't been many great English poems since the time of Chaucer, who lived much earlier. He thought this wasn't because English poets weren't talented or because the English language wasn't good enough. Instead, he felt it was because poets didn't have a clear system for how to use rhythm and sound in their poems.

He wasn't a fan of rhyming poetry and thought poets should try different styles. He really liked The Shepheardes Calender by Edmund Spenser. Webbe encouraged English poets to use older, classical forms of poetry, like hexameters and sapphics, which were used in ancient Greek and Roman poems.

Other Works

Besides his book on poetry, William Webbe also worked as a translator. He translated the first two Eclogues by the famous Roman poet Virgil.

He also wrote a letter to Robert Wilmot, another writer. This letter was included at the beginning of Wilmot's play, Tragedie of Tancred and Gismund, when it was published in 1591. In the letter, Webbe praised Wilmot for publishing his play, showing his support for the work.