An Elizabethan Puritan critic branded poets as 'fathers of lies', 'schools of abuse', and 'caterpillars of a commonwealth'. Identify this critic from the options________________?
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Answer: C. Stephen Gosson
Explanation
Stephen Gosson was an Elizabethan Puritan critic who famously attacked contemporary drama and poetry in his 1579 treatise The School of Abuse. The colorful insults cited in the question originate directly from Gosson's fervent moral crusade against secular artistic expression. His writings prompted fierce literary defenses of poetry, most notably Sir Philip Sidney's famous essay A Defence of Poetry. Puritanism in Elizabethan England frequently sought to regulate public behavior and curtail secular entertainments deemed morally corrupting. The School of Abuse was dedicated without permission to Sir Philip Sidney, which arguably provoked Sidney's famous written rebuttal. Stephen Gosson was himself a playwright before converting to strict Puritan views and turning against the theatrical profession.
William Tyndale was a prominent Protestant reformer and scholar renowned for translating a major portion of the Bible into English. Roger Ascham was an influential humanist scholar and educator who served as royal tutor to Queen Elizabeth the First. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was an aristocratic Renaissance poet credited with introducing blank verse into the English language.
- Subject
- English
- Category
- English Literature
- Topic
- —
- Difficulty
- medium
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