Until the twentieth century, the reputation of the poet and theologian, William Alabaster (1568-1640), rested almost entirely upon his published works in Latin. In his own time, he was principally known as the author of a cabbalistic work published in Antwerp in 1607, the
Apparatus in revelationem Iesu Christi, and a prophetic work published in London in 1633,
Ecce sponsus venit. For many years after his death, however, he was better known as a dramatist, the author of
Roxana, a university play composed in Latin around 1592 and published in 1632, which earned him the praise of Thomas Fuller (
Worthies, 1662) as “A most rare poet as any our age or nation hath produced”, a sentiment echoed by Dr Johnson in his
Life of Milton(1779), writing “If we produced anything worthy of notice [in…
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Citation: Bembridge, Paul. "William Alabaster". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 April 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=57, accessed 18 April 2024.]
