Richard Crashaw is known as one of the major metaphysical poets of the 17th century. Crashaw’s birth year is around 1612 or 1613 based on the available historical evidence. He was the only son of William Crashaw. Scholars believe that as a child, Richard Crashaw read extensively from his father’s private library, which contained many Catholic and theological works, likely had a profound influence on his later religious and literary inclinations.
After the death of his father in 1626 at a relatively young age, around 13 or 14 years old. His guardians Sir Henry Yelverton an English attorney general and Sir Ranulph Crewe, a prominent judge, were appointed as Crashaw’s legal guardians. The circumstances of his upbringing and guardianship provide valuable context for understanding the early experiences and influences that shaped his life and had a significant impact on his poetry and religious writings.
in 1629 Crashaw’s education started at Charterhouse School under the headmaster, Robert Brooke. Headmaster Brooke encouraged students to write epigrams and verses in Greek and Latin based on the daily chapel services is a reflection of the strong emphasis on classical education and religious instruction during that period. In 1634 Richard Crashaw published his first collection of poems Epigrammatum Sacrorum Liber (A Book of Sacred Epigrams). This work consists of sacred epigrams that focus on religious and spiritual themes. This work marked the beginning of his literary career and showcased his early talents in writing religious poetry.
Following his education at Charterhouse, Crashaw went on to continue his studies at the University of Cambridge. The University of Cambridge was a center of the Laudian movement Under William Laud’s (the Archbishop of Canterbury) leadership and with the support of King Charles I, the Church of England underwent a series of reforms aimed at emphasizing beauty and reverence in its practices.
Matriculating as a scholar at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, on 26 March 1632 is an important milestone in Crashaw’s education. College’s master was the Reverend Benjamin Lany, who was an Anglican clergyman and a friend of William Crashaw, father of Richard Crashaw. Lany may have influenced his religious and intellectual interests during his time at Cambridge.
Crashaw’s involvement with The Little Gidding community, established by Nicholas Ferrar, was known for its adherence to High Church rituals and practices. It was centered around a model of humble, spiritual living the ideals of “beauty in holiness” had a lasting impact on his religious poetry. Crashaw received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1634. In 1638, he was awarded a Master of Arts degree by the University of Cambridge.
In 1636, Crashaw was elected as a Fellow of Peterhouse. In 1638, Crashaw was ordained into the priesthood of the Church of England. Subsequently, he was installed as the curate of the Church of St. Mary the Less in Cambridge, often referred to as “Little St. Mary’s.”
Richard Crashaw’s portrayal of women, particularly figures like the Virgin Mary, St. Teresa of Avila, and Mary Magdalene, as embodiments of virtue, purity, and salvation. The three poems he wrote in honor of St. Teresa of Avila, “A Hymn to Sainte Teresa,” “An Apologie for the fore-going Hymne,” and “The Flaming Heart,” are often regarded as some of his most sublime works.
Crashaw began writing poems influenced by George Herbert’s collection The Temple. The publication of his collected poems, “Steps to the Temple and The Delights of the Muses,” along with his translation of Giambattista Marini’s “Sospetto d’Herode,” by an anonymous friend and published in one volume in 1646.
In 1644, Richard Crashaw and Mary Collet, whom he referred to as his gracious mother settled in Leiden, a city in the Netherlands. It is also believed that he converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism during this period. Richard Crashaw met Reverend Thomas Car, a confessor to English refugees in Paris in 1645. The poem “The Anagramme” is believed to reference this encounter and the impact it had on Reverend Thomas Car.
Abraham Cowley, another prominent English poet, discovered Crashaw living in abject poverty in Paris. He sought help from Queen Henrietta Maria, who was herself in exile in France, to assist Crashaw in securing a position in Rome. Susan Feilding, a friend and patron of Crashaw, also lobbied Queen Henrietta Maria to recommend Crashaw to Pope Innocent X. In November 1646, Crashaw traveled as a pilgrim to Rome, where he lived in poverty and poor health. Crashaw was eventually introduced to Pope Innocent X, who referred to him as “the learned son of a famous Heretic.” Crashaw was granted a post at the English College in Rome, which allowed him to reside there. However, his time at the college was marked by conflicts, particularly related to his reporting of immoral behavior among Cardinal Pallotta’s entourage.
Crashaw left for Loreto in May 1649. In Loreto, Richard Crashaw died of a fever on 21 August 1649. There were suspicions that he may have been poisoned, possibly by his enemies within Pallotta’s entourage. Crashaw was buried in the lady chapel of the shrine at Loreto.
Alexander Pope judged Crashaw “a worse sort of Cowley”, adding that “Herbert is lower than Crashaw, Sir John Beaumont higher, and Donne, a good deal so.”
Early 20th-century literary critic Austin Warren that Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” borrowed heavily from Richard Crashaw’s style and his translation of “Sospetto d’Herode”. It highlights the influence and intertextuality that can exist within literature, where poets and writers draw inspiration from the works of their predecessors and contemporaries.
Notable Works
- 1634: Epigrammatum Sacrorum Liber (trans. “A Book of Sacred Epigrams”).
- 1646: Steps to the Temple. Sacred Poems, With other Delights of the Muses.
- 1648: Steps to the Temple, Sacred Poems. With The Delights of the Muses.
- 1652: Carmen Deo Nostro (trans. “Hymns to Our Lord”, published posthumously).
- 1653: A Letter from Mr. Crashaw to the Countess of Denbigh Against Irresolution and Delay in matters of Religion.
- 1670: Richardi Crashawi Poemata et Epigrammata (trans. “Poems and Epigrams of Richard Crashaw”).