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Nothing in Oxford's life or work is inconsistent with his having written "The Paine of Pleasure."
In May's sense, he qualifies as a courtier through his lineage alone; he was the seventeenth earl of Oxford, hereditary Lord Great Chamberlain, and after the Duke of Norfolk's beheading in 1572, the senior nobleman of England. He exchanged gifts with Elizabeth, was frequently at her court between 1577 and 1580, received wedding and christening gifts from her, participated in court tournaments, and requested and received patronage from the crown.
Oxford's biographical data is also consistent with everything the poet says or implies about himself. These details are not smoking guns--most Elizabethan gallants lived on the fine edge of financial ruin, knew how to sing and dance, and had studied the law and astronomy--but they do not argue against him.
| • | Vanity of all earthly things: At the time the poem was published, Oxford had ample reason to consider earthly joys vain. He was thirty years old and separated from his wife, whom he suspected of having foisted another man's child on him. The theme of vanity may also have resonated with him because of the early death of his parents and the judicial murder of his cousin and friend the Duke of Norfolk. |
| • | The study of divinity: Oxford had studied divinity as part of his education under both Sir Thomas Smith and Sir William Cecil. [21] |
| • | Financial reverses and the exorbitant expense of pleasure: Oxford, once possibly the richest man in England, had suffered increasing financial difficulties since the time of his European tour in 1575-76. |
| • | Age: Born in 1550, Oxford was both old enough and young enough to have written the poem. |
| • | Presence at Court: Oxford had attended court regularly since 1562. |
| • | Leisure to write 1577-1580: Oxford had leisure to write since he was exiled from Court, and is hypothesized to have been writing extensively during this period. |
| • | Acquaintance with Queen Elizabeth: Oxford was widely rumored to have been Elizabeth's lover. He was one of her favorites, close enough to have his own nickname, her "Turk." |
| • | Acquaintance with Gascoigne: Oxford could well have been acquainted with Gascoigne through the Cecils. George Gascoigne's wife was a cousin of Sir William Cecil's wife's sister; Gascoigne himself had served Cecil as an agent in France and Flanders in 1576. Gascoigne had been at Gray's Inn in 1566, translating and putting on The Supposes, just before Oxford took up his studies there. [22] |
| • | Education: As Cecil's ward, Oxford had an extensive, well-documented modern education. He had access to Cecil's library, one of the largest in England, and to several others; he also had his own library. [23] |
| • | Literary interests: Oxford was both a poet and a patron of other writers, including Munday. His acquaintance with his cousin Henry Howard was not only religious, familial, and political but also literary. John Lyly and, of course, Munday were in his household at this period. |
| • | Significant works: Francis Meres, in Palladis Tamia, 1598, praised Oxford for writing plays. |
| • | Collected works: Oxford did not collect his own works, though it is possible that they were collected by his daughter and her husband's family after his death. [24] |
| • | Music: Oxford was an accomplished performer and a patron of other musicians. [25] |
| • | Dancing: Oxford was known for his dancing; Elizabeth once ordered him to dance to amuse French envoys. |
| • | Bowling: John Stow mentions bowling alleys among the amenities of Fisher's Folly, a house Oxford bought by February 1580. |
| • | Tennis: Among Oxford's known poems is one comparing love to a game of tennis; Oxford's family seat, Castle Hedingham, was provided with a tennis court[26] and he is rumored to have quarreled with Sir Philip Sidney during a game of tennis. |
| • | Knowledge of law: Oxford's early tutor, Sir Thomas Smith, was the Regius Professor of Civil Law at Cambridge. Oxford also studied law at Gray's Inn, and throughout his life would be involved in legal questions. Existing letters from him deal with legal issues. |
| • | Knowledge of astronomy: Sir Thomas Smith, Oxford's early tutor, had a strong and lifelong interest in astronomy and astrology; in 1572 Oxford also studied with John Dee. |
| • | Horses: Oxford, three times jousting champion of England, would have been familiar with the training of horses. |
| • | Previous publication with non-nobles: Oxford not only had allowed himself to be published previously in his lifetime, but had let his work appear in The Paradise of Dainty Devices with a man who had actually worked for him, Thomas Churchyard.[27] |
Oxford's connection with Munday is worth discussing at length. Oxford had been Munday's patron since the mid-1570s. At Oxford's suggestion, Munday had gone to study the Renaissance in Rome (financing the trip by pretending to be a Catholic convert, and possibly becoming a spy for Cecil in the process).[28] On returning from Rome, Munday had become one of Oxford's secretaries, and may have been in charge of Oxford's group of players. In 1579, Munday had dedicated the Mutabilitie poems to Oxford, taking the trouble to compose two anagrams on his name and motto, and had apparently based the hero of his romance Zelauto (1580) on Oxford. If Oxford wrote "The Paine of Pleasure," he might well have entrusted it to Munday for publication. [29]
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