Samuel Daniel | |
|---|---|
 Engraved likeness from the frontispiece for The Civil Wars (1609) by Thomas Cockson | |
| Born | 1562 Somerset, England |
| Died | October 1619 Beckington, England |
| Resting place | St George's Church, Beckington (buried 14 October 1619) |
| Occupation | Poet, playwright, and historian |
| Education | Magdalen Hall (now Hertford College), Oxford |
| Period | Late-Elizabethan and early-Jacobean eras |
| Years active | 1585–1619 |
| Notable works |
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| Relatives | John Danyel (brother) |
Samuel Daniel (1562–1619) was an English poet, playwright and historian in the late-Elizabethan and early-Jacobean eras. He was an innovator in a wide range of literary genres. His best-known works are the sonnet cycle Delia, the epic poem The Civil Wars Between the Houses of Lancaster and York, the dialogue in verse Musophilus, and the essay on English poetry A Defence of Rhyme. He was considered one of the preeminent authors of his time and his works had a significant influence on contemporary writers, including William Shakespeare. Daniel's writings continued to influence authors for centuries after his death, especially the Romantic poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. C. S. Lewis called Daniel "the most interesting man of letters" whom the sixteenth century produced in England.