DENHAM, SIR JOHN (1615-1669), English poet, only son of Sir John Denham, lord chief baron of the exchequer in Ireland, was born in Dublin, entered at Trinity college, Oxford, in 1631, and at Lincoln's Inn in 1634. His first work was The Destruction of Troy, a verse paraphrase, written in 1636, of the second book of the Aeneid; but he made his reputation with The Sophy, a tragedy acted at Blackfriars in 1641, and printed in 1642. In the latter year appeared the famous descriptive poem of "Cooper's Hill," which Dryden called "the exact standard of good writing," and Pope used as a model for Windsor Forest. Denham fought on the king's side in the Civil War, and in 1648 had to leave England when it was suspected that he was concerned in for warding Charles's correspondence. He remained abroad in the service of the exiled court until 1652, when he returned to Eng land. He was for some time the guest of the earl of Pembroke at Wilton, and then obtained leave to settle at Bury St. Edmunds. At the Restoration he was rewarded with the office of surveyor general of works. A scandal, caused by the behaviour of his second wife, who became the duke of York's mistress, is said to have driven him mad; but he recovered and survived her for two years. In addition to his poetical works, some satires on the conduct of the Dutch wars, Directions to a Painter, and Fresh Directions are attributed to him. His beautiful elegy on Abraham Cowley dates from 1667.