DRAYTON, MICHAEL (1563-1631), English poet, was born at Hartshill, Warwickshire, and settled in London about 159o. His first volume of poems, The Harmony of the Church, appeared in I 591 ; the whole edition, with the exception of 4o copies seized by the archbishop of Canterbury, was destroyed by public order. In Idea; the Shepherd's Garland ), a collection of nine pastorals, and Idea's Mirror a cycle of 64 sonnets, he celebrated his love for a Warwickshire lady. The Legend of Piers Gaveston (1S93) is the first of Drayton's historical poems; it was followed by Mortimeriados (1596), written in ottava rima and afterwards enlarged as The Barons' Wars (1603); The Legend of Robert, Duke of Normandy (1596); and England's Heroical Epistles (1 597) modelled on Ovid.
Drayton had been in high favour with Elizabeth, but his over tures to James I. were rejected, and his pique found expression in The Owl (1604), an unsuccessful satire. In 1606 he made a collec tion of poems entitled Poems Lyric and Pastoral, including among other hitherto unpublished works, his famous "Ballad of Agin court." As early as 1598 he had formed the plan of celebrating all the points of topographical or antiquarian interest in the island of Great Britain. In 1613, the first part of this vast work was pub lished under the title of Poly-Olbion, 18 books being produced, to which Selden supplied notes. The success of this, his most famous work, was at first small, and the more books of the second part only appeared in 1622. This completed the survey of England, and the poet, who had hoped "to crown Scotland with flowers," and arrive at last at the Orcades, never crossed the Tweed. In 1627 he published another of his miscellaneous volumes, and this con tains some of his most characteristic and exquisite writing. It consists of the following pieces : The Battle of Agincourt, an his torical poem in ottava rima (not to be cpnfused with his ballad on the same subject), and The Miseries of Queen Margaret, written in the same verse and manner; Nimphidia, the Court of Faery, a most graceful little epic of fairyland ; The Quest of Cinthia and The Shepherd's Sirena, two lyrical pastorals; and finally The Moon Calf, a sort of satire. Of these Nimphidia is perhaps the best thing Drayton ever wrote, except his famous ballad on the battle of Agincourt ; it is quite unique of its kind and full of rare fantastic fancy.
The last of Drayton's voluminous publications was The Muses' Elizium in 163o. He died in London and was buried in Westmin ster Abbey. Drayton corresponded familiarly with Drummond; Ben Jonson, William Browne, George Wither and others were among his friends. There is a tradition that he was a friend of Shakespeare, supported by a statement of John Ward, once vicar of Stratford-on-Avon, that "Shakespear, Drayton and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting, and it seems, drank too hard, for Shake spear died of a feavour there contracted." He had a share, with Munday, Chettle and Wilson, in writing Sir John Oldcastle, which was printed in 1600.
The poet with whom it is most natural to compare Drayton is Daniel; he is more rough and vigorous, more varied and more dar ing than the latter, but Daniel surpasses him in grace, delicacy and judgment. In their elegies and epistles, however, the two writers frequently resemble each other. Drayton, however, ap proaches the very first poets of the Elizabethan era in his charming Nimphidia, a poem which inspired Herrick with his sweet fairy fancies and stands alone of its kind in English literature ; while some of his odes and lyrics are inspired by noble feeling and virile imagination.
In 1748 a folio edition of Drayton's complete works was pub lished under the editorial supervision of William Oldys, and again in 1753 there appeared an issue in four volumes. But these were very unintelligently and inaccurately prepared. A complete edi tion of Drayton's works with variant readings was projected by Richard Hooper in 1876, but 3 vols. only were completed ; a volume of selection, edited by A. H. Bullen, appeared in 1883. See espe cially Oliver Elton, Michael Drayton (19o5). (E. G.)