SUCKLING, Sir Join (1609-42). An Eng lish poet, born at Whitton, in Middlesex, where he was baptized February 10, 1609. His father, Sir John Suckling (knighted 1616) , held high posts at the courts of King James and King Charles. In 1623 the poet entered Trinity Col lege, Cambridge, hut left without a degree. On the death of his father in 1627 he became heir to large estates. In 1628 he set out on extensive travels on the Continent and is said to have fought under Gustavus Adolphus. Returning to England in 1632. lie soon became noted for wit, gallantry, and prodigality. Suckling took an active part in the plot to rescue Strafford from the Tower, and found it convenient to flee to the Continent. Impoverished and in despair, he seems to have poisoned himself in Paris in the summer of 16-12. Ile was buried, says Aubrey, in the cemetery attaehed to the Protestant Church in Paris. Suckling's writings, few of which were published (luring his lifetime, were collected un der the title Fragmento aiu•ca (1046). The vol
ume contains three plays, Ayla um The Goblins, and Bren»ora/t; I.ctters to Dircrs Eminent Per sonages; a Socinian tract called An Account of ,lictigion by /frasmi; and Poc ?II 8, In a later edition (1658) appeared an unfinished tragedy, The ;;m1 One. The fame of Suckling rests wholly upon his lyrics, inimitable for grace and gayety. Among the• most beautiful are "Upon Sly Lord Brohall's Wedding," and the songs heginning so pale and wan, fond lover?" and "I prithee send nie back my heart." Consult Setections, with a memoir, by A. I. Suckling (1830; revised and enlarged by \V. C. Hazlitt, London, 1874), and see the articles on the group of Cavalier or Court poets to which Suckling belongs: TuomAs CAREW ; ROBERT IIERRIcE; and IlicllAan LOVELACE.