William Davenant

William Davenant – Life, Works, and Enduring Legacy

Sir William Davenant (1606 – April 7, 1668) was a pivotal English poet, playwright, theatre-manager, and dramatist whose career spanned the Elizabethan, Caroline, Civil War, Interregnum, and Restoration eras. Explore his life, innovations, and influence.

Introduction

Sir William Davenant (often spelled D’Avenant) stands as a crucial figure bridging the world of Renaissance drama and the theatrical resurgence of the Restoration. As a poet, courtier, dramatist, and impresario, he navigated political turmoil, censorship, and shifting tastes to leave a mark on the development of English theatre and poetic culture. His life is a portrait of ambition, loyalty, reinvention, and creative daring.

Early Life and Background

William Davenant was baptised on 3 March 1606 (likely born shortly before) in Oxford, England. He was the son of John Davenant, proprietor of the Crown Inn (or Crown Tavern) in Oxford, who later became mayor of Oxford, and Jane Shepherd Davenant.

A longstanding tradition claims that William Shakespeare was Davenant’s godfather—and rumors, possibly self-promoted in later years, even suggested that Shakespeare was his biological father. Critics remain divided on the veracity of this claim; many regard it as literary self-fashioning rather than firmly established fact.

As a young man, Davenant attended Lincoln College, Oxford around 1620, but he left before completing a degree. He served as a page to the Duchess of Richmond and associated with literary and courtly circles in London.

Sometime in his youth, he contracted syphilis, which, over years, disfigured his nose—an affliction that later became a source of derision by rivals and satirists.

Early Literary Career

Davenant began writing drama and poetry in the late 1620s and early 1630s. Among his early theatrical works:

• Albovine, King of the Lombards (c. 1626–1629)

• The Cruel Brother (licensed 1627)

• The Just Italian and other plays in the early 1630s

• Court masques such as The Temple of Love, Britannia Triumphans, and Luminalia, often staged before Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I.

His poetic works also gained attention: Madagascar, with other Poems (1638) is one of his better known volumes.

In 1638, upon the death of Ben Jonson, Davenant was appointed Poet Laureate, anchoring his reputation among the court and literary elite.

Civil War, Exile, and Invention

Royalist Loyalty and Hardship

With the outbreak of the English Civil War, Davenant aligned with the Royalist cause. In 1641 he was implicated in the “First Army Plot” (a plan to bring military force to London) and was declared guilty of high treason alongside John Suckling. He fled to France but later returned to fight for King Charles I. He was knighted in 1643 for his service.

After military setbacks (notably the defeat at Naseby), Davenant moved to Paris, where he converted to Catholicism and embarked upon his ambitious but ultimately incomplete epic romance Gondibert.

In 1649, Charles II (in exile) appointed Davenant as Treasurer of the colony of Virginia, and later as lieutenant governor of Maryland. However, Davenant was captured at sea, imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1651, and sentenced to death. Allegedly, John Milton intervened to spare his life.

While imprisoned, he published Gondibert (1652), though he was pardoned only in 1654.

Innovation During the Interregnum

Under the Cromwellian government, public theatres were closed, and censorship was severe. Davenant adapted by using private performance spaces. He converted a room in his home (Rutland House) into a private theatre.

In 1656, Davenant staged The Siege of Rhodes in musical recitative form, arguably the first English opera, using painted scenery and (notably) employing a woman actress—marking a break from the all-male stage tradition. This creative adaptation is often viewed as a turning point in the resilience of English drama under suppression.

He continued to stage and adapt works clandestinely, often blending drama, music, spectacle, and courtly allegory.

Restoration Era and Later Works

With the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, theatres reopened and Davenant regained prominence. He (together with Thomas Killigrew) was granted the royal patent to operate theatrical companies in London. Davenant founded the Duke’s Company at Lincoln’s Inn Fields and became a leading theatrical manager and exponent of restored drama.

He adapted and produced several Shakespeare plays (e.g. Hamlet, Macbeth, Henry VIII) and collaborated with John Dryden on a version of The Tempest (as The Enchanted Island) toward the end of his life. His final play, The Man’s the Master, premiered in 1668, just before his death.

During this later period he also continued poetic, masques, and panegyric production, such as A Panegyric to Monck (1660) celebrating George Monck’s role in the Restoration.

He died in London on 7 April 1668, and was interred in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, under the inscription “O rare Sir William Davenant.”

Major Works & Literary Contributions

Poetry & Prose

• Madagascar, with other Poems (1638)

• A Discourse upon Gondibert (1650 / 1651) — his major epic romance

• Wit and Drollery: Jovial Poems (1656)

• Poems on Several Occasions (1657)

Drama, Masques, and Stage Works

Davenant’s dramatic oeuvre is extensive, ranging from tragedies to comedies, masques, operatic experiments, and Shakespearean adaptations. Some key works include:

• Albovine, King of the Lombards

• The Cruel Brother

• The Wits (licensed 1634)

• Love and Honour (also called The Courage of Love)

• The Temple of Love (masque)

• Britannia Triumphans, Luminalia (masques)

• The Platonick Lovers

• The Siege of Rhodes (1656) — pioneering in spectacle, music, and the use of female roles

• The Man’s the Master (1668)

• Adaptations of The Tempest (with Dryden) and Macbeth

His theatrical experiments with scenery, music, and integrated spectacle foreshadowed later developments in Restoration stagecraft.

Influence & Historical Significance

1. Restoration Theatre Pioneer: Davenant’s leadership in reopening theatre after the Restoration and managing the Duke’s Company helped define the new era of English drama.

2. Genre Innovation: His The Siege of Rhodes is historically significant as one of the earliest English operatic or semi-operatic works and for using painted scenery and a woman actress.

3. Blurring Poetic and Dramatic Forms: Davenant moved fluidly between poetry, masque, and drama, crafting works that often merged music, allegory, spectacle, and text.

4. Adaptation & Patronage: He adapted Shakespearean plays to suit Restoration tastes, helping bridge older texts and newer theatrical modes.

5. Resilience under Censorship: During the Interregnum, he found creative ways (private performances, hybrid forms) to keep drama alive under suppression.

6. Legacy in Stagecraft: His innovations in staging, scenery, and musical integration influenced later Restoration playwrights and producers.

While Davenant’s poetic reputation has sometimes been overshadowed by his theatrical role, his life remains an essential chapter in the story of English letters and theatre.

Personality Notes and Challenges

• Davenant was ambitious and politically committed—especially to the Royalist cause—which exposed him repeatedly to danger, exile, imprisonment, and risk.

• He suffered from long-term illness (notably syphilis and its consequences), which affected his appearance and health across his life.

• He cultivated a persona of literary descent from Shakespeare, whether as godson or symbolic “son,” thereby staking a claim to poetic lineage.

• His adaptability—shifting between poetry, drama, courtly masque, and theatre management—demonstrates a resourceful and inventive temperament.

Selected (Attributed) Lines & Style

Because Davenant’s poetic corpus is less anthologized today, his “famous quotes” are fewer in circulation. However, some representative lines help convey his tone:

• From Poem Hunter:

  “Frail Life! in which, through mists of human breath / We grope for truth, and make our progress slow”

  • This line captures the meditative, elegiac strain in Davenant’s verse, reflecting human limitations, mortality, and the search for meaning.

• He also often used classical and allegorical motifs, love, honor, and spectacle in his dramas and masques, favoring elevated diction and courtly conceits.

Because much of his theatrical work is better known than his standalone poetry, many of his memorable lines are embedded within masques, plays, or panegyrics rather than circulated as independent quotes.

Lessons from William Davenant

1. Creativity under constraint: Davenant’s ability to reinvent theatrical forms during censorship is a model of resilience for artists under repressive regimes.

2. Hybrid artistry: His blending of poetry, drama, music, allegory, and spectacle suggests that genres need not remain siloed.

3. Institutional leadership matters: Beyond writing, his role as impresario and manager shows that shaping institutions is a form of artistic legacy.

4. Legacy through adaptation: By adapting Shakespeare and earlier works, he helped perpetuate older traditions in new forms, helping them evolve rather than fade.

5. Loyalty and risk: His political alignments cost him greatly, showing that art and allegiance often carry real stakes.

Conclusion

Sir William Davenant emerges as a figure of extraordinary flexibility and ambition. He was a poet laureate, dramatist, exile, theatre manager, innovator, and survivor. His work bridges the waning days of Caroline court theatre and the burgeoning Restoration stage. Though less celebrated today in popular memory than Shakespeare or Dryden, his influence on the shape, substance, and performance of English theatre is undeniable.