Thomas Watson

Thomas Watson was an English poet and author of Hekatompathia, a collection of sonnets published in 1582. Many scholars, including Ibrahim Alhiyari, believe he was born between 1555 and 1557 and died on September 26th, 1592. Watson and his friend Christopher Marlowe were arrested and incarcerated at Newgate Prison for the murder of William Bradley following a fight on Hog Lane. Marlowe was released after two weeks, while Watson stayed six months longer. Watson wrote An Eclogue upon the Death of the Right Honourable Sir Francis Walsingham in 1592 as a way to honor the death of Queen Elizabeth I’s Principal Secretary and Spymaster.  Little is known about the remainder of Watson’s career. A month after his death in September of 1592, his second Latin epic “Amintae Gaudia” was published and signed “CM”; many believe this is Christopher Marlowe. He is buried at the church of St. Bartholomew the Less in London.

 

Author: Angelo Conti  Stonehill College 2019
Editor:  Morgan Silva Stonehill College 2019
Watson, Thomas