James Day () was an English verse-writer whose name and writings are but little known.
["J. M.". Dec. 1849. p. 606.]
Works
James Day was the author of a 1637 volume of devotional verse, entitled ''A New Spring of Divine Poetrie'', 4to, with an acrostic dedication "To Mistris Bridget Rudge" and commendatory verses by H. G. and T. J. This little volume, perhaps the sole production of his poetical muse, consists of 48 pages, and of divers poems. The first is "The World's Metamorphosis"; it describes the
creation of the earth. The second is "Christ's Birth and Passion".
These are followed by some shorter poems, which, according to
Arthur Henry Bullen
Arthur Henry Bullen, often known as A. H. Bullen (9 February 1857, London – 29 February 1920, Stratford-on-Avon), was an English editor in chief, editor and publisher, a specialist in 16th century in literature, 16th- and 17th century in literat ...
, "have more conceit than elegance".
[Bullen 1888, p. 233.]
F. W. Fairholt calls the work "A thin
quarto
Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
of melancholy morality and pointless attempts at religious wit, after the fashion of
Quarles."
[Fairholt, ed. 1849, p. 143.] For example, he ends his "Meditation on a Windmill" with the lines—
Identity
Though only J. Day is on his title-page, that the author's name was James appears by one of the commendatory verses prefixed by H. G.
From the commendatory verses it appears that the book was a youthful production.
References
Sources
* {{PD-notice
* Bullen, A. H. & Steggle, Matthew (2004)
"Day, James (fl. 1637), poet" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press. Accessed 29 June 2022.
* Fairholt, F. W., ed. (1849).
Satirical Songs and Poems on Costume: From the 13th to the 19th Century'. London: The Percy Society. p. 143.
* "J. M.". (December 1849)
"Retrospective Review.—''New Spring of Divine Poetrie''" ''
The Gentleman's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term ''m ...
''. Vol. 186. pp. 606–608.
17th-century English poets