Editing Richard Lovelace (poet) (section)

==Literature==
From the time Richard Lovelace started writing while he was a student at Oxford he wrote almost 200 poems. His first work was a drama, ''The Scholars'', never published but performed at college and then in London. In 1640, he wrote a tragedy, ''The Soldier'' based on his military experience. When serving in the Bishops' Wars, he wrote the sonnet "To Generall Goring", a poem of [[Bacchanal]]ian celebration rather than a glorification of military action. "[[To Lucasta, Going to the Warres]]", written in 1640, concerned his first political action. "To Althea, From Prison" was written during his first imprisonment in 1642. Later that year, during his travels to Holland with General Goring, he wrote ''The Rose'', followed by ''The Scrutiny''. On 14 May 1649, ''Lucasta'' was published. He also wrote poems on animal life: ''The Ant'', ''The Grasse-hopper'', ''The Snayl'', ''The Falcon'', ''The Toad and Spyder''. In 1660, after Lovelace died, ''Lucasta: Postume Poems'' was published; it contains ''A Mock-Song'', which has a darker tone than his previous works.<ref name="DLB"/>

[[William Winstanley]] thought highly of Lovelace's work and compared him to an idol: "I can compare no Man so like this Colonel Lovelace as Sir [[Philip Sidney]]" of which it is in an Epitaph made of him;
:Nor is it fit that more I should {{sic|hide=y|aquaint}}
: Lest Men adore in one
: A Scholar, {{sic|hide=y|Souldier}}, Lover, and a Saint<ref name="lovelace"/>

His most quoted excerpts are from the beginning of the last stanza of "To Althea, From Prison":

:Stone walls do not a prison make,
:Nor iron bars a cage;
:Minds innocent and quiet take
:That for an hermitage

and the end of "To Lucasta. Going to the Warres":

:I could not love thee, dear, so much,
:Lov'd I not Honour more.