Crashaw, Richard (about 1613-1649), was an English poet best known for his religious verse. Crashaw wrote poetry that is noted for its sensuous mysticism and for its extravagant imagery. Most of his best-known poems were collected in Steps to the Temple (1646). His other poetry was collected in Epigrammatum Sacrorum Liber (A Book of Sacred Epigrams, 1634) and Carmen Deo Nostro (Hymn to Our Lord, published in 1652, after his death).
Crashaw was born in London. He graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge University, and became a fellow of Peterhouse College. He lost his fellowship because of his sympathies toward Roman Catholicism. In 1645, he went to Paris. He became a Catholic and later traveled to Rome. Crashaw died in Loreto, Italy, on Aug. 21, 1649.
