Lovelace, Richard (1618-1657), was a member of a group of English lyric poets called the Cavalier poets. These poets emphasized ideals of love, beauty, and honor. Lovelace is known chiefly for a few famous lines. “Stone walls do not a prison make,/Nor iron bars a cage” comes from the poem “To Althea, from Prison” (1642). “I could not love thee, dear, so much,/Loved I not honor more” appears in the poem “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” (1648).
Lovelace was born either in Woolwich or in the Netherlands. He was educated at Oxford University. Lovelace served as a soldier in the army of King Charles I. He was imprisoned twice during the civil war that broke out in 1642. He wrote his two famous poems in prison. Lovelace lost his estate while he was serving the king, and he died in poverty.
See also To Lucasta, Going to the Wars.
