Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry

Poet, translator, and Royalist. Born at Beresford Hall, Staffordshire. His father, Charles Cotton Sr., was a well-connected figure in literary and political circles. Not much information on his education, though he was likely privately tutored, and traveled to France for his studies in 1655. Married twice, first to Isabella Hutchinson in 1656, with whom he had nine children, and later to Mary, Countess of Ardglass in 1674. His early works reflected his Royalist sympathies, including an elegy in Lacrymae musarum (1649) and translations such as Moral Philosophy of the Stoicks (1656). Involved in literary circles, maintaining friendships with figures like Richard Lovelace and Izaak Walton. Gained popularity for his burlesque poetry, particularly Scarronnides (1664–65), a satirical take on Virgil’s Aeneid, which was widely reprinted. Died in London. Biographical information: ODNB. (NM)