Richard Crashaw

Richard Crashaw was born around 1613 in London and died in 1649 in Loreto, Italy. He studied at Cambridge University but was expelled after refusing to sign the Covenant during the Civil War, after which he converted to Catholicism and lived in exile. His poetry is distinguished by its extravagant baroque style, blending sensual imagery with divine rapture, and often employs vivid metaphors of blood, tears, and light. The major collection "Steps to the Temple" (1646) and its expanded editions contain his most celebrated devotional lyrics, including fervent meditations on the Virgin Mary and the wounded Christ. Crashaw drew heavily from continental influences, particularly the Italian poet Giambattista Marino, adapting a more ornate and emotional register than his English metaphysical peers. Though his work was long dismissed as excessively florid, modern readers appreciate its unique intensity and its place in the Counter-Reformation literary tradition. His posthumous volume "Carmen Deo Nostro" (1652) further cemented his reputation as a poet of mystical passion.