Francis Sabie
Encyclopedia
Francis Sabie was an English poet.
Sabie was a schoolmaster at Lichfield
in 1587 (Arber, Stationers' Registers, ii. 146). He published three volumes of verse—two in 1595, and one in 1596.
His earliest publication, in two parts, was The Fishermans Tale: Of the famous Actes, Life, and Loue of Cassander, a Grecian Knight, 1595. The second part bears the heading Flora's Fortune. The second part and finishing of the Fisher-mans Tale. The poem, which was licensed for publication to Richard Jones on 11 Nov. 1594, is a paraphrase in monotonous blank verse
of Pandosto
, afterwards renamed Dorastus and Fawnia, a romance by Robert Greene (1560?–1592). A reprint from a Bodleian manuscript, limited to ten copies, was issued by James Orchard Halliwell (afterwards Halliwell-Phillipps) in 1867.
Later in 1595 there appeared Pan's Pipe, Three Pastorall Eglogues in English Hexameter, with other poetical verses delightfull. The publisher was again Richard Jones, who obtained a license for the publication on 11 Jan. 1594–5 (Arber, ii. 668). The prose epistle To all youthful Gentlemen, Apprentises, fauourers of the diuine Arte of sense-delighting Poesie, is signed F. S. The hexameters run satisfactorily.
In his third volume, which contains three separate works, Sabie showed for the first time his capacity in rhyme. The book was entitled Adams Complaint. The Olde Worldes Tragedie. Dauid and Bathsheba, London, by Richard Jones, 1596, 4to. These poems, which are in rhyming stanzas (each consisting of three heroic couplet
s), versify scripture. The Olde Worldes Tragedie is the story of the flood. The volume is dedicated to Dr. Howland, bishop of Peterborough.
Copies of Sabie's three books—all extremely rare—are in the British Museum
and at Britwell
. The British Museum copies of The Fisher-mans Tale and Flora's Fortune, which are in fine condition, were acquired from Sir Charles Isham
's collection in 1894 (Times, 31 Aug. 1895; Bibliographica, iii. 418–29).
Sabie's son Edmond was apprenticed to Robert Cullen, a London stationer, 12 June 1587 (Arber, ii. 146), and was admitted a freeman on 5 Aug. 1594.
Sabie was a schoolmaster at Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
in 1587 (Arber, Stationers' Registers, ii. 146). He published three volumes of verse—two in 1595, and one in 1596.
His earliest publication, in two parts, was The Fishermans Tale: Of the famous Actes, Life, and Loue of Cassander, a Grecian Knight, 1595. The second part bears the heading Flora's Fortune. The second part and finishing of the Fisher-mans Tale. The poem, which was licensed for publication to Richard Jones on 11 Nov. 1594, is a paraphrase in monotonous blank verse
Blank verse
Blank verse is poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the sixteenth century" and Paul Fussell has claimed that "about three-quarters of all English poetry is in blank verse."The first...
of Pandosto
Pandosto
Pandosto: The Triumph of Time is a prose romance written by the English author Robert Greene, first published in 1588. A later edition of 1607 was re-titled Dorastus and Fawnia. Popular during the time of William Shakespeare, the work's plot was an inspiration for that of Shakespeare's play The...
, afterwards renamed Dorastus and Fawnia, a romance by Robert Greene (1560?–1592). A reprint from a Bodleian manuscript, limited to ten copies, was issued by James Orchard Halliwell (afterwards Halliwell-Phillipps) in 1867.
Later in 1595 there appeared Pan's Pipe, Three Pastorall Eglogues in English Hexameter, with other poetical verses delightfull. The publisher was again Richard Jones, who obtained a license for the publication on 11 Jan. 1594–5 (Arber, ii. 668). The prose epistle To all youthful Gentlemen, Apprentises, fauourers of the diuine Arte of sense-delighting Poesie, is signed F. S. The hexameters run satisfactorily.
In his third volume, which contains three separate works, Sabie showed for the first time his capacity in rhyme. The book was entitled Adams Complaint. The Olde Worldes Tragedie. Dauid and Bathsheba, London, by Richard Jones, 1596, 4to. These poems, which are in rhyming stanzas (each consisting of three heroic couplet
Heroic couplet
A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines. The rhyme is always masculine. Use of the heroic couplet was first pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in...
s), versify scripture. The Olde Worldes Tragedie is the story of the flood. The volume is dedicated to Dr. Howland, bishop of Peterborough.
Copies of Sabie's three books—all extremely rare—are in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and at Britwell
Britwell
Britwell is a residential housing estate and civil parish in the north west of Slough, Berkshire, in the south of England. It is about 23 miles west of London.The name Britwell derives from the old English beorhtan wiellan meaning 'bright, clear well'....
. The British Museum copies of The Fisher-mans Tale and Flora's Fortune, which are in fine condition, were acquired from Sir Charles Isham
Charles Isham
Sir Charles Edmund Isham, 10th Baronet was a landowner and gardener based at Lamport Hall, Northampton. He is credited with beginning the tradition of garden gnomes in the United Kingdom when he introduced a number of terracotta figures from Germany in the 1840s.Bruce A...
's collection in 1894 (Times, 31 Aug. 1895; Bibliographica, iii. 418–29).
Sabie's son Edmond was apprenticed to Robert Cullen, a London stationer, 12 June 1587 (Arber, ii. 146), and was admitted a freeman on 5 Aug. 1594.