Sir Charles
Sedley
born March 1639, Aylesford, Kent, Eng.
died Aug. 20, 1701, Hampstead, London
English Restoration poet, dramatist, wit, and
courtier.
Sedley attended the University of Oxford but
left without taking a degree. He inherited the
baronetcy on the death of his elder brother.
After the Restoration (1660) he was a prominent
member of the group of court wits. Charles II
delighted in his conversation. The dramatists
John Dryden and Thomas Shadwell were among his
friends, and Dryden introduced him into his
essay Of Dramatick Poesie under the name of
Lisideius. Sedley was an active supporter of
William and Mary at the time of the 1688
revolution. In later life he seems to have
become a serious legislator. He sat in all the
parliaments of William III as member for New
Romney, and his speeches were considered to be
thoughtful and sensible.
Sedley’s plays span the period 1668–87;
notable among them is Bellamira (1687), a racy,
amusing rehandling of the theme of the Eunuchus
of the Roman playwright Terence. Sedley’s
literary reputation, however, rests on his
lyrics and verse translations. His best lyrics,
such as the well-known “Phillis is my only Joy,”
have grace and charm. His verse translations of
the eighth ode of Book II of Horace and the
fourth Georgic of Virgil have been highly
praised. The first collected edition of his
works was published in 1702; a later one, edited
by Vivian de Sola Pinto, in two volumes, was
published in 1928 with a study of the author.
Sedley’s son predeceased him, and the
baronetcy became extinct upon Sedley’s death.
