Surrey, Henry Howard, earl

Surrey, Henry Howard, earl of

(born 1517, Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, Eng.?—died Jan. 13, 1547, London) English poet. Because of his aristocratic birth and connections, Surrey was involved in the jockeying for place that accompanied Henry VIII's policies. After returning to England in 1546 from a campaign abroad, he was accused of treason by his rivals. After his sister admitted he was still a Roman Catholic, he was executed at age 30. Most of his poetry was published 10 years later. With Sir Thomas Wyatt, he introduced into England the styles and metres of the Italian humanist poets, laying the foundation of a great age in English poetry. He translated two books of Virgil's Aeneid, marking the first use in English of blank verse and was the first to develop the sonnet form used by William Shakespeare.