What is Thomas Norton?
'''Thomas Norton''' (1532 – 10 March 1584) was a lawyer, a statesman, and a politician who wrote ''[[Gorboduc]]'', the first English [[tragedy]] in [[blank verse]]. Norton was born in [[London]] to Thomas Norton, a merchant, and Elizabeth Merry Norton. He went to the [[University of Cambridge]]. In 1556, he studied law. He was a [[Member of Parliament]]. He was a [[Calvinism|Calvinist]], and [[torture]]d [[Roman Catholicism|Catholics]]. The English [[bishop]]s grew to dislike him. He was charged with [[treason]] and sent to the [[Tower of London]]. He was soon released, but his health had grown poor. In March 1584, he died in his [[Bedfordshire]] home. Norton began to write [[sonnet]]s and other poems when he was 18. In 1560, he wrote the earliest English tragedy in [[blank verse]], ''[[Gorboduc]]'', with [[Thomas Sackville]]. He wrote many anti-Catholic [[pamphlet]]s. He also [[translate]]d [[John Calvin]]'s ''Institutes'' (1561) and Alexander Nowell's ''Catechism'' (1570). ==References== *{{cite DNB|wstitle=Norton, Thomas (1532-1584)}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Thomas}} [[Category:1532 births]] [[Category:1584 deaths]] [[Category:English poets]] [[Category:English playwrights]] {{bio-stub}}