born Feb. 8, 1612, Strensham, Worcestershire, Eng.
died Sept. 25, 1680, London
British poet and satirist.
He held several clerical positions, where he could observe cranks and scoundrels like those whose antics he targeted. He is famous for Hudibras (166378), a mock-heroic poem skewering the fanaticism, pretentiousness, pedantry, and hypocrisy he saw in militant Puritanism . It is the most memorable burlesque poem in English and the first English satire that successfully attacked ideas rather than personalities.