George Gascoigne, amateur poet and gentleman, was the chief poet of the early Elizabethan period. As a writer supremely interested in proving the English language to be as fit a medium for poetry as other languages, he deserves attention if only as a literary pioneer. Among his other achievements, he is credited with the first prose comedy and Greek-style tragedy in English, the first treatise on English prosody, the first English satire using the Roman form, and, many argue, the first English novel. Gascoigne is impressive, then, for the sheer variety of his literary roles: translator, playwright, editor, sonneteer, satirist, moralist, apologist, novelist, and reporter. Beyond these accomplishments, his works strike a new and sophisticated note in English literature in their experimentation with poetic voice. An incredibly self-conscious poet, Gascoigne refashioned himself throughout his literary career. From the rakish lover of his early works to the staunch moralist...