One of the most popular Renaissance genres, the epigram has nonetheless been largely neglected by scholars and critics. This book, the first major study on the Renaissance English epigram since 1947, combines a deep awareness of the genre's history and conventions with a historicist consideration of their social, political and religious contexts. Tracing the oral, manuscript and print circulation of individual epigrams, it demonstrates their central place in the poetic culture of the period.The epigram was known for brevity, sharpness and an urbane tone, but its subject matter ranged widely. The epigram in England gives close attention to such sub-genres as the political epigram, the religious epigram and the mock epitaph, as well as considering questions of libel, censorship and patronage associated with the genre. While due attention is paid to such canonical figures as Ben Jonson and Sir John Harington, who attempted to use this humble - and sometimes scandalous - genre in poetically and socially ambitious ways, the study also draws on a wide range of neglected epigrammatists such as Thomas Bastard, William Gamage, Thomas Freeman and 'Henry Parrot'. The wealth of anonymous epigrams from the period are also treated, as well as Neo-Latin epigrams in manuscript and print.The epigram in England, 1590-1640 serves as an introduction to the genre for students, and through its detailed case studies offers rich analysis for advanced scholars.