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Primary sourceBook1710

Upon the Double Murther of King Charles I

Katherine Philips · 1710

A poem by Katherine Philips, written as a reply to a pamphlet by Vavasor Powell, reacting to the execution of King Charles I.

Shows how a royalist poet reacted to Charles I's execution, presenting his death as a crime and a sign of his wrongs.

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Source: Wikisource

About this source

What it is

This is a poem by Katherine Philips titled Upon the double Murther of King Charles I. It is an answer to a libellous set of rhymes by Vavasor Powell. The text in the archive comes from a Wikisource copy of her Poems on Several Occasions, with a date of 1710 in the record. The poem is written in rhyming lines and speaks directly about the king's death.

Why it matters

The poem is a response to the execution of Charles I in 1649, written by a poet who shared the royalist view of him. It shows how royalists tried to defend the king's right to rule and treated his death as a crime against God's laws. It also shows the poet taking part in a public argument with Vavasor Powell, a writer on the other side.

Look closer

  • Which words does the poet use to describe the king and his enemies, and what do they suggest about her view?
  • Why does the poem answer another writer instead of simply describing events?
  • This is a printed edition from a later date. What might change between the first writing and a later printing?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Charles I on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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