Richard Lovelace (1618 - 1657) was an English poet and nobleman, born in Woolwich, today part of south-east London. He was one of the Cavalier Poets, and a noted royalist.

He was imprisoned briefly in 1648 for supporting the Royalists during the time of Oliver Cromwell. He was best known for his poems To Althea, from Prison and To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars.

His most quoted excerpt is from the beginning of the last stanza of To Althea, From Prison

Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage

External Link

• the e-texts of Richard Lovelace's The Lucasta Poems (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1217)
• Text of Richard Lovelace's poems at Project Gutenberg The Lucasta Poems by Richard Lovelace (http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/703)