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Joost van den Vondel (1587–1679)
Vondel, Joost van den (von’del). A Dutch dramatic poet; born in Cologne, Nov. 17, 1587; died in Amsterdam, 1679. His is the greatest name in Dutch literature, and he has often been called “The Dutch Shakespeare.” He began his literary career with the drama ‘Het Pascha,’ produced in 1612 before the Rhetorical Chamber, of which he was a member. He wrote the tragedy ‘Palamedes,’ and ‘The Amsterdam Hecuba,’ a free version of Seneca (1625); many translations from the classics and versions of classical originals. The dramatic poem ‘Lucifer,’ the greatest of his works, is considered by many Dutch critics to be an allegorical account of the revolt of the Netherlands against Philip of Spain. (See Critical and Biographical Introduction).