William Whitehead

William Whitehead

__FORCETOC__William Whitehead, (baptized February 12, 1715April 14 1785), was an English poet and playwright. He became Poet Laureate in 1757 after Thomas Gray declined the position.

Life

The son of a baker, Whitehead was born in Cambridge and through the patronage of Henry Bromley, afterwards Lord Montfort, was admitted to Winchester College He entered Clare College, Cambridge on a scholarship, and became a fellow in 1742. At Cambridge, Whitehead published an epistle "On the Danger of writing Verse" and some other poems, notably an heroic epistle, "Ann Boleyn to Henry the Eighth" (1743), and a didactic "Essay on Ridicule", also (1743). [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/W/WH/WHITEHEAD_WILLIAM.htm William Whitehead - LoveToKnow 1911 ] ]

William Whitehead was a great, almost famous writer and his works are still stoked in many libraries today. He won many awards for his work.

In 1745 Whitehead became the tutor of Viscount Villiers, son of the earl of Jersey, and took up his residence in London. There he produced two tragedies: "The Roman Father" and "Creusa, Queen of Athens". The plots of these tragedies are based the "Horace" of Corneille, and the "Ion" of Euripides.

After Thomas Gray refused the laureateship, it was passed to Whitehead, who was more acceptable at court as he was the travelling tutor of Viscount Nuneham, son of the Earl of Harcourt, who was Governor to the Prince of Wales (later George III). http://www.library.otago.ac.nz/Exhibitions/poet_laureate/pl_whitehead.html]

Poetry and Plays

Much of Whitehead's work was well received: his tragedy "The Roman Father" was successfully produced by David Garrick in 1750, "Creusa, Queen of Athens" (1754) was also praised and his comedies "The School for Lovers" (1762) and "The Trip to Scotland" (1770) were successful.Fact|date=September 2008

After being appointed Poet Laureate, Whitehead defended the poetry of Laureates in a comic poem "A Pathetic Apology for All Laureates, Past, Present, And To Come". He was conscientious, and saw himself as a non-partisan representative for the whole country. Astonishingly for a political appointee, he appeared to see no requirement "to defend the King or support the government". Sadly, this reflects the idea that the Laureate's influence had weakened so much that the official poems were unlikely to influence opinions, even though the times were important politically, with rebellion in the American colonies and war in Europe. [ [http://www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/poets/poets.laureate.britain.htm#WilliamWhitehead Poets Laureate of Great Britain ] ]

For some 28 years in this post, he contented himself in writing the obligatory verse, avoiding flattery and domestic politics, and bolstering Britain’s place in world affairs. Indeed, he was the first laureate to see past court and party divisions and speak of the ‘spirit of England’. The odes Whitehead wrote in his capacity as Poet Laureate, however, were ridiculed. Charles Churchill attacked him in 1762, in the third book of "The Ghost", as "the heir of Dullness and Method".

Whitehead's works were collected in two volumes in 1774. A third, including a memoir by William Mason, appeared posthumously in 1788. His plays are printed in Bells British Theatre (vols. 3, 7, 20) and other collections, and his poems appear in Chalmers' Works of the English Poets (vol. 17) and similar compilations.

Poem - "The Je Ne Sais Quoi"

References

# [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/W/WH/WHITEHEAD_WILLIAM.htm 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica]
#"Chalmers' Works of the English Poets" (vol. 17)
#"Bell's British Theatre" (vols. 3, 7, 20)

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Whitehead — (1715 14 avril 1785) est un poète et dramaturge anglais. Il devient poète lauréat en 1757 après que Thomas Gray a décliné l offre. Vie Fils d un boulanger, Whitehead naît à Cambridge et, avec le patronage d Henry Bromley, futur Lord Montfort, est …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William Whitehead Watts — (7 June 1860 30 July 1947) was a British geologist. He was educated at Denstone College, and at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, of which he was a fellow in 1888 94, and he was also an extension lecturer of the university in 1882 91. He taught… …   Wikipedia

  • William Whitehead Hicks-Beach — Major William Whitehead Hicks Beach (23 March 1907 ndash; 1 January 1975) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheltenham from 1950 to 1964, and also an Alderman of Cheltenham Borough… …   Wikipedia

  • William Whitehead (Canadian writer) — William Frederick Whitehead (born 1931) is a Canadian writer, actor and filmmaker. He was the partner of the late Canadian writer Timothy Findley,cite web |url=http://www.uoguelph.ca/mediarel/archives/004625.html |title=Timothy Findley’s theatre… …   Wikipedia

  • Whitehead — can refer to:People* Alan Whitehead, a British Member of Parliament * Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), a British philosopher and mathematician * Axle Whitehead (b. 1980), 2003 Australian Idol contestant * Cortlandt Whitehead (1842–), bishop *… …   Wikipedia

  • William Mason (poet) — William Mason (1724 ndash; 1797) was an English poet, editor and gardener.He was born in Hull and studied at St John s College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1754 and held a number of posts in the church.In 1747, his poem Musaeus, a Monody on the …   Wikipedia

  • William Mason (poeta) — William Mason (1724 1797) fue un poeta Inglés, editor, y tracista de jardines y tratadista de jardinería. Él nació en Hull y estudió en la Escuela de Gramática del St John s College, Cambridge. Fue ordenado sacerdote en 1754 y ocupó varios… …   Wikipedia Español

  • William Hicks-Beach — may refer to:* William Hicks Beach (1783 ndash;1856), Member of Parliament for Malmesbury 1812 1817 * William Frederick Hicks Beach (1841 ndash;1923), Member of Parliament for Tewkesbury 1916 ndash;1918 * William Whitehead Hicks Beach (1907… …   Wikipedia

  • Whitehead, William — (1715 1785)    Born at Cambridge, where his father was a baker, he was educated at Winchester College and Clare Hall, Cambridge, from where he gradated B.A. (1739) and M.A. (1743); he was elected a fellow in 1742. He became tutor to the young… …   British and Irish poets

  • WHITEHEAD (A. N.) — Exploitant certaines conceptions de logique mathématique, Alfred North Whitehead collabora avec Bertrand Russell aux Principia mathematica , qui sont un des points de départ les plus importants des considérations logiques en Angleterre et en… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”