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The Thresher's Labour
"The Thresher's Labour" is one of three poems written by Stephen Duck in 1730. It describes Duck's struggles as an agricultural labourer, and the situation of the early eighteenth-century British working class in general. H. Gustav Klaus said it was the most accurate description of working life in verse, and praised Duck's recognition that work deserved a literary treatment. "The Thresher's Labour" became the voice, in a sense, for the rural labourers who were oppressed. It also became a model for other labouring-class artists, who began to write about their own lives and daily experiences. It was the start of a new genre of literature developed by working-class people. History and background Duck wrote "The Thresher's Labour" after a friend, Reverend Stanley, suggested that Duck write about his life. A pirated edition of the text was published in ''Poems on Several Subjects'' in 1730, and a revised and authorised version in ''Poems on Several Occasions'' in 1736. Themes "The Thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Duck
Stephen Duck (c. 1705 – 21 March 1756) was an English poet whose career reflected both the Augustan era's interest in "naturals" ( natural geniuses) and its resistance to classlessness. Biography Duck was born at Charlton, near Pewsey, in Wiltshire. Little is known about his family, whether from Duck himself or from contemporary records, except that they were labourers and very poor. Duck attended a charity school and left at the age of thirteen to begin working in the fields. Around 1724, he married as his first wife Ann, and began to attempt to better himself in order to escape the toil and poverty of agricultural work. Encouraged by the village squire, schoolmaster and rector he read Milton, Dryden, Prior, and ''The Spectator'', as well as the Holy Bible, according to Joseph Spence. Rise in popularity He was "discovered" by Alured Clarke, a prebendary of Winchester Cathedral, and Clarke introduced him to high society. Clarke and Spence (the Professor of Poetry at Oxfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Collier
Mary Collier (c. 1688 – 1762) was an English poet, perhaps best known for ''The Woman's Labour'', a poem described by one commentator as a "plebeian female georgic that is also a protofeminist polemic." Life Little is known of Collier's early life other than what she wrote in the "remarks on the author's life drawn by herself" which prefaced her ''Poems on Several Occasions'' (1762). She was from Midhurst or Lodsworth,Mary Collier " Orlando: Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present. Accessed 25 August 2022. West Sussex, born to poor parents, and educated at home. She worked as a washer-woman, brewer, and at other various jobs. In the 1720s she moved to in search of employment. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th-century Poems
The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trading and human trafficking expanded across the shores of the Atlantic, while declining in Russia, China, and Korea. Revolutions began to challenge the legitimacy of monarchical and aristocratic power structures, including the structures and beliefs that supported slavery. The Industrial Revolution began during mid-century, leading to radical changes in human society and the environment. Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. For example, the "short" 18th century may be defined as 1715–1789, denoting the period of time between the death of Louis XIV of France and the start of the French Revolution, with an emphasis on directly interconnected events. To historians who expand the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Poems
English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national identity, an identity and common culture ** English language in England, a variant of the English language spoken in England * English languages (other) * English studies, the study of English language and literature * ''English'', an Amish term for non-Amish, regardless of ethnicity Individuals * English (surname), a list of notable people with the surname ''English'' * People with the given name ** English McConnell (1882–1928), Irish footballer ** English Fisher (1928–2011), American boxing coach ** English Gardner (b. 1992), American track and field sprinter Places United States * English, Indiana, a town * English, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * English, Brazoria County, Texas, an unincorporated community * E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
