John Smith (1662–1717) was an English poet and playwright.

Life

He was the son of John Smith of

Barton, Gloucestershire Barton is a village in Gloucestershire, on the Windrush River, near Naunton Naunton is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the River Windrush in the Cotswolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Stow-on-the-Wold is about ...

, and in 1676 became a chorister of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, matriculating on 10 July 1679. He graduated B.A. in 1683, M.A. in 1686; in 1682 he became a clerk of the college, in 1689 usher of the college school. Smith died at Oxford on 16 July 1717, and was buried in the college chapel.

Works

Smith was the author of: * ''Odes Paraphras'd and imitated, in Miscellany Poems and Translations by Oxford Hands'', London, 1685. * ''Scarronides, or Virgil Travesty: a Mock-Poem on the second Book of Virgil's Æneis, in English Burlesque'', London, 1691. It followed the style of

Charles Cotton Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from the French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Comp ...

's version of Book I of ''

The Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the R ...

''. *''Poems upon Several Occasions'' (1713), containing evidence of Smith's dramatic writing, including

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

s. It is generally thought that Smith was the author of ''Win her and take her, or Old Fools will be Medling: a Comedy, as it is acted at the Theatre Royal by their Majesties Servants'', London, 1691. This play, which was issued anonymously, was dedicated Peregrine, Earl of Danby by

Cave Underhill Cave Underhill (1634–1710?) was an English actor in comedy roles. Underhill entertained three generations of London theatre-goers. For over 40 years, as a member of the Duke's Company, Underhill played the first Gravedigger in ''Hamlet''. He w ...

the actor, for whom the part of Dulhead may have been written. It contains an epilogue by

Thomas D'Urfey Thomas d'Urfey (a.k.a. Tom Durfey; 165326 February 1723) was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera. Life D'Urfey was born in Devonsh ...

John Genest John Genest (1764–1839) was an English clergyman and theatre historian. Life He was the son of John Genest of Dunker's Hill, Devon. He was educated at Westminster School, entered 9 May 1780 as a pensioner at Trinity College, Cambridge, and gra ...

considered that the plot resembled that of '' The Virtuoso'' from 1676, and that the character of Waspish might have been modelled on Snarl in the earlier comedy. The dedicatee of the work is shared with ''Poems upon Several Occasions''.

References

Attribution 1662 births 1717 deaths 17th-century English poets 17th-century English male writers 18th-century English poets English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets 18th-century English male writers {{England-poet-stub