: Robert Lloyd (1733–1764) was an

English 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 ide ...

poet and satirist. Lloyd was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, graduating B.A. in 1755 and M.A. in 1758. He was author of the popular poem ''The Actor'' (1760) and the comic opera ''The Capricious Lovers'' (1764), first performed at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

just a few weeks before his death. He was co-author, with George Colman, of ''Ode to Obscurity'' and ''Ode to Oblivion'', both published in the early 1760s, and both satires on the works of the poets

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

and

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...

. He was also co-editor of ''St James's Magazine'' (1762-3), and member of the infamous

Nonsense Club The Nonsense Club was a scandalous club of 18th-century Kingdom of Great Britain, British satirists centred on Westminster School. Its members included the satirists and poets Charles Churchill (satirist), Charles Churchill and Robert Lloyd (poet), ...

of Old Westminster men with

Bonnell Thornton Bonnell Thornton (1725–1768) was an English poet, essayist, and critic. He was educated at Westminster School, and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1747. In 1752 Thornton founded the ''Drury Lane Journal'', a satirical periodi ...

, George Colman,

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scen ...

and others. Lloyd was often in debt, and apparently died in Fleet Prison on 15 December 1764, shortly after the death of his lifelong friend Charles Churchill, to whose sister, Patty, he was engaged. Churchill's sister died shortly after. The ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' says that Lloyd joined Charles Churchill in a "reckless career of dissipation", and Vulliamy, in his biography of

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...

, wrote that "Lloyd died when he was thirty-one, ruined by his friendship with Churchill". __NOTOC__

Works

* ''To Obscurity'' (1760) * ''To Oblivion'' (1760) * ''Chit-Chat, an imitation of Theocritus'' * ''The Capricious Lovers (1764)'' * ''The Actor (1760)'' * ''The Cit's Country Box'' (1757) * ''Spirit of Contradiction''

References

External links

Robert Lloyd
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA) Poems by Robert Lloyd, A.M., 1762"> Poems by Robert Lloyd, A.M., 1762
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Robert 18th-century English poets 1733 births 1764 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Westminster School, London Inmates of Fleet Prison English male poets People imprisoned for debt 18th-century English male writers