Robert Treat Paine Jr. (December 9, 1773 – November 13, 1811) was an American poet and editor. He was the second son of Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Born Thomas Paine (after his paternal grandfather), he changed his name to that of his recently deceased older brother in 1801, in part as a tribute to his father and in part to avoid confusion with the more famous

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

, the revolutionary pamphleteer, who was unpopular at that time. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, for whose commencement ceremonies he wrote a number of pieces.Dictionary of Literary Biography
accessed November 29, 2009

Works

Among his works are: * "The Invention of Letters" commencement verse delivered at

; described the history of thought, eulogized

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and attacked JacobinsBurt, Daniel S.
''The Chronology of American Literature: America's literary achievements from the colonial era to modern times''
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004, , retrieved via Google Books (1795). * ''The Ruling Passion'' (1796), the "longest and most perfect of all his poetical productions", according to his biographer Charles Prentiss. *
Adams and Liberty
, the author's most famous work, sung throughout the country, praising America's independence from European tyranny (1798). The lyrics were designed to be sung to the tune of "

To Anacreon in Heaven "The Anacreontic Song", also known by its incipit "To Anacreon in Heaven", was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Composed by John Stafford Smith, the tune was later used ...

"Performing Arts Encyclopedia
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, accessed November 29, 2009 (which tune was later used for "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

", the American national anthem). * Communication on the

Boston Female Asylum The Boston Female Asylum (1800–1910) was an orphanage in Boston, Massachusetts, "for the care of indigent girls."U.S. Bureau of the Census. Benevolent institutions, 1904; p.78 Its mission was to "receive ... protect ... and instruct ... female orp ...

. ''Boston Gazette'', April 1, 1802. (Reprinted in 1812 in ''The Works, in Verse and Prose...'', p. 344 et seq.) *
The Works, in Verse and Prose, of the Late Robert Treat Paine, Jun. Esq. With Notes. To which are prefixed, sketches of his life, character and writings
', Boston: printed and published by J. Belcher;Web page title

at University of Chicago Library website, retrieved March 4, 2009 posthumously published (1812), with poems in such genres as

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...

, drama

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...

, neoclassical verse and spiritual

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

, all selected by Charles Prentiss; contains "Philenia to Menander" by

Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton (August 1759 – May 14, 1846) was an American poet. Early life Sarah was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in August 1759. She was the third of ten children born to James Apthorp (1731–1799), a merchant and slav ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paine, Robert Treat Jr. 1773 births 1811 deaths 18th-century American poets 18th-century American male writers American male poets Harvard University alumni

Works

Further reading

References