Samuel Cobb (''baptized'' 1675ā1713) 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,
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...
and school master who was known for a light hearted, ironic pose in his verse and a witty, good natured personal life.
Life
He was born in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and orphaned early in his life. He attended
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11ā18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553 ...
under the
Lord Mayor's charity and continued with indigent aid to
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 ...
for his B.A. in 1698 and M.A. in 1702.
Upon graduation with the master's degree, he began teaching at his old school, Christ's Hospital, where he would continue until his death.
Cobb was a classicist and a teacher of grammar at Christ's Hospital, and his poetry shows his knowledge of
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
.
His first publication was in 1694, with ''A Pindarique Ode . . . in Memory of Queen Mary.''
The next year, he published ''Bersaba,'' and in 1697 he wrote ''Pax redux.''
He wrote several other odes and poems celebrating royal occasions, evidently with an eye toward gaining sufficient funds to relieve his poverty.
This was a habit he would continue with 1709's ''The Female Reign'' (on the accession of Anne). His most famous poem was ''Poetae Britannici'' in
1700, which was a survey of previous English poetry in a light style, clear diction, and imagery that later critics like
John Nichols considered "sublime."
Cobb was also interested in earthy humor.
In 1707, he wrote ''Discourse on Criticism and the Liberty of Writing'' and argued for the virtue and freedom of the author against too nice a critique.
He wrote ''Mouse-Trap'' in 1708, and Cobb translated
Chaucer's ''
The Miller's Tale
"The Miller's Tale" ( enm, The Milleres Tale) is the second of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'' (1380sā1390s), told by the drunken miller Robin toquite (a Middle English term meaning requite or pay back, in both good and negative ways ...
'' in 1712.
Cobb's translation was extremely popular, and it colored the eighteenth century's understanding of Chaucer.
He also worked with
John Ozell
John Ozell (died 15 October 1743) was an English translator and accountant who became an adversary to Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope.
He moved to London from the country at around the age of twenty and entered an accounting firm, where he was s ...
and
Nicholas Rowe to translate ''The Works of Lucian'' in 1710-1711.
Cobb's cause of death is unknown. He was buried in the cloisters of his school.
Notes
References
*
*Bowden, Betsy. "Samuel Cobb." In Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. ''
The Oxford 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 ...
.'' vol. 12, p 266-7. London:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.
External links
Samuel Cobbat th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobb, Samuel
1675 births
1713 deaths
17th-century English poets
18th-century English poets
18th-century English educators
Writers from London
English translators
People educated at Christ's Hospital
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Christ's Hospital staff
English male poets
English male non-fiction writers
18th-century English translators