Samuel Cobb (''baptized'' 1675–1713) 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 11–18) 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'' (1380s–1390s), 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 Cobb
at 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