Robert Lloyd (poet)
Encyclopedia
Life
Robert Lloyd was educated at Westminster SchoolWestminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, 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
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....
just a few weeks before his death. He was co-author, with George Colman
George Colman
George Colman may refer to:*George Colman the Elder , English dramatist*George Colman the Younger , English dramatist, son of the above-See also:*George Coleman, American musician...
, 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 Mason (poet)
William Mason was an English poet, editor and gardener.He was born in Hull and educated at Hull Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1754 and held a number of posts in the church....
and Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray was a poet, letter-writer, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University.-Early life and education:...
. He was also co-editor of St James's Magazine (1762-3), and member of the infamous Nonsense Club
Nonsense Club
The Nonsense Club was a scandalous club of 18th century British satirists centred around Westminster School. Its members included the satirists and poets Charles Churchill and Robert Lloyd, the parodist Bonnell Thornton, the nature poet William Cowper, and the dramatist George Colman. Some of...
of Old Westminster men with Bonnell Thornton
Bonnell Thornton
Bonnell Thornton was an English poet, essayist, and critic. He was educated at Westminster School, and at Oxford University.In 1752 he founded the Drury Lane Journal, a satirical periodical which, among other things, lampooned other journals such as Johnson's Rambler, The Gentleman's Magazine and...
, George Colman
George Colman
George Colman may refer to:*George Colman the Elder , English dramatist*George Colman the Younger , English dramatist, son of the above-See also:*George Coleman, American musician...
, William Cowper
William Cowper
William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...
and others.
Lloyd was often in debt, and apparently died in Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...
on December 15, 1764, shortly after the death of his lifelong friend Charles Churchill, to whose sister, Patty, he was engaged. The Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
says that Lloyd joined Charles Churchill in a "reckless career of dissipation", and Vulliamy, in his biography of James Boswell
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....
, wrote that "Lloyd died when he was thirty-one, ruined by his friendship with Churchill".