Stephen Duck
Encyclopedia
Stephen Duck was an English
poet whose career reflected both the Augustan era's
interest in "naturals" (natural geniuses
) and its resistance to classlessness
.
Duck was born at born at Charlton
, near Pewsey
, in Wiltshire
, but little is known about his family, whether from Duck himself or from contemporary records, except that they were labourers and very poor. Duck attended a charity school
and left at the age of thirteen to begin working in the fields.
Around 1724, he married as his first wife Ann, who died in 1730, and began to attempt to better himself and escape the toil and poverty of agricultural work. He read Milton
, Dryden
, Prior
, and The Spectator
, as well as the Holy Bible, according to Joseph Spence
. He was "discovered" by Alured Clarke
of Winchester Cathedral
, and Clarke introduced him to high society. Clarke and Spence (the Professor of Poetry at Oxford University
and friend of Alexander Pope
) promoted Duck as a sincerely pious man of sober wit. Clarke and Spence saw poetry that Duck was writing, but none of this verse was published. Between 1724 and 1730, he and Ann had three children.
In 1730, Duck combined some of the poetic pieces he had been writing and wrote The Thresher's Labour, a poem that described the difficulty of field work. The poem was celebrated throughout London
society, and he soon wrote The Shunammite, which reflected Duck's piety and religious imagination. The poet was taken to meet Queen Caroline
, and, while he was there, word came of the death of his wife, but Clarke kept the news from Duck until after the interview with the Queen. For her part, she was pleased and gave Duck an annuity and a small house.
Duck continued to write and to be seen as both a paradigm of self-improvement and the natural poet
. In 1733, Duck was made a Yeoman of the Guard by the queen, and that year he met and married Sarah Big, Caroline's housekeeper at Kew
. In 1735, Caroline made him keeper of the Queen's library at Merlin's Cave
in Richmond. During this period, Duck wrote many poems, with increasing polish and urbanity. His Poems in 1736 had both Pope and Jonathan Swift
as subscribers.
Swift and Pope both made disparaging remarks or outright satires on Duck. In 1731 to 1733, Swift satirized the poverty of Duck's rhymes several places. However, both men seemed to like Stephen Duck as a person, and both were impressed by his religious sincerity. When Duck was rumored to be a candidate for the Laureate
, this distinction between the private man and the quality of the verse made him a worthy target.
When Queen Caroline died in 1737, Duck was left without a patron and without direct inspiration. He wrote eight very long poems after her death. In 1744, Sarah Big Duck died, and Stephen married again, although this wife's name is unknown. Duck was ordained
in 1746 and became chaplain to Henry Cornwall and then to Ligonier's
forces in 1750 before becoming the chaplain of Kew. He went on to serve as the pastor of Byfleet, Surrey, where he was well liked by his congregation.
The exact date of Duck's death is unknown, as he committed suicide
by drowning between 30 March and 2 April 1756.
Since the 1990s, Duck has seen renewed interest among New Historicist
and Marxist
literary critics. Duck's case featured in the The New Eighteenth Century (Landry), and this inspired further critical work. The Donna Landry and William Christmas edited issue of Criticism featured two articles on Duck in 2005.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
poet whose career reflected both the Augustan era's
Augustan poetry
In Latin literature, Augustan poetry is the poetry that flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus as Emperor of Rome, most notably including the works of Virgil, Horace, and Ovid. In English literature, Augustan poetry is a branch of Augustan literature, and refers to the poetry of the...
interest in "naturals" (natural geniuses
Genius (literature)
The concept of genius, in literary theory and literary history, derives from the later 18th century, when it began to be distinguished from ingenium in a discussion of the genius loci, or "spirit of the place." It was a way of discussing essence, in that each place was supposed to have its own...
) and its resistance to classlessness
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
.
Duck was born at born at Charlton
Charlton, Kennet, Wiltshire
Charlton, in full Charlton St Peter, is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in the English county of Wiltshire. The United Kingdom Census 2001 recorded a parish population of 88.-Local government:...
, near Pewsey
Pewsey
Pewsey is a large village, often considered a small town, at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire about west of London. It is well connected to London, the West Country and Wales being close to the M4 motorway and the A303. Also, the village is served by Pewsey railway station on the...
, in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, but little is known about his family, whether from Duck himself or from contemporary records, except that they were labourers and very poor. Duck attended a charity school
Charity school
A charity school, also called Blue Coat School, was significant in the History of education in England. They were erected and maintained in various parishes, by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants, for teaching poor children to read, write, and other necessary parts of education...
and left at the age of thirteen to begin working in the fields.
Around 1724, he married as his first wife Ann, who died in 1730, and began to attempt to better himself and escape the toil and poverty of agricultural work. He read Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
, Prior
Matthew Prior
Matthew Prior was an English poet and diplomat.Prior was the son of a Nonconformist joiner at Wimborne Minster, East Dorset. His father moved to London, and sent him to Westminster School, under Dr. Busby. On his father's death, he left school, and was cared for by his uncle, a vintner in Channel...
, and The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, as well as the Holy Bible, according to Joseph Spence
Joseph Spence (author)
Joseph Spence was a historian, literary scholar and anecdotist, most famous for his collection of anecdotes that are an invaluable resource for historians of 18th century English literature .- Early life :Spence was born on 28 April 1699, at Kingsclere, Hampshire, the son of Joseph Joseph Spence...
. He was "discovered" by Alured Clarke
Alured Clarke
Field-marshal Sir Alured Clarke KB was an officer of the British army, lieutenant governor of the colonial Province of Quebec, and civil administrator of Lower Canada...
of Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...
, and Clarke introduced him to high society. Clarke and Spence (the Professor of Poetry at Oxford University
Oxford Professor of Poetry
The chair of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford is an unusual academic appointment, now held for a term of five years, and chosen through an election open to all members of Convocation, namely, all graduates and current academics of the university; in 2010, on-line voting was allowed....
and friend of Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
) promoted Duck as a sincerely pious man of sober wit. Clarke and Spence saw poetry that Duck was writing, but none of this verse was published. Between 1724 and 1730, he and Ann had three children.
In 1730, Duck combined some of the poetic pieces he had been writing and wrote The Thresher's Labour, a poem that described the difficulty of field work. The poem was celebrated throughout London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
society, and he soon wrote The Shunammite, which reflected Duck's piety and religious imagination. The poet was taken to meet Queen Caroline
Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
, and, while he was there, word came of the death of his wife, but Clarke kept the news from Duck until after the interview with the Queen. For her part, she was pleased and gave Duck an annuity and a small house.
Duck continued to write and to be seen as both a paradigm of self-improvement and the natural poet
Genius (literature)
The concept of genius, in literary theory and literary history, derives from the later 18th century, when it began to be distinguished from ingenium in a discussion of the genius loci, or "spirit of the place." It was a way of discussing essence, in that each place was supposed to have its own...
. In 1733, Duck was made a Yeoman of the Guard by the queen, and that year he met and married Sarah Big, Caroline's housekeeper at Kew
Kew Palace
Kew Palace is a British Royal Palace in Kew Gardens on the banks of the Thames up river from London. There have been at least four Palaces at Kew, and three have been known as Kew Palace; the first building may not have been known as Kew as no records survive other than the words of another...
. In 1735, Caroline made him keeper of the Queen's library at Merlin's Cave
Merlin's Cave
Merlin's Cave Merlin's Cave the name given to a cave that is located 5 km South West of Boscastle, Cornwall. Tintagel Head.Tennyson made Merlin's Cave famous in his Idylls of King Arthur....
in Richmond. During this period, Duck wrote many poems, with increasing polish and urbanity. His Poems in 1736 had both Pope and Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
as subscribers.
Swift and Pope both made disparaging remarks or outright satires on Duck. In 1731 to 1733, Swift satirized the poverty of Duck's rhymes several places. However, both men seemed to like Stephen Duck as a person, and both were impressed by his religious sincerity. When Duck was rumored to be a candidate for the Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, this distinction between the private man and the quality of the verse made him a worthy target.
When Queen Caroline died in 1737, Duck was left without a patron and without direct inspiration. He wrote eight very long poems after her death. In 1744, Sarah Big Duck died, and Stephen married again, although this wife's name is unknown. Duck was ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
in 1746 and became chaplain to Henry Cornwall and then to Ligonier's
John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier
Field Marshal John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier, KB, PC was a French-born British soldier.He was born to a Huguenot family of Castres in the south of France, and who emigrated to England at the close of the 17th century...
forces in 1750 before becoming the chaplain of Kew. He went on to serve as the pastor of Byfleet, Surrey, where he was well liked by his congregation.
The exact date of Duck's death is unknown, as he committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by drowning between 30 March and 2 April 1756.
Since the 1990s, Duck has seen renewed interest among New Historicist
New Historicism
New Historicism is a school of literary theory, grounded in critical theory, that developed in the 1980s, primarily through the work of the critic Stephen Greenblatt, and gained widespread influence in the 1990s....
and Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
literary critics. Duck's case featured in the The New Eighteenth Century (Landry), and this inspired further critical work. The Donna Landry and William Christmas edited issue of Criticism featured two articles on Duck in 2005.
Works
- Poems On Several Occasions via Google Books