Thomas Edwards (critic)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Edwards was an English critic and poet. He is best known for a controversy with William Warburton
.
, where he took chambers in 1721. All his four brothers and four sisters died before him. His father dying also when he was a young man, he inherited a good estate.
He preferred literature to law, and lived mainly on his estate at Pitshanger, Middlesex
. In 1739 he bought an estate at Turrick, Ellesborough
, Buckinghamshire
, where he lived from 1740 till his death. He was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries 20 October 1745.
Edwards died 3 January 1757 while visiting Samuel Richardson at Parson's Green. He was buried in Ellesborough churchyard, where there is an epitaph by his 'two nephews and heirs, Joseph Paice and Nathaniel Mason.'
, who published a pamphlet under that name in 1742. The 'Canons of Criticism' reached a sixth edition in 1768 and a seventh edition in 1705. It professes to carry out a plan which Warburton, as he says in his preface, had once contemplated himself, of giving explicitly his 'Canons of Criticism.' It is an attack on some of Warburton's bold statements. Samuel Johnson
thought that Edwards made some good hits, but compares him to a fly stinging a horse; Thomas Warton
thought Edwards's assault judicious.
Warburton retorted by a note in a fresh edition of the Dunciad; and Edwards replied indignantly in a preface to later editions. Warburton disavowed having attacked Edwards's breeding, but in very offensive terms. Other opponents of Warburton sympathised with Edwards, and Mark Akenside
addressed an ode to him upon the occasion.
Edwards was a writer of sonnet
s, of which about fifty are collected in later editions of the 'Canons of Criticism,' many from Dodsley's and Pearch's collections. They are modelled on those of John Milton
.
Edwards had a large number of literary friends, with whom he kept up correspondence. Among them were Richard Owen Cambridge
, Thomas Birch
, Isaac Hawkins Browne
, Arthur
and George Onslow
, Daniel Wray
, and Samuel Richardson
. Many of his letters are printed in the third volume of Richardson's correspondence. Six volumes of copies of his letters now in the Bodleian Library
include these, with unpublished letters to Richardson, John Wilkes
, and others. Richard Roderick
was another friend, who helped him in the 'Canons of Criticism.'
To the 'Canons of Criticism' (1758) is annexed an 'Account of the Trial of the letter y, alias Y.' He also wrote a tract, published after his death, called 'Free and Candid Thoughts on the Doctrine of Predestination,' 1761.
William Warburton
William Warburton was an English critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759.-Life:He was born at Newark, where his father, who belonged to an old Cheshire family, was town clerk. William was educated at Oakham and Newark grammar schools, and in 1714 he was articled to Mr Kirke, an...
.
Life
His father and grandfather had been barristers, and Edwards, after a private education, entered Lincoln's InnLincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, where he took chambers in 1721. All his four brothers and four sisters died before him. His father dying also when he was a young man, he inherited a good estate.
He preferred literature to law, and lived mainly on his estate at Pitshanger, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. In 1739 he bought an estate at Turrick, Ellesborough
Ellesborough
Ellesborough is a village and civil parish in Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is at the foot of the Chiltern Hills just to the south of the Vale of Aylesbury, two miles from Wendover and five miles from Aylesbury. It lies between Wendover and the village of Little Kimble...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, where he lived from 1740 till his death. He was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries 20 October 1745.
Edwards died 3 January 1757 while visiting Samuel Richardson at Parson's Green. He was buried in Ellesborough churchyard, where there is an epitaph by his 'two nephews and heirs, Joseph Paice and Nathaniel Mason.'
Works
Edwards is said to have first attacked William Warburton in a 'Letter to the Author of a late Epistolary Dedication addressed to Mr. Warburton,' 1744. In 1747, on the appearance of Warburton's edition of Shakespeare, Edwards published a 'Supplement,' which reached a third edition in 1748, and was then called 'The Canons of Criticism, and a Glossary, being a Supplement to Mr. Warburton'd edition of Shakspear, collected from the Notes in that celebrated work and proper to be bound up with it. By the other Gentleman of Lincoln's Inn.' The first 'Gentleman of Lincoln's Inn' was Philip Carteret WebbPhilip Carteret Webb
Philip Carteret Webb was an English barrister, involved with the 18th-century antiquarian movement.He became a member of the London Society of Antiquaries in 1747, and as its lawyer, was responsible for securing the incorporation of the Society in 1751...
, who published a pamphlet under that name in 1742. The 'Canons of Criticism' reached a sixth edition in 1768 and a seventh edition in 1705. It professes to carry out a plan which Warburton, as he says in his preface, had once contemplated himself, of giving explicitly his 'Canons of Criticism.' It is an attack on some of Warburton's bold statements. Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
thought that Edwards made some good hits, but compares him to a fly stinging a horse; Thomas Warton
Thomas Warton
Thomas Warton was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. From 1785 to 1790 he was the Poet Laureate of England...
thought Edwards's assault judicious.
Warburton retorted by a note in a fresh edition of the Dunciad; and Edwards replied indignantly in a preface to later editions. Warburton disavowed having attacked Edwards's breeding, but in very offensive terms. Other opponents of Warburton sympathised with Edwards, and Mark Akenside
Mark Akenside
Mark Akenside was an English poet and physician.Akenside was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the son of a butcher. He was slightly lame all his life from a wound he received as a child from his father's cleaver...
addressed an ode to him upon the occasion.
Edwards was a writer of sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
s, of which about fifty are collected in later editions of the 'Canons of Criticism,' many from Dodsley's and Pearch's collections. They are modelled on those of John 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...
.
Edwards had a large number of literary friends, with whom he kept up correspondence. Among them were Richard Owen Cambridge
Richard Owen Cambridge
Richard Owen Cambridge was a British poet.Cambridge was born in London. He was educated at Eton and at St John's College, Oxford. Leaving the university without taking a degree, he took up residence at Lincolns Inn in 1737. Four years later he married, and went to live at his country seat of...
, Thomas Birch
Thomas Birch
Thomas Birch was an English historian.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Birch, a coffee-mill maker, and was born at Clerkenwell....
, Isaac Hawkins Browne
Isaac Hawkins Browne (poet)
Isaac Hawkins Browne is remembered as the author of some clever imitations of contemporary poets on the theme of A Pipe of Tobacco, somewhat analogous to the Rejected Addresses of a later day...
, Arthur
Arthur Onslow
Arthur Onslow was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, where he was known for his integrity.-Early life and education:...
and George Onslow
George Onslow
André George Louis Onslow was an Anglo-French composer. He was widely recognised as a gifted composer during his lifetime but is virtually forgotten today.-Life:...
, Daniel Wray
Daniel Wray
-Life:Born on 28 November 1701 in the parish of St. Botolph, Aldersgate, he was the youngest child of Sir Daniel Wray , a London citizen and soap-boiler residing in Little Britain, by his second wife. His father was knighted on 24 March 1708, while high sheriff of Essex, where he possessed an...
, and Samuel Richardson
Samuel Richardson
Samuel Richardson was an 18th-century English writer and printer. He is best known for his three epistolary novels: Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded , Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady and The History of Sir Charles Grandison...
. Many of his letters are printed in the third volume of Richardson's correspondence. Six volumes of copies of his letters now in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
include these, with unpublished letters to Richardson, John Wilkes
John Wilkes
John Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives...
, and others. Richard Roderick
Richard Roderick
Richard Roderick was a British editor and poet.A native of Cambridgeshire, was admitted pensioner of Queens' College, Cambridge, on 20 Dec. 1728, and graduated B.A. in 1732. He subsequently became a fellow commoner of the college, and a grace was granted by the president and fellows for him to...
was another friend, who helped him in the 'Canons of Criticism.'
To the 'Canons of Criticism' (1758) is annexed an 'Account of the Trial of the letter y, alias Y.' He also wrote a tract, published after his death, called 'Free and Candid Thoughts on the Doctrine of Predestination,' 1761.