Matthew Prior

Matthew Prior

Matthew Prior (born July 21, 1664 in Dorset or Middlesex , † September 18, 1721 in Wimpole ) was an English writer and diplomat .

Life

Prior was taught at Westminster School , where Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset became aware of and began promoting him. Prior's school friends included Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax . In order not to be separated from Montagu and his brother James, Prior began studying at St John's College , Cambridge , where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1686 and became a fellow of the college two years later . With Montagu, he wrote City Mouse and Country Mouse in 1687 , a satire on John Dryden 's The Hind and the Panther .

Three years later, Prior became secretary to the English ambassador in The Hague . From then on he made a steep career, which culminated in the representation of the Tory government of the Earl of Oxford in the negotiations of the Peace of Utrecht (1713) , which was known by contemporaries as "Matt's Peace".

After the Whigs regained power, Prior was arrested by Robert Walpole and spent nearly two years in prison (1715-1717). Jonathan Swift , Alexander Pope and Lord Dorset had a richly furnished folio volume printed for Prior, who was also deprived of his offices and his income, in which such important poems as Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind and Solomon, and other Poems on several Occasions . This subscription volume was published in 1718 and earned Prior 4,000 guineas plus a gift of £ 4,000 from Lord Harley .

These enormous sums at the time enabled Prior to purchase the Down Hall estate , where he led a secluded, but literary and horticultural productive life. Prior died in Wimpole, Cambridgeshire and is buried in Westminster Abbey , where his headstone can be seen in Poets' Corner .

Works (selection)

• Harold B. Wright (Ed.): The literary works of Matthew Prior . Clarendon, Oxford 1971 (2 vols.).

literature

• Francis Bickley: The life of Matthew Prior . Folcroft Press, Folcroft, PA 1970 (reprinted London 1914 edition).
• Charles K. Eves: Matthew Prior, poet and diplomatist . Octagon Books, New York 1973, ISBN 0-374-92646-8 (reprinted from New York 1939 edition).
• Leopold G. Legg: Matthew Prior. A study of his public career and correspondance . Octagon Books, New York 1972, ISBN 0-374-94890-9 (reprinted Cambridge 1921 edition).
• Frances M. Rippy: Matthew Prior. Twayne, Boston, Mass. 1986, ISBN 0-8057-6902-1 .

Web links

• Matthew Prior Project Overview of Prior's very extensive correspondence.
• All poems popup blockers required!