Richard Gifford

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Richard Gifford (* 1725 in Bishop's Castle , Shropshire , † 1807 in North Ockendon , Essex ) was an English clergyman, poet and essayist, whose elegiac rhapsody Contemplation ( 1753 ) was received extremely positively by contemporary literary criticism. In addition, it was the only poem that he published anonymously.

Life

Richard Gifford was born in 1725 in Bishop's Castle, Shropshire, to a Scottish father. Gifford studied at Balliol College at Oxford University , where he received his bachelor's degree in 1748 . He did not seek further degrees because of political differences with the college, since he was part of the Whigs' party . In 1753 he published Contemplation anonymously , as was a widespread literary practice at the time. The simple rhapsody in 71 elegiac quatrains was the first imitation of Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Church-yard ( 1751 ) and also had some of the basic characteristics of John Milton's poetry . The first half was held in the "L'Allegro" fashion, the second more in the "Penseroso". Both were followed by fairytale passages that were more reminiscent of Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare . The final punches give the impression that Richard Gifford wrote the poem while living with his friend Hugo Meynell . Meynell recommended decades later for the rector's office in North Okendon in Essex. It is the only poem by a writer who spent most of his life as an antiquarian studies operator acting as clerics in Derbyshire spent.

Samuel Johnson impressed Gifford's Verse, who used an illustration of Contemplation for his dictionary and a quote from the sixth stanza while traveling to Scotland with Boswell: “Verse softens Toil, however rude the Sound; | She feels no biting Pang the while she sings; | Nor, as she turns the giddy Wheel around, | Revolves the sad Vicissitude of things. ”Gifford felt flattered by this, but decided not to continue his poetic work.

In the year of publication, the Monthly Review saw the parallels even more clearly: “An ingenious poem, written in the manner of Mr. Gray's church-yard elegy; and which wou'd have appeared to greater advantage, had it preceded, instead of following, the publication of that excellent original ".

More than 50 years later, the Monthly Magazine itself praised it : “It was printed for Dodsley more than half a century ago, and the name of the author does not appear in the title page. From the paucity of the remaining copies, the intrinsic merit of the composition, and the notice thus incidentally attracted [by Boswell], it has now become a sort of literary curiosity. "

Reverend Richard Gifford himself took up a position as Vicar of Duffield , Derbyshire , six years after the publication of Contemplation, and in 1772 as Rector of North Ockendon . Even if he were to forego poetry for the rest of his life, he published essays in The Gentleman's Magazine and religious edification prose for over 50 years .

Works

  • Remarks on Mr. Kennicott's Dissertation upon the tree of life in paradise. Printed for M. Cooper; and sold by Mr. Fletcher, Oxford 1748.
  • Miscellany [Commonplace book]. around 1750.
  • Contemplation. Printed for R. Dodsley; and sold by M. Cooper 1753.
  • Outlines of an answer to Dr. Priestley's disquisitions relating to matter and spirit. T. Cadel, London 1781.
  • Correspondence in John Nichols, Illustrations of the Literary History of the XVIII Century (1817-58).

literature

  • Gifford, Richard In: A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by John William Cousin , London: JM Dent & Sons, 1910.
  • Gifford, Richard In: Dictionary of National Biography , London: Smith, Elder, & Co., (1885-1900) in 63 vols.

Web links

Wikiquote: Richard Gifford  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b biography Richard Gifford on: spenserians.cath.vt.edu. Accessed August 8, 2012.
  2. ^ Thomas Gray : Thomas Gray: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. On: www.thomasgray.org. Accessed August 8, 2012.
  3. ↑ Full text: Contemplation by Reverend Richard Gifford . (Including excerpts from the meetings). Accessed August 8, 2012.
  4. ↑ Monthly Review 8 (1753), p. 393.
  5. ^ Monthly Magazine 38 (October 1814), p. 237.
personal data
SURNAME Gifford, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English clergyman and poet
DATE OF BIRTH 1725
PLACE OF BIRTH Bishop's Castle , Shropshire
DATE OF DEATH 1807
Place of death North Ockendon , Essex