Aaron Hill (10 February 1685 – 8 February 1750) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
tist and miscellaneous writer.
The son of a country gentleman of
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of 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 3,485 km²...
, Hill was educated at
Westminster SchoolThe Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools,, with the highest Oxbridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college...
, and afterwards travelled in the East. He was the author of 17 plays, some of them, such as his versions of
VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, and philosopher known for his wit and his defense of civil liberties, including both freedom of religion and free trade.Voltaire was a prolific writer and produced works in almost every...
's
ZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971, and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".Known as the Belgian Congo up until its...
and
MeropeMerope was the name of several, probably unrelated, characters in Greek mythology.* Merope , one of the Heliades, daughter of Helios and Clymene* Merope , foster mother of Oedipus, wife of Polybus...
, being adaptations. He also wrote
poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, which is of variable quality. Having written some satiric lines on
Alexander PopeAlexander Pope is a famous eighteenth 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. Pope is famous for his use of the heroic couplet.-...
, he received in return a mention in
The DunciadThe Dunciad is a landmark literary satire by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times. The first version was published in 1728 anonymously. The second version, the Dunciad Variorum was published anonymously in 1729. The New Dunciad, in four books and with a...
, which led to a controversy between the two writers.
But me no buts.
Snake in the Grass, sc. 1.
Tender-handed stroke a nettle,And it stings you for your pains;Grasp it like a man of mettle,And it soft as silk remains.’Tis the same with common natures:Use ’em kindly, they rebel;But be rough as nutmeg-graters,And the rogues obey you well.
Verses Written on a Window in Scotland.
Aaron Hill (10 February 1685 – 8 February 1750) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
tist and miscellaneous writer.
The son of a country gentleman of
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of 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 3,485 km²...
, Hill was educated at
Westminster SchoolThe Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools,, with the highest Oxbridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college...
, and afterwards travelled in the East. He was the author of 17 plays, some of them, such as his versions of
VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, and philosopher known for his wit and his defense of civil liberties, including both freedom of religion and free trade.Voltaire was a prolific writer and produced works in almost every...
's
ZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971, and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".Known as the Belgian Congo up until its...
and
MeropeMerope was the name of several, probably unrelated, characters in Greek mythology.* Merope , one of the Heliades, daughter of Helios and Clymene* Merope , foster mother of Oedipus, wife of Polybus...
, being adaptations. He also wrote
poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, which is of variable quality. Having written some satiric lines on
Alexander PopeAlexander Pope is a famous eighteenth 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. Pope is famous for his use of the heroic couplet.-...
, he received in return a mention in
The DunciadThe Dunciad is a landmark literary satire by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times. The first version was published in 1728 anonymously. The second version, the Dunciad Variorum was published anonymously in 1729. The New Dunciad, in four books and with a...
, which led to a controversy between the two writers. Afterwards a reconciliation took place. He was a friend and correspondent of
Samuel RichardsonSamuel 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...
, whose
PamelaPamela, or Virtue Rewarded is an epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson, first published in 1740. It tells the story of a maid named Pamela whose master, Mr. B, makes unwanted advances towards her. She rejects him continually, and her virtue is eventually rewarded when he shows his sincerity by...
he highly praised. In addition to his literary pursuits Hill was involved in many commercial schemes, usually unsuccessful.
Hill was the manager of the
Theatre Royal, Drury LaneThe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
when he was 24 years old, and before being summarily fired for reasons unknown, he staged the premier of
George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-English Baroque composer, who is famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerti grossi. His life and music may justly be described as "cosmopolitan": he was born in Germany, trained in Italy, and spent most of his life in England...
's
RinaldoRinaldo might refer to:*Rinaldo di Montalbano , a chanson de geste hero*Rinaldo , a 16th century Italian poem by Torquato Tasso*Rinaldo , an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel...
, the first
Italian operaItalian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous operas in Italian were written by foreign composers,...
designed for a
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
audience. The composer was very involved in the production, and Hill collaborated on the
librettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, musical, and ballet. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata.Libretto ,...
, although it is disputed what his actual contributions were.
A posthumous collection of Hill's essays, letters and poems was published in 1753. His
Dramatic Works were published in 1760. His biography was recorded in
Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Time of Dean Swift, volume 5 (ostensibly by
Theophilus CibberTheophilus Cibber was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber.Theophilus Cibber began acting in the Drury Lane Theatre in 1721. In 1727, Alexander Pope satirized Theophilus Cibber in his Dunciad as a youth who "thrusts his person full into your face"...
but generally accepted to be of anonymous authorship).
Works
- A Full and Just Account of the Present State of the Ottoman Empire (1709)
- Elfrid: or The Fair Inconstant (1709)
- Athelwold (?) a revision of Elfrid
- The Plaindealer (1724) essays with William Bond
William Bond may refer to:* William Arthur Bond , World War I fighter ace.* William Cranch Bond , U.S. astronomer* William K. Bond , U.S. representative for Ohio* William Bennett Bond , Canadian archbishop...
- The Progress of Wit, being a caveat for the use of an Eminent Writer (1730)
- Zara (produced 1735) after Voltaire
- The Prompter (1735) essays
- Merope (1749), after Voltaire