John Oldham (poet)
Encyclopedia
John Oldham was an English satirical poet and translator.
, Gloucestershire
, the son of John Oldham, a non-conformist minister, and grandson of John Oldham the staunch anti-papist rector of Shipton Moyne and before that of Long Newton in Wiltshire
. He was educated first at Tetbury
grammar school
, then at St. Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford
, where the Principal was Thomas Tully
, an ex-headmaster from Oldham's school at Tetbury. Tully was "a person of severe morals, puritanically inclined and a struict Calvinist.
Oldham received a B. A.
degree in May 1674. He became an usher
at the Whitgift School
in Croydon
, Surrey
(now in Greater London
), a position that was poorly paid, monotonous and left little time for him to compose poetry; his discontent at the time was expressed in these lines from one of his satires - "To a friend about to leave University":
By then, his poetry had already been published, since he received an unexpected visit at the school from an illustrious party including the Earl of Rochester
, Charles Sedley and the Earl of Dorset
(part of the "merry gang", as Andrew Marvell
called them), who wished to express their appreciation of his work.
He left the Whitgift school in 1678 and took up the post of tutor to the grandsons of a retired Judge
, Sir Edward Thurland, in the vicinity of Reigate
in Surrey
. It was during this period that he composed and had published his satires against the Jesuits, at a time when popular anger was being stirred up against Catholics in England by the "Popish plot
". In 1680, he became, for a short time, tutor to the son of Sir William Hicks, through whom he made the acquaintance of the notable physicain Dr. Richard Lower. Under his influence he took up the study of medicine for a year before returning to his poetic muse.
Oldham settled in London
and was introduced to John Dryden
, with whom he became close friends. He entered fashionable society (said to be centred around Will's Coffee House
), and was approached by the Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull
to be a private chaplain
to his household. Oldham turned down the post but did accept the hospitality of the Earl at his seat at Holme Pierrepont Hall
in Nottinghamshire
.
It was here that he died of smallpox
, on 9 December 1683, aged only 30 (he may also have suffered from Tuberculosis
during his lifetime). The Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull had a monument, possibly designed by Grinling Gibbons
, erected over Oldham's grave in St. Edmund's Church
in Holme Pierrepont
. John Dryden wrote an elegy on his death.
Oldham was a satirist who imitated the classical satires of Juvenal. His best-known works are A Satire Upon a Woman Who by Her Falsehood and Scorn Was the Death of My Friend, written in 1678 and A Satire against Virtue, written in 1679. During his lifetime, his poetry was published anonymously. His translations of Juvenal
were published after his death.
John Dryden
was one of Oldham's admirers; upon Oldham's death, Dryden expressed his admiration in To the Memory of Mr. Oldham
.
Life and work
Oldham was born in Shipton MoyneShipton Moyne
Shipton Moyne is a village in Cotswold , Gloucestershire, England located approximately 105 miles west of London. Its nearest towns are Tetbury , also in Gloucestershire and Malmesbury in Wiltshire...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, the son of John Oldham, a non-conformist minister, and grandson of John Oldham the staunch anti-papist rector of Shipton Moyne and before that of Long Newton 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...
. He was educated first at Tetbury
Tetbury
Tetbury is a town and civil parish within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded, probably by Ine of Wessex, in 681. The population of the parish was 5,250 in the 2001 census.In the Middle Ages,...
grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
, then at St. Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where the Principal was Thomas Tully
Thomas Tully
Thomas Tully was an English clergyman of Calvinist views.-Life:The son of George Tully of Carlisle, he was born in St. Mary's parish there on 22 July 1620. He was educated in the parish free school under John Winter, and afterwards at Barton Kirk in Westmorland. He matriculated at The Queen's...
, an ex-headmaster from Oldham's school at Tetbury. Tully was "a person of severe morals, puritanically inclined and a struict Calvinist.
Oldham received a B. A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in May 1674. He became an usher
Usher (occupation)
Ushers assist visitors by formally showing the way in a large building or to their appropriate seats. This may coincide with a security role. The word comes from the French huissier, with the same meaning , ushers were servants or courtiers who showed or ushered visitors in and out of meetings in...
at the Whitgift School
Whitgift School
Whitgift School is an independent day school educating approximately 1,400 boys aged 10 to 18 in South Croydon, London in a parkland site.- History and grounds :...
in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
(now in Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
), a position that was poorly paid, monotonous and left little time for him to compose poetry; his discontent at the time was expressed in these lines from one of his satires - "To a friend about to leave University":
"But who would be to the vile drudgery bound
Where there so small encouragement is found?
Where you for recompense for all your pains,
Shall hardly reach a common fiddler's gains?
For when you've toiled and laboured all you can,
To dung and cultivate a barren brain,
A Dancing-Master shall be better paid,
Tho' he instructs the Heels and you the Head."
By then, his poetry had already been published, since he received an unexpected visit at the school from an illustrious party including the Earl of Rochester
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester , styled Viscount Wilmot between 1652 and 1658, was an English Libertine poet, a friend of King Charles II, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry. He was the toast of the Restoration court and a patron of the arts...
, Charles Sedley and the Earl of Dorset
Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset
Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex was an English poet and courtier.-Early Life:He was son of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset...
(part of the "merry gang", as Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell was an English metaphysical poet, Parliamentarian, and the son of a Church of England clergyman . As a metaphysical poet, he is associated with John Donne and George Herbert...
called them), who wished to express their appreciation of his work.
He left the Whitgift school in 1678 and took up the post of tutor to the grandsons of a retired Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, Sir Edward Thurland, in the vicinity of Reigate
Reigate
Reigate is a historic market town in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs, and in the London commuter belt. It is one of the main constituents of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. It was during this period that he composed and had published his satires against the Jesuits, at a time when popular anger was being stirred up against Catholics in England by the "Popish plot
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
". In 1680, he became, for a short time, tutor to the son of Sir William Hicks, through whom he made the acquaintance of the notable physicain Dr. Richard Lower. Under his influence he took up the study of medicine for a year before returning to his poetic muse.
Oldham settled in 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...
and was introduced to John 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...
, with whom he became close friends. He entered fashionable society (said to be centred around Will's Coffee House
Will's Coffee House
For several decades after the Restoration, Will's Coffee House in Russell Street, Covent Garden, at the northwest corner of Bow Street, was the London centre of the Wits, centring on the figure of John Dryden, who liked to frequent the coffee house that had been founded by Will Unwin...
), and was approached by the Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull
William Pierrepont, 4th Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull
William Pierrepont, 4th Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull was a British peer and Member of Parliament.The second son of Robert Pierrepont of Thoresby Nottinghamshire and his wife Elizabeth Evelyn, Pierrepont was born on the Evelyn estate of West Dean, Wiltshire...
to be a private chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
to his household. Oldham turned down the post but did accept the hospitality of the Earl at his seat at Holme Pierrepont Hall
Holme Pierrepont Hall
Holme Pierrepont Hall is a medieval hall in Holme Pierrepont near Nottingham. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:The Pierrepont family have lived at Holme Pierrepont since around 1280. Originally the area was known only as Holme, but later adopted the family surname as a suffix.The hall was...
in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
.
It was here that he died of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, on 9 December 1683, aged only 30 (he may also have suffered from Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
during his lifetime). The Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull had a monument, possibly designed by Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons was an English sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including St Paul's Cathedral, Blenheim Palace and Hampton Court Palace. He was born and educated in Holland where his father was a merchant...
, erected over Oldham's grave in St. Edmund's Church
St. Edmund's Church, Holme Pierrepont
St. Edmund's Church, Holme Pierrepont is a parish church in the Church of England in Holme Pierrepont, Nottinghamshire.The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as a building of outstanding architectural or historic interest....
in Holme Pierrepont
Holme Pierrepont
Holme Pierrepont is a hamlet located south of the city of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It is in the Gamston ward of the Rushcliffe local authority in the East Midlands region....
. John Dryden wrote an elegy on his death.
Oldham was a satirist who imitated the classical satires of Juvenal. His best-known works are A Satire Upon a Woman Who by Her Falsehood and Scorn Was the Death of My Friend, written in 1678 and A Satire against Virtue, written in 1679. During his lifetime, his poetry was published anonymously. His translations of Juvenal
Juvenal
The Satires are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD.Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the Roman genre of satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a...
were published after his death.
John 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...
was one of Oldham's admirers; upon Oldham's death, Dryden expressed his admiration in To the Memory of Mr. Oldham
To the Memory of Mr. Oldham
"To the Memory of Mr. Oldham" is an elegy written by John Dryden , commemorating the death of the poet John Oldham.-Poem:Farewell, too little, and too lately known,Whom I began to think and call my own:...
.