The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland (1753) Volume III

In Short

This volume acts as a vast, retrospective gallery of literary history, documenting the lives of poets and dramatists who shaped the Restoration and post-Restoration stage. By synthesizing scattered notes, contemporary anecdotes, and critical summaries of individual works, the text preserves the erratic trajectories of its subjects—men and women whose careers were often defined by shifts in political favor, public scandal, and the precariousness of patronage. It remains a vital artifact for understanding how eighteenth-century readers categorized their predecessors, prioritizing character, moral conduct, and public legacy alongside artistic achievement.

The Story

The narrative arc of the volume is not a single, linear tale but a mosaic of professional lives lived in the shadow of the court and the theater. It begins with the early seventeenth-century poet Sir John Denham, whose life serves as a thematic prologue for the volatility of the age: a man of scholarly potential who falls into the ruinous traps of gaming and financial instability. From these beginnings, the volume expands into an expansive study of the Restoration era, capturing the high-stakes world of London’s theaters, where writers like Aphra Behn navigate complex romantic and professional intrigues. Behn’s life, marked by wit and resilience, highlights the period's obsession with social performance, where the boundary between an author’s work and their private reality is perpetually blurred.

The central portion of the book focuses on the "theatrical wars" of the late 1600s, tracking the rise and fall of companies and the fierce rivalries that defined the age. We see the towering figure of John Dryden, who, despite his status as Poet Laureate, is subjected to biting public ridicule in the form of stage satire, yet remains steadfast in his defense of literary craft. The narrative does not shy away from the darker realities of this world, documenting the brutal, senseless murder of the actor Mr. Mountford by aristocratic rivals—a chilling reminder that the literary life of the time was inextricably bound to violent codes of honor and political factionalism.

As the book progresses into the early 1700s, the tone shifts toward the quieter, more domestic, and intellectual lives of poets like the Hon. Mrs. Monk and Lady Chudleigh. Here, the focus transitions from the raucous stage to the private study and the rural retreat. The narrative highlights the scholarly dedication of these women, who pursued linguistic mastery and moral philosophy in the face of physical ailment and seclusion. The volume concludes by surveying the careers of minor poets and theater workers, such as Thomas D'Urfey and Elkanah Settle. Their later years, often spent in obscurity or humble service—Settle eventually writing drolls for common fairs—provide a sobering coda to the earlier accounts of noble patronage and courtly favor. The book ends not with a grand synthesis, but with the steady accumulation of final days: those marked by the peaceful tranquility of a scholar, like John Pomfret, and those marked by the fading of once-bright, contentious reputations in the Charterhouse.

How It Unfolds

The foundation of the poet The work begins by establishing the early influences and academic backgrounds of its subjects, detailing how youthful indiscretions, such as gaming or academic indolence, often preceded a life of professional letters. It frames these early struggles as necessary tests of character that define the poet’s later trajectory.

The theater as a battleground The middle chapters shift to the London stage, documenting the intense rivalries between playwrights and the competitive maneuvering of acting companies. It details how personal vendettas, public satires, and the volatile nature of theater audiences dictated the rise and fall of an author’s fortunes.

The intersection of politics and patronage The account examines how literary careers were tethered to the shifting tides of government, with poets often serving as both political tools and beneficiaries of aristocratic favor. It illustrates how an author’s survival often depended upon their ability to navigate the complex loyalties of Whigs and Tories.

The retreat into private virtue The concluding sections focus on the later, more contemplative lives of figures who sought refuge in rural retirement or private study. It emphasizes a shift in value, where the public "blaze of fame" is replaced by an appreciation for moral consistency, religious piety, and the quiet satisfaction of a well-read life.

The People

Sir John Denham represents the archetype of the restless, flawed talent, whose propensity for gambling underscores the precariousness of the gentleman-poet. Aphra Behn stands as a sharp contrast, displaying a resourceful, cunning intellect that allows her to survive in a world of masculine intrigue. John Dryden is the authoritative, though frequently besieged, pillar of the age, whose work is constantly measured against the scathing critiques of his contemporaries. Mr. Mountford, the actor, embodies the vulnerability of the artist, whose life is cut short by the arbitrary violence of the nobility. Lady Chudleigh and the Hon. Mrs. Monk emerge as figures of quiet intellectual rigor, demonstrating that deep learning and literary creation often occurred far from the noisy public stage. Finally, Elkanah Settle represents the fading remnant of an older order, a man who moves from the height of dramatic fashion to the humble, practical work of a fair-ground entertainer, showing how quickly the public’s favor can evaporate.

In Its Own Voice

"Being looked upon as a slow dreaming young man, and more addicted to gaming than study, they could never imagine he could ever enrich the world with the issue of his brain, as he afterwards did."

This observation regarding Sir John Denham’s youth captures the common tendency of these biographies to find latent genius in unlikely places.

"Thus fell the unfortunate Mountford by the hand of an assassin, without having given him any provocation; save that which his own jealousy had raised, and which could not reasonably be imputed to Mountford as a crime."

The account of the actor’s death highlights the moral indignation the author often directs toward the senseless violence of the era's social elite.

What It's Really About

At its core, this volume explores the tension between public reputation and private reality. It is an inquiry into what makes a life "poetic," whether that involves the creation of verse or the navigation of a life lived at the center of social, political, or theatrical storms. The book constantly weighs the transitory nature of fame—the "blaze" of the stage—against the enduring value of moral character and intellectual labor. It asks whether a poet’s work can ever be fully untangled from their personal conduct, and it assumes a world where an author’s life is itself a narrative performance, to be judged by the weight of their legacy and the consistency of their virtues.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the granular, anecdotal history of the Restoration period will find much to admire here. The book captures the authentic, often messy spirit of eighteenth-century literary biography, where high-flown eulogies rub shoulders with gossip about gambling debts and tavern brawls. It is not a polished, modern critical study; it is a collection of "materials," and its charm lies in its voice—warm, moralizing, and deeply invested in the personal character of the poets it profiles.

The prose style is formal yet accessible, though modern readers should be prepared for the idiosyncratic punctuation and the period’s penchant for digressive footnotes. You will encounter attitudes toward gender, class, and social status that are firmly rooted in 1753, which can be both illuminating and occasionally jarring. However, for those who value the texture of history—the sense of standing in a room with the poets themselves, hearing the rumors and the tributes—this volume is a remarkable, living archive. It stays with you because it treats these figures not as frozen icons in a textbook, but as fallible, vibrant individuals who lived and died with the same hopes and fears as anyone else. It is a work for those who appreciate the quiet, human labor behind the creation of a national literature.