John Wolcot

John Wolcot

John Wolcot (May 9, 1738 - January 14, 1819), satirist, born in Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devonshire, was educated by an uncle, and studied medicine. In 1767 he went as physician to Sir William Trelawny, Governor of Jamaica, and whom he induced to present him to a Church in the island then vacant, and was ordained in 1769. Sir William dying in 1772, Wolcot came home and, abandoning the Church, resumed his medical character, and settled in practice at Truro, where he discovered the talents of Opie the painter, and assisted him.

In 1780 Wolcot went to London, and commenced writing satires. The first objects of his attentions were the members of the Royal Academy, and these attempts being well received, he soon began to fly at higher game, the King and Queen being the most frequent marks for his satirical shafts. In 1786 appeared "The Lousiad, a Heroi-Comic Poem", taking its name from a legend that a louse had once appeared on the King's dinner plate.

Other objects of his attack were Boswell, the biographer of Johnson, and Bruce, the Abyssinian traveller. Wolcot, who wrote under the "nom-de-plume" of "Peter Pindar," had a remarkable vein of humour and wit, which, while intensely comic to persons not involved, stung its subjects to the quick. He had likewise strong intelligence, and a power of coining effective phrases. In otherkinds of composition, as in some ballads which he wrote, an unexpected touch of gentleness and even tenderness appears. Among these are "The Beggar Man" and "Lord Gregory". Much that he wrote has now lost all interest owing to the circumstances referred to being forgotten, but enough still retains its peculiar relish to account for his contemporary reputation.

References

*A Short Biographical Dictionary of English LiteratureLink to portrait of John Wolcot by JOHN OPIE RA [http://www.cornishwonder.com link title]


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  • John Wolcot — (* 9. Mai 1738 in Dodbrooke in Devonshire; † 13. Januar 1819 in Somerstown) war ein englischer Satiriker, der unter dem Pseudonym Peter Pindar auftrat. John Wolcot, gemalt von John Opie …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Wolcot — John Wolcot, John Opie, circa 1780 John Wolcot, dit Peter Pindar, (1738 1819) fut un poète satirique anglais. Né à Dodbrooke dans le Devon, il acheva ses études en France. Il fut médecin du gouverneur de la Jamaïque et s établit à son retour à… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Wolcot — John Wolcot (* 9. Mai 1738 in Dodbrooke in Devonshire; † 13. Januar 1819 in Somerstown) war ein englischer Satiriker, der unter dem Pseudonym Peter Pindar auftrat. John Wolcot, gemalt von John Opie …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Opie — Autorretrato. Nombre de nacimiento John Opie Nacimiento mayo, 1761 …   Wikipedia Español

  • John Opie — (May 1761 in St. Agnes, Cornwall April 6, 1807) was a Cornish historical and portrait painter. Birth and early life Opie was born at Trevellas, St Agnes near Truro in Cornwall. His interest in drawing developed early but he was also academically… …   Wikipedia

  • Wolcot — Wolcot, John, engl. Dichter, Peter Pindar genannt, geb. 1738 zu Dodbrooke, Arzt in London, gest. 14. Jan. 1819 zu Somers Town, gefürchteter Satiriker. – Biogr. von Reitterer (1900) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Opie, John — ▪ British painter born May 1761, St. Agnes, Cornwall, Eng. died April 9, 1807, London  English portrait and historical painter popular in England during the late 18th century.       Opie received art instruction from John Wolcot (“Peter Pindar”)… …   Universalium

  • WOLCOT, JOHN —    better known by his pseudonym Peter Pindar, born in Devonshire; bred to and practised medicine; took orders, and held office in the Church; took eventually to writing satires and lampoons, which spared no one, and could not be bribed into… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Wolcot, John — (1738 1819)    Satirist, b. near Kingsbridge, Devonshire, was ed. by an uncle, and studied medicine. In 1767 he went as physician to Sir William Trelawny, Governor of Jamaica, and whom he induced to present him to a Church in the island then… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Wolcot, John — (1738 1819)    He used the pseudonyms Philomath Wizard and Peter Pindar. Born at Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devon, the son of a surgeon, he graduated in medicine from Aberdeen in 1767, and from 1767 to 1769 was physician to Sir William Trelawny …   British and Irish poets

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