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{{Short description|English Poet Laureate (1745–1813)}}
[[File:Henry James Pye by Samuel James Arnold.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Portrait, oil on canvas, of Henry James Pye (1745–1813) by Samuel James Arnold ([[floruit|fl.]] 1800-1808)]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Henry James Pye
| image = Henry James Pye by Samuel James Arnold.jpg
| office = [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom]]
| monarch = [[George III]]
| term_start = 28 July 1790
| term_end = 11 August 1813
| predecessor = [[Thomas Warton]]
| successor = [[Robert Southey]]
| caption = Henry James Pye, circa 1800-1808.
| birth_date = 20 February 1745
| birth_place = [[Faringdon House]], [[Berkshire]], [[England]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1813|8|11|1745|2|20|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Pinner]], [[Middlesex]], England
| resting_place = Pinner's parish church of St John the Baptist
| occupation = [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate]]
| alma_mater = [[Magdalen College]], [[Oxford]]
| movement =
| spouse = Martha Corbett (1801–1813) his death
| children = Harry James Pye
| website =
}}


'''Henry James Pye''' ({{IPAc-en|p|aɪ}}; 10 February 1744 – 11 August 1813) was an [[England|English]] [[poet]]. Pye was [[Poet Laureate]] from 1790 until his death. He was the first poet laureate to receive a fixed salary of £27 instead of the historic [[English units of wine casks|tierce]] of Canary wine (though it was still a fairly nominal payment; then as now the Poet Laureate had to look to extra sales generated by the prestige of the office to make significant money from the Laureateship).
'''Henry James Pye''' ({{IPAc-en|p|aɪ}}; 20 February 1745 – 11 August 1813) was an English poet, and [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate]] from 1790 until his death. His appointment owed nothing to poetic achievement and was probably a reward for political favours. Pye was merely a competent prose writer, who fancied himself as a poet, earning the derisive label of [[poetaster]].


==Life==
==Life==
Pye was born in [[London]], the son of Henry Pye of [[Faringdon]] House in [[Berkshire]], and his wife, Mary James. He was the nephew of Admiral [[Thomas Pye]]. He was educated at [[Magdalen College, Oxford|Magdalen College]], [[Oxford]]. His father died in 1766, leaving him a legacy of debt amounting to £50,000, and the burning of the family home further increased his difficulties.<ref name=P>[http://www.mala.bc.ca/~lanes/english/laureate/pye.htm H. Pye]</ref>
Pye was born in London, the son of Henry Pye of [[Faringdon House]] in [[Berkshire]], and his wife, Mary James. He was the nephew of Admiral [[Thomas Pye]]. He was educated at [[Magdalen College, Oxford|Magdalen College]], [[Oxford]]. His father died in 1766, leaving him a legacy of debt amounting to £50,000, and the burning of the family home further increased his difficulties.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}


In 1784 he was elected [[Member of Parliament]] for Berkshire. He was obliged to sell the paternal estate, and, retiring from [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]] in 1790, became a police magistrate for [[Westminster]]. Although he had no command of language and was destitute of poetic feeling, his ambition was to obtain recognition as a poet, and he published many volumes of verse.<ref name=P/>
In 1784 he was elected [[Member of Parliament]] for Berkshire. He was obliged to sell the paternal estate, and, retiring from [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]] in 1790, became a police magistrate for [[Westminster]]. Although he had no command of language and was destitute of poetic feeling, his ambition was to obtain recognition as a poet, and he published many volumes of verse.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}


Of all he wrote his prose ''Summary of the Duties of a Justice of the Peace out of Sessions'' (1808) is most worthy of record. He was made poet laureate in 1790, perhaps as a reward for his faithful support of [[William Pitt the Younger]] in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]. The appointment was looked on as ridiculous, and his birthday [[ode]]s were a continual source of contempt. The 20th century [[United Kingdom|British]] historian [[Robert Blake, Baron Blake|Lord Blake]] called Pye "the worst Poet Laureate in English history with the possible exception of [[Alfred Austin]]."<ref name=P/> Indeed, Pye's successor, Robert Southey, wrote in 1814: "I have been rhyming as doggedly and dully as if my name had been Henry James Pye." After his death, Pye remained one of the unfortunate few who have been classified as a "[[poetaster]]."<ref>Beer, John (2009). ''Romanticism, Revolution and Language: The Fate of the Word from Samuel Johnson to George Eliot''. Cambridge University Press. p. 109. ISBN 0521897556</ref>
Of all he wrote, his prose ''Summary of the Duties of a Justice of the Peace out of Sessions'' (1808) is most worthy of record. He was made poet laureate in 1790, perhaps as a reward for his faithful support of [[William Pitt the Younger]] in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]. The appointment was looked on as ridiculous, and his birthday [[ode]]s were a continual source of contempt.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The 20th-century [[United Kingdom|British]] historian [[Robert Blake, Baron Blake|Lord Blake]] called Pye "the worst Poet Laureate in English history with the possible exception of [[Alfred Austin]]".{{sfn|Blake|1966|p=110}} Indeed, Pye's successor, Robert Southey, wrote in 1814: "I have been rhyming as doggedly and dully as if my name had been Henry James Pye." He was the first poet laureate to receive a fixed salary of £270 instead of the historic [[English units of wine casks|tierce]] of Canary wine.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} After his death, Pye remained one of the unfortunates who have been classified as a "[[poetaster]]".<ref>Beer, John (2009). ''Romanticism, Revolution and Language: The Fate of the Word from Samuel Johnson to George Eliot''. Cambridge University Press. p. 109. {{ISBN|0521897556}}</ref>


As a prose writer, Pye was far from contemptible. He had a fancy for commentaries and summaries. His "''Commentary on [[Shakespeare]]’s commentators''", and that appended to his translation of the [[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]], contain some noteworthy matter. A man, who, born in 1745, could write “Sir Charles Grandison is a much more unnatural character than [[Caliban (character)|Caliban]],” may have been a poetaster but was certainly not a fool.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/222/0524.html Lesser Poets, 1790–1837]</ref>
As a prose writer, Pye was far from contemptible. He had a fancy for commentaries and summaries. His "''Commentary on [[Shakespeare]]'s commentators''", and that appended to his translation of the [[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]], contain some noteworthy matter. A man, who, born in 1745, could write "Sir Charles Grandison is a much more unnatural character than [[Caliban (character)|Caliban]]," may have been a poetaster but was certainly not a fool.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/222/0524.html Lesser Poets, 1790–1837]</ref>


He died in [[Pinner]], [[Middlesex]] on 11 August 1813.<ref name=P/> He is buried in Pinner's parish church of [[St John the Baptist, Pinner|St John the Baptist]].<ref name="Weinreb">{{cite book|authors=[[Ben Weinreb|Weinreb, Ben]] and [[Christopher Hibbert|Hibbert, Christopher]]|title=[[The London Encyclopaedia]]|edition=reprint|year=1992|page=745|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]}}</ref>
He died in [[Pinner]], [[Middlesex]] on 11 August 1813.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} He is buried in Pinner's parish church of [[St John the Baptist, Pinner|St John the Baptist]].<ref name="Weinreb">{{cite book|author1=[[Ben Weinreb|Weinreb, Ben]] |author2=[[Christopher Hibbert|Hibbert, Christopher]] |title=[[The London Encyclopaedia]]|edition=reprint|year=1992|page=745|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]}}</ref>


Pye married twice. He had two daughters by his first wife. He married secondly in 1801 Martha Corbett, by whom he had a son Henry John Pye, who in 1833 inherited the [[Clifton Campville|Clifton Hall]], Staffordshire estate of a distant cousin and who was [[High Sheriff of Staffordshire]] in 1840.
Pye married twice. He had two daughters by his first wife. He married secondly in 1801 Martha Corbett, by whom he had a son, Henry John Pye, who in 1833 inherited the [[Clifton Campville|Clifton Hall]], Staffordshire estate of a distant cousin and who was [[High Sheriff of Staffordshire]] in 1840.


==Works==
==Works==


*Prose
*Prose
:-Summary of the Duties of a Justice of the Peace out of Sessions (1808)
:- ''Summary of the Duties of a Justice of the Peace out of Sessions'' (1808)
:- The Democrat (1795)
:- ''The Democrat'' (1795)
:- The Aristocrat (1799)
:- ''The Aristocrat'' (1799)
*Poetry
*Poetry
:-Poems on Various Subjects (1787), first substantial collection of Pye's verse
:- ''Poems on Various Subjects'' (1787), first substantial collection of Pye's verse
:-Adelaide: a Tragedy in Five Acts (1800)
:- ''Adelaide: a Tragedy in Five Acts'' (1800)
:-Alfred (1801)
:- ''Alfred: An Epic Poem in Six Books'' (1801)
*Translations
*Translations
:-[[Aristotle]]'s [[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]] (1792)
:- [[Aristotle]]'s ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'' (1792)

*Plays
:- ''[[The Siege of Meaux]]'' (1794)
:- ''[[Adelaide (1800 play)|Adelaide]]'' (1800)
:- ''[[A Prior Claim]]'' (1805)


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
<references />


==References==
==References==
*{{DisraeliRef}}
*{{DisraeliRef}}
*''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland'' John Burke (1835) pp 350–2 Google Books
*''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland'' John Burke (1835) pp 350–2 Google Books
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Pye, Henry James|volume=22|page=693}}
*{{EB1911}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{wikisource author-inline}}
*{{wikisource author-inline}}
*{{OL author|2412969A}}
*{{OL author|2412969A}}
*{{Goodreads author|1902197}}


{{s-start}}
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[[Category:British Poets Laureate]]
[[Category:British Poets Laureate]]
[[Category:People from Faringdon]]
[[Category:People from Faringdon]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:Poets from London]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Berkshire]]
[[Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford]]
[[Category:18th-century English writers]]
[[Category:18th-century English writers]]
[[Category:18th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century English writers]]
[[Category:19th-century English writers]]
[[Category:18th-century English poets]]
[[Category:18th-century English poets]]
[[Category:British MPs 1784–90]]
[[Category:British MPs 1784–1790]]
[[Category:English male poets]]
[[Category:English male poets]]
[[Category:19th-century male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:Pye family]]

Latest revision as of 20:11, 10 February 2024

Henry James Pye
Henry James Pye, circa 1800-1808.
Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom
In office
28 July 1790 – 11 August 1813
MonarchGeorge III
Preceded byThomas Warton
Succeeded byRobert Southey
Personal details
Born20 February 1745
Faringdon House, Berkshire, England
Died11 August 1813(1813-08-11) (aged 68)
Pinner, Middlesex, England
Resting placePinner's parish church of St John the Baptist
SpouseMartha Corbett (1801–1813) his death
ChildrenHarry James Pye
Alma materMagdalen College, Oxford
OccupationPoet Laureate

Henry James Pye (/paɪ/; 20 February 1745 – 11 August 1813) was an English poet, and Poet Laureate from 1790 until his death. His appointment owed nothing to poetic achievement and was probably a reward for political favours. Pye was merely a competent prose writer, who fancied himself as a poet, earning the derisive label of poetaster.

Life

[edit]

Pye was born in London, the son of Henry Pye of Faringdon House in Berkshire, and his wife, Mary James. He was the nephew of Admiral Thomas Pye. He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford. His father died in 1766, leaving him a legacy of debt amounting to £50,000, and the burning of the family home further increased his difficulties.[1]

In 1784 he was elected Member of Parliament for Berkshire. He was obliged to sell the paternal estate, and, retiring from Parliament in 1790, became a police magistrate for Westminster. Although he had no command of language and was destitute of poetic feeling, his ambition was to obtain recognition as a poet, and he published many volumes of verse.[1]

Of all he wrote, his prose Summary of the Duties of a Justice of the Peace out of Sessions (1808) is most worthy of record. He was made poet laureate in 1790, perhaps as a reward for his faithful support of William Pitt the Younger in the House of Commons. The appointment was looked on as ridiculous, and his birthday odes were a continual source of contempt.[1] The 20th-century British historian Lord Blake called Pye "the worst Poet Laureate in English history with the possible exception of Alfred Austin".[2] Indeed, Pye's successor, Robert Southey, wrote in 1814: "I have been rhyming as doggedly and dully as if my name had been Henry James Pye." He was the first poet laureate to receive a fixed salary of £270 instead of the historic tierce of Canary wine.[1] After his death, Pye remained one of the unfortunates who have been classified as a "poetaster".[3]

As a prose writer, Pye was far from contemptible. He had a fancy for commentaries and summaries. His "Commentary on Shakespeare's commentators", and that appended to his translation of the Poetics, contain some noteworthy matter. A man, who, born in 1745, could write "Sir Charles Grandison is a much more unnatural character than Caliban," may have been a poetaster but was certainly not a fool.[4]

He died in Pinner, Middlesex on 11 August 1813.[1] He is buried in Pinner's parish church of St John the Baptist.[5]

Pye married twice. He had two daughters by his first wife. He married secondly in 1801 Martha Corbett, by whom he had a son, Henry John Pye, who in 1833 inherited the Clifton Hall, Staffordshire estate of a distant cousin and who was High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1840.

Works

[edit]
  • Prose
- Summary of the Duties of a Justice of the Peace out of Sessions (1808)
- The Democrat (1795)
- The Aristocrat (1799)
  • Poetry
- Poems on Various Subjects (1787), first substantial collection of Pye's verse
- Adelaide: a Tragedy in Five Acts (1800)
- Alfred: An Epic Poem in Six Books (1801)
  • Translations
- Aristotle's Poetics (1792)
  • Plays
- The Siege of Meaux (1794)
- Adelaide (1800)
- A Prior Claim (1805)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Chisholm 1911.
  2. ^ Blake 1966, p. 110.
  3. ^ Beer, John (2009). Romanticism, Revolution and Language: The Fate of the Word from Samuel Johnson to George Eliot. Cambridge University Press. p. 109. ISBN 0521897556
  4. ^ Lesser Poets, 1790–1837
  5. ^ Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher (1992). The London Encyclopaedia (reprint ed.). Macmillan. p. 745.

References

[edit]
[edit]
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
John Elwes (politician)
Winchcombe Henry Hartley
 Member for Berkshire
1784–1790
with George Vansittart 		Succeeded by
George Vansittart
Winchcombe Henry Hartley
Court offices
Preceded by British Poet Laureate
1790–1813 		Succeeded by
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