The life and work of William Broome, 1689-1745

Thesis

William Broome has attracted the attention of only a few biographers. For some time the main source remained Johnson's Life, which was freely plagiarised for the 'biographical memoirs' attached to later collections of English poetry. Further details were added by Nichols, and Cunningham's edition of Johnson's Lives; but the only attempt to write a new biography has been 1. Worthington Barlowe's Memoir, printed in 1855. The article in the Dictionary of National Biography is an unfavourably biased repetition of the main facts.

In the present work a large amount of new material has been added to provide a fuller account of Broome's life. Extensive use has been made of Sherburn's edition of Pope's Correspondence and the excerpts from Broome's papers which appear in the edition of Elwin and Courthope. These papers have since been lost, and I have been unable to trace them; it has also proved impossible to make use of another source of MS. material, the papers mentioned by Cunningham as being in the possession of the Bunbury family. One previously unpublished letter from Pope to Broome has been discovered.

A comprehensive survey of Broome’s poetry has also been attempted, and the first full catalogue made. I have not been able to give the version of the Odyssey the attention of a classical scholar, but have tried to set it in its context among Broome's work.

Authors: Arlidge, EA

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-5j2x0r1yg
• Type of award: MLitt
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: translators; English poets; poets; 18th century; Broome; eighteenth century; William Broome
• Subjects: Broome, William, 1689-1745; Translators; Poets, English; Eighteenth century