James Arbuckle

James Arbuckle
James Arbuckle
Born	1700
Died	1742 (aged 41–42); Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Alma mater	University of Glasgow
Genre	Poetry

James Arbuckle (1700 – 1742?) was an Irish poet and critic, associated politically with Presbyterianism and Whiggism.

His birthplace was possibly

Calvinist authorities (concerning the right of students to cast votes for the university's rectorship). He espoused the philosophy of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury.^[1] His first published work was Snuff (1717), a mock-epic, which won praise from Allan Ramsay. It was followed by Glotta, or, the Clyde (1721), a tribute to Scottish life and scenery in which the most ordinary topics (such as golf and swimming) are depicted in high-flown language. His style was similar to that of Alexander Pope, who he was clearly an admirer of.^[2]

In 1723, Arbuckle returned to Dublin, where, under the patronage of Robert Molesworth, he edited the Weekly Journal, The Tribune and Hibernicus's Letters (a journal of essays later republished in two volumes, 1729). In 1735, he published a scathing satirical attack on Jonathan Swift, whom he had once befriended, entitled Momus Mistaken with which he inadvertently dented his own reputation. He intended to publish translations of classical works but nothing came of these plans; he became a schoolmaster in northern Ireland and his later life is obscure.

His death has been given various dates between 1734 and 1747. Some classical translations and other manuscript poetry are now in the National Library of Wales.

References

^ The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 6th Edition. Edited by Margaret Drabble, Oxford University Press, 2000 Pp 36
^ Stewart p.81

Bibliography

John F. Woznak. "James Arbuckle and the Dublin Weekly Journal." Journal of Irish Literature, v.22 (May 1993) pp46–52
A.T.Q. Stewart. A Deeper Silence: The Hidden Origins of the United Irishmen. Blackstaff Press, 1998.

External links

[1] at Ricorso
Text of Glotta
Google Books text of Glotta

[1] The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 6th Edition. Edited by Margaret Drabble, Oxford University Press, 2000 Pp 36

[2] Stewart p.81

[1]

[2]

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