William Mason (poet)
| William Mason | |
|---|---|
William Mason by William Doughty, oil on canvas, 1778.
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| Born |
12 February 1724 Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Died |
7 April 1797 (aged 73) Aston, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Occupation | English poet, editor and gardener |
William Mason (12 February 1724 – 7 April 1797) was an English divine, poet, amateur draughtsman, author, editor and gardener
He was born in Hull and educated at Hull Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1754 and held a number of posts in the church.
In 1747 his poem "Musaeus, a Monody on the Death of Mr. Pope" was published to acclaim and quickly went through several editions. Summarizing this poem, a threnody, William Lyon Phelps writes:
Musaeus was a monody on the death of Pope, and written in imitation of Milton's Lycidas. Different poets in Musaeus bewail Pope's death; Chaucer speaks in an imitation of old English, and Spenser speaks two stanzas after the metre of the Shepherd's Calendar and three stanzas in the style of the Fairy Queen. There is nothing remarkable about these imitations....
Among his other works are the historical tragedies Elfrida (1752) and Caractacus (1759) (both used in translation as libretti for 18th century operas: Elfrida - Paisiello and LeMoyne, Caractacus - Sacchini (as Arvire et Évélina) and a long poem on gardening, The English Garden (three volumes, 1772–82). His garden designs included one for the Viscount Harcourt.
He entered the Church in 1754, and in 1762 became the precentor and canon of York Minster.
He was the friend , executor, and biographer of Thomas Gray, who was a great influence on his own work. In 1775 The Poems of Mr. Gray. To which are prefixed Memoirs of his Life and Writings by W[illiam]. Mason. York, was published.
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