Thomas Edwards (critic) facts for kids
Thomas Edwards (born 1699, died 1757) was an English writer and poet. He is most famous for a disagreement he had with William Warburton, who was editing the works of William Shakespeare.
Life Story
Thomas Edwards was born in 1699. His father and grandfather were both lawyers. It is thought that Thomas was taught at home. However, some say he went to Eton College and King's College Cambridge, and even served in the army.
Thomas did not work much as a lawyer. Some people said he had trouble speaking clearly. So, he decided to focus on writing instead.
His father passed away when Thomas was young. A poem he wrote suggests that his brother and sisters also died before him. Thomas inherited a property in Pitshanger, Middlesex. He lived there until 1739. Then, he bought another property in Turrick, Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire, where he lived for the rest of his life. He became a member of the Society of Antiquaries on October 20, 1745. This group studies old things and history.
Thomas Edwards died on January 3, 1757. He was visiting his friend Samuel Richardson when he passed away. He was buried in Ellesborough churchyard. His tombstone says he was "simple, elegant, pathetic" in his poetry and "exact, acute, temperate" in his criticism.
His Writings
Disagreement with William Warburton
Thomas Edwards' first published work was a small book called A Letter to the Author of a late Epistolary Dedication addressed to Mr. Warburton. This book, published in 1744, was an attack on William Warburton. Warburton was a priest and a scholar who later became a bishop.
In 1747, Warburton released a new version of Shakespeare's plays. In his introduction, he mentioned that he had planned to include rules for understanding literature. But he decided not to. Instead, he said readers could find his thoughts in the notes he added to the plays.
Edwards responded by publishing a "Supplement." In this book, he made fun of Warburton. He created a silly set of rules for criticism. He then showed how these rules matched Warburton's own notes.
Warburton fired back. In a new edition of Alexander Pope's Dunciad, he added a note about Edwards. He called Edwards "a gentleman, as he is pleased to call himself, of Lincoln's Inn; but, in reality, a gentleman only of the Dunciad." He also said Edwards had the "wit and learning of his ancestor Tom Thimble" and the "air of good-nature and politeness of Caliban". Edwards was very upset and wrote an angry response in his next "Supplement" book.
Warburton said he didn't attack Edwards' manners. But he said it in a very rude way. Other people who didn't like Warburton supported Edwards. The poet Mark Akenside even wrote a poem for Edwards about the situation.
Edwards' "Supplement" became very popular. By 1748, it was in its third edition. Its new title was The Canons of Criticism, and a Glossary, being a Supplement to Mr. Warburton's edition of Shakspear, collected from the Notes in that celebrated work and proper to be bound up with it. By the other Gentleman of Lincoln's Inn. The first "Gentleman of Lincoln's Inn" was Philip Carteret Webb, who had published a book in 1742.
Samuel Johnson, another famous writer, thought Edwards made some good points. But he compared Edwards to a fly stinging a horse. Thomas Warton believed Edwards' attack was smart.
Other Works
Edwards also wrote many sonnets, which are a type of poem with 14 lines. About fifty of his sonnets were collected in later editions of his Canons of Criticism. Many of these poems were inspired by the style of John Milton.
Thomas Edwards had many friends who were also writers. They often wrote letters to each other. Some of his friends included Richard Owen Cambridge, Thomas Birch, Isaac Hawkins Browne, Arthur and George Onslow, Daniel Wray, and Samuel Richardson. Many of his letters can be found in Richardson's published letters. Six books of his letters are now kept at the Bodleian Library. These include letters to Richardson, John Wilkes, and others. Richard Roderick was another friend who helped him with The Canons of Criticism.
After his death, two more of his writings were published. One was called Account of the Trial of the letter y, alias Y, which was added to the 1758 edition of The Canons of Criticism. The other was a book called Free and Candid Thoughts on the Doctrine of Predestination (1761).
