Thomas Parnell
Thomas Parnell was an Irish poet and clergyman born in Dublin in 1679. He is often viewed as a minor poet today, yet he was esteemed by notable contemporaries such as Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift. Parnell demonstrated remarkable scholarship in Greek and Latin, which helped him contribute to Pope's translation of Homer's "Iliad." After becoming a priest in the Church of Ireland, he served in various clerical roles, including archdeacon of Clogher. Despite his literary success and financial stability following his mother's death, Parnell faced personal tragedies, including the premature death of his wife and children, which led to a struggle with alcoholism. His poetry often employed heroic couplets, with works like "Night Piece on Death" being particularly influential. Parnell was associated with the Scriblerus Club and contributed to prominent publications of the time. He passed away in 1718, and his work saw posthumous recognition through collections published by Pope and later scholars.
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Thomas Parnell
Poet
- Born: September 1, 1679
- Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
- Died: Buried October 24, 1718
- Place of death: Chester, England
Biography
Although today considered a minor poet, Thomas Parnell in his day was well regarded by such writers as his close friends Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift. Born in the autumn of 1679 in Dublin to an English father and Irish mother, Parnell entered Trinity College at the age of thirteen, graduating with a B.A. in 1697 and an M.A. in 1700. He became a priest in the Church of Ireland in 1704 and archdeacon of Clogher diocese in 1706. Also in 1706, Parnell married Anne Minchin, who died only five years later in August, 1711; the couple had two sons, who both died in childhood, and a daughter, who apparently survived Parnell. Parnell had become rich by 1709, the year his mother had died and left him lands in Armagh and elsewhere. His frequent visits to London apparently began about this time, during which he became involved in London’s literary society.
An outstanding Greek and Latin scholar, Parnell helped Pope in his translation of Homer’s Iliad. In his own poetry, Parnell wrote primarily in heroic couplets, and one of his better poems, “Night Piece on Death,” was said to have influenced Thomas Gray. Along with Swift, Pope, John Gay, and John Arbuthnot, Parnell was a member of the Scriblerus Club, a literary group, and contributed pieces to both The Guardian and The Spectator, the latter a pro-Whig publication founded in 1711 by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. These pieces were the first of Parnell’s works to appear in print. However, under Swift’s influence, Parnell left behind Whig politics and became a Tory, publishing An Essay on the Different Styles of Poetry addressed to the Tory Minister Lord Bolingbroke, Henry St. John.
Parnell became a doctor of divinity in 1712 and vicar of Finglas, near Dublin, in 1716. However, boredom and sorrow over his wife’s death had caused Parnell to begin drinking heavily. On his way home from one of his visits to London, Parnell died of unknown causes at Chester, England, and was buried there on October 24, 1718.
Some of Parnell’s poetry was collected and published posthumously by Pope in a volume titled Poems on Several Occasions (1721); this work was republished in 1770 with an account of Parnell’s life by Oliver Goldsmith, along with a few more poems. A critical study of Parnell by Thomas M. Woodman was released in 1985, and the Collected Poems of Thomas Parnell came out in 1989.