Fenton, Elijah

(1683-1730)

   Born at Shelton, Staffordshire, he graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1704. His refusal to swear the Oath of Allegiance barred him from being ordained in the Church of England. For a time he was headmaster of the grammar school at Sevenoaks, Kent, and secretary to the Earl of Orrery. From 1714 to 1720 he was tutor to Lord Broghill, the earl's son. He spent the rest of his short life in the service of Lady Trumbull as auditor of accounts. He assisted Alexander Pope and William Broome (see entries) in their translation of the Odyssey. Samuel Johnson says of Fenton: "He was never named but with praise and fondness, as a man in the highest degree amiable and excellent." Some of his publications: Oxford and Cambridge Miscellany Poems, 1708. An Ode Addressed to the Savoir Vivre Club, 1710. To the Queen, on Her Majesty's Birth-day, 1712. Poems on Several Occasions, 1717. Life of Milton, 1720. Marianne, 1723. Some of his poems: "An Ode to the Sun, for the New Year," "The Fair Nun," "To a Lady Sitting before Her Glass," "To Mr. Pope."

   Sources: A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature (http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/jcousin/bl-jcousin-bio-f.htm). A Treasury of Minor British Poetry. J. Churton Collins, ed. Edward Arnold, 1896. Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica. Electronic Edition, 2005. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). Oldpoetry (www.oldpoetry.com). Samuel Johnson's Lives of the English Poets, 1779-1781 (http://www2.hn.psu.edu/Faculty/KKemmerer/poets/preface.htm). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org).