William Mickle

by George J. Dance

William Julius Mickle (1735-1788) was a Scottish poet.

William Mickle (1735-1788). Engraving by Charles Bestland (1783-1837 fl.) after Ozias Humphry (1742-1810), 1789. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Life

Overview

Mickle was the son of the minister of Langholm, Dumfriesshire. He was for some time a brewer in Edinburgh, but failed. He went to Oxford, where he was corrector for the Clarendon Press. After various literary failures and minor successes he produced his translation of the Lusiad, from the Portuguese of Camões, which brought him both fame and money. In 1777 he went to Portugal, where he was received with distinction. In 1784 he published.the ballad of "Cumnor Hall," which suggested to Scott the writing of Kenilworth. He may be best remembered, however, by the beautiful lyric, "There's nae luck aboot the Hoose," which, although claimed by others, is almost certainly his.

Youth and education

Mickle was the son of Alexander and Julian Meikle. His father was the minister of Langholm, Dumfriesshire.

He was educated at the grammar school in Langholm, and at high school in Edinburgh until 1750.

As a boy Mickle was an avid reader of Edmund Spenser, and in his teens wrote 2 tragedies and half of an epic poem (all of which he later burnt).

Career

His father bought a brewery, and William went to work there at 15. He inherited the business when his father died, but it later went bankrupt.

Mickle moved to London in 1763, and found employment as a corrector (proofreader) with the Clarendon Press.

He published his earliest poem, "The Concubine," in 1765. In 1775 he found fame for his translation of The Lusiads by Portuguese poet Luis de Camões. He visited Lisbon in 1779, and was feted and given a public reception by the King of Portugal.

On 3 June 1781 he married Mary Tomkins, and settled in Wheatley, near Oxford.

He died when visiting at Forest Hill, 28 October 1788, and was buried in the churchyard of the parish. He left a son.

Writing

About 1761 Mickle had contributed anonymously "Knowledge, an Ode", and "A Night Piece" to Donaldson's Collection of Poetry, Edinburgh. Chalmers says that before the crisis in his business he finished a dramatic piece on the death of Socrates and began a poem on "Providence." He had also corresponded under an assumed name with Lord Lyttelton regarding his poetry; when he revealed himself on settling in London, Lyttelton, while advising him to avoid publishing immature work, encouraged him to persevere in literature, and dissuaded him from seeking a post in the West Indies.

In 1767 he published the longest of his original poems, The Concubine, which was reissued in 1778 as Sir Martyn. A fragmentary tribute to his brother Charles, who died young, was written in 1768. In 1769 he wrote his Letter to Mr. Harwood [see Harwood, Edward, D.D.], and in 1770 producedVoltaire in the Shades, an onslaught on the deists with Hume as an interlocutor.

His literary reputation was growing, and when, in 1771, he proposed to publish by subscription a translation of the Lusiad of Camoes, he received abundant encouragement. A specimen of Book V, given in the Gentleman's Magazine in March 1771, and Book I, published separately somewhat later, were so favorably regarded that Mickle resolved to devote his entire time to the translation. He completed his task in 1775, and he at once published the translation in London. Besides copiously annotating the Lusiad, Mickle furnished the work with an introduction in defence of "Commerce," a "History of the Discoverv of India," a '"History of the Portuguese Empire in the East," a "Life of Camoens,’ a dissertation on the ‘Lusiad’ and a critical excursus on epic poetry. The 1st edition, on the recommendation of Mickle's friend, Commodore Johnston, was dedicated to the Duke of Buccleuch, whose indifference and insolence (prompted, Mickle thought, by Hume and Adam Smith) led to the suppression of the dedication. A 2nd edition appeared in 1778, to which Mickle added a discussion of the religious beliefs of the Brahmins. It was reprinted in 2 volumes in 1798, and in 3 in 1807. It presents Camoes in English much as Pope presents Homer — with freedom of interpretation and considerable license of expansion — but it is true to the spirit of the original, and is a fine poem in itself. It completely superseded Fanshawe's version.

About 1771, while he was engaged on the Lusiad, Mickle, on the suggestion of friends, had written The Siege of Marseilles, a tragedy, which Garrick declined to accept for the stage while admitting its merits as a poem. The Wartons and John Home revised the piece for Garrick's further consideration without success. Harris also declined it, and it was afterwards submitted to Sheridan who never returned it. Mickle inserted an angry note on Garrick in the 1st edition of his Lusiad, and Boswell and others with some difficulty dissuaded him from writing a new Dunciad’ with Garrick as hero. A legend relates that afterwards on seeing the actor in ‘Lear’ he relented, and wished the note were out of his book (Bishop Horne, Essays, p. 38, ed. 1808, quoted in Chalmers's Life of Mickle and Boswell's Johnson, ii. 182, ed. Birkbeck Hill).

In Lisbon he wrote Almada Hill: An epistle from Lisbon — a fresh and interesting poem — which he published in 1781, after his return to England.

He had in 1772 published an edition of Pearch's Collection of Poems, including in it his own "Hengist and May" and "Mary Queen of Scots." To Evans's Old Ballads, historical and narrative, with some of Modern Date (1777-84), he now contributed his exquisite ballad "Cumnor Hall," the haunting beauty of which fascinated Scott (Introd. to Kenilworth)..

In 1782 he discussed the question of American independence in an allegorical form, showing himself a capable master of travesty and persiflage. This was entitled Prophecy of Queen Emma, and to it was prefixed a clever travesty of critical method in the "Hints towards the Vindication of the Authenticity of the Poems of Ossian and Rowley.".

His last composition was ‘Eskdale Braes,’ a song on his birthplace written at the suggestion of a friend..

To Mickle has been attributed the Scottish song "There's na'e luck about the hoose,' which of itself is sufficient to establish a poetical reputation. Internal evidence is rather against the likelihood of his authorship and in favour of that of Jean Adams (1710-1765), but there is no definite external evidence, and the doubt on the subject cannot be resolved.

In 1794 a quarto edition of Mickle's poems was published by subscription for the benefit of his son, with a life by John Ireland. In 1807 appeared a corrected and enlarged edition, to which Mickle's friend, John Sim, supplied a biography.

Critical reputation

Mickle's poetry was admired by Sir Walter Scott, who remarked that Mickle "with a vein of great facility, united a power of verbal melody, which might have been envied by bards of much greater renown"

Recognition

Mickle was made a member of the Royal Academy of Lisbon in May 1780.

4 of his poems were included in Pearch's Collection of Poems in Four Volums; by several hands.

Mickle's poems form vol. xvii. of Chalmers's English Poets, 1810, and volume lxvi. of the Chiswick Press Poets, 1822.

Publications

Poetry

• Providence; or, Arandus and Emilee: A poem. London: T. Becket & P.A. de Hondt, 1762.
• Pollio: An elegaic ode. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1766.
• The Concubine: A poem in two cantos, in the manner of Spenser. Oxford, UK: Daniel Prince, 1767
  • also published as Sir Martyn: A poem, in the manner of Spenser. London: Flexney / Evans / Bew, 1777.
• Almada Hill: An epistle from Lisbon. Oxford, UK: W. Jackson, for J. Bew, London, et al, 1781.
• The Prophecy of Queen Emma: An ancient ballad (as "Julianus Turgotus"). London: J. Bew, 1782.
• Poems, and a tragedy (edited by John Ireland). London: A. Paris, for J. Egerton / Oxford, UK: Fletcher & Hanwel, 1794.
• Poetical Works. London: C. Cooke (Cooke's edition), 1799.
• Poetical Works (edited by John Sim). London: J. Barfield, for W.D. Symonds, 1806.
• The Poems of Mickle and Smollet (with Tobias Smollett). Chiswick, UK: Press of C. Whittingham, 1822.
• Glimpses of the Past: Extracts from the poetical works. Berlin, ON: 1877.

Non-fiction

• A Letter to Dr. Harwood. London: J. & F. Rivington / D. Prince, Oxford / Palmer & Becket, Bristol, 1768.
• Voltaire in the Shades; or, Dialogues on the deistical controversy. London: G. Pearch / T. & J. Merril, Cambridge / D. Prince, Oxford, 1770.
• A Candid Examination of the Reasons for Eepriving the East-India Company of its Charter. London: J. Bew & J. Sewell, 1779.

Translated

• Luis de Camões, The Lusiad; or The discovery of India: An epic poem translated from the Portuguese. Oxford, UK: Jackson & Lane, 1776; London: G. Bell & Sons, 1877. Volume I, Volume II

Anthologized

• Old Ballads, (edited by Thomas Evans). 2nd edition. London: T. Evans, 1784.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

508 The Sailor's Wife by William Julius Mickle Clarica Poetry Moment POEM

See also

• List of British poets

References

•  Bayne, Thomas Wilson (1894) "Mickle, William Julius" in Lee, Sidney Dictionary of National Biography 37 London: Smith, Elder, pp. 336-337  . Wikisource, Web, Sep. 17, 2020.

External links

Poems

• Mickle, William (1735-1788) (2 poems) at Representative Poetry Online
• William Mickle at PoemHunter (2 poems)
• Willliam Mickle at Poetry Nook (2 poems)
• Willliam Mickle at the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (4 poems)
• William Julius Mickle info & 7 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830

Books

• William Mickle at Amazon.com

About

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen & Sidney Lee). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Mickle, William Julius

This is a signed article by User:George Dance. It may be edited for spelling errors or typos, but not for substantive content except by its author. If you have created a user name and verified your identity, provided you have set forth your credentials on your user page, you can add comments to the bottom of this article as peer review.