John Upton (1707–2 December 1760) was an English clergyman, academic and critic. An important early editor of
Edmund Spenser, he is best known for the notes in his 1758 edition of Spenser's great romance epic ''
The Faerie Queene
''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 st ...
'', which was first published in 1590 (books 1-3) and 1596 (books 4-6).
Upton was educated at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, where he was a college fellow. The notes in his edition of ''The Faerie Queene'' attempted to link the poem to events in Spenser's life, and characters in the poem with historical figures.
[David Hill Radcliffe, ''Edmund Spenser: a reception history'', Camden House, 1996, p.62]
Life
Born at
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by t ...
, he was the second son of
James Upton
Corporal James Upton VC (3 May 1888 − 10 August 1949) was a British Army soldier and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...
and his wife Mary Proctor. He was educated by his father and at
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...
, where he matriculated in 1724. In 1728 he was elected fellow of
Exeter College, graduating B.A. 1730, M.A. 1732. He resigned his fellowship in 1736. In 1732 Lord Powlett gave him the rectory of
Seavington with Donnington, Somerset; later Earl Talbot gave him the rectory of
Great Rissington, Gloucestershire. On 19 January 1637 he was admitted prebendary of Rochester, and he also held the sinecure rectory of
Landrillo, Denbigh.
Upton died unmarried at Taunton on 2 December 1760. Among his pupils at Oxford was
Jonathan Toup.
Works
Upton published:
*(ed.)
Epictetus
Epictetus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκτητος, ''Epíktētos''; 50 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when h ...
, ''To tou Epiktētou Encheiridion'', an edition of
Arrian
Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; )
was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period.
'' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...
's ''Epictetus'', 1739–41, 1744, incorporated by
Johann Schweighäuser in his edition of 1799
*''Critical observations on Shakespeare'', 1746
*''Remarks on three plays of Benjamin Jonson Viz. Volpone, or The Fox : Epicoene, or The Silent Woman : and The Alchemist'', 1749
*(ed.) ''Spenser's Faerie Queene'', 1758
References
* John G. Radcliffe's article in the ''Spenser Encyclopedia'', p. 706
External links
*
;Attribution
1707 births
1760 deaths
18th-century English Anglican priests
English literary critics
Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford
People from Taunton
English male non-fiction writers
{{Poetry-stub