Robert Treat Paine Jr. (December 9, 1773 – November 13, 1811) was an

American poet The poets listed below were either born in the United States or else published much of their poetry while living in that country. A B C D E F G H I–J K L M N O P Q *George Quasha (born 1942 in poetry, 1942) R ...

and editor. He was the second son of

Robert Treat Paine Robert Treat Paine (March 11, 1731May 11, 1814) was a lawyer, politician and Founding Father of the United States who signed the Continental Association and Declaration of Independence as a representative of the colonial era Province of Massachu ...

, signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. Born Thomas Paine (after his paternal grandfather), he changed his name to that of his recently deceased older brother in 1801, in part as a tribute to his father and in part to avoid confusion with the more famous

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In ...

, the revolutionary pamphleteer, who was unpopular at that time. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, for whose commencement ceremonies he wrote a number of pieces.Dictionary of Literary Biography
accessed November 29, 2009

Works

Among his works are: * "The Invention of Letters" commencement verse delivered at

; described the history of thought, eulogized

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and attacked

Jacobins The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...

Burt, Daniel S.
''The Chronology of American Literature: America's literary achievements from the colonial era to modern times''
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004, , retrieved via Google Books (1795). * ''The Ruling Passion'' (1796), the "longest and most perfect of all his poetical productions", according to his biographer Charles Prentiss. *
Adams and Liberty
, the author's most famous work, sung throughout the country, praising America's independence from European tyranny (1798). The lyrics were designed to be sung to the tune of "

To Anacreon in Heaven "The Anacreontic Song", also known by its incipit "To Anacreon in Heaven", was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Composed by John Stafford Smith, the tune was later used ...

"Performing Arts Encyclopedia
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, accessed November 29, 2009 (which tune was later used for "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

", the American national anthem). * Communication on the

Boston Female Asylum The Boston Female Asylum (1803–1910) was an orphanage in Boston, Massachusetts, US "for the care of indigent girls."U.S. Bureau of the Census. Benevolent institutions, 1904; p.78 Its mission was to "receive ... protect ... and instruct ... fema ...

. ''Boston Gazette'', April 1, 1802. (Reprinted in 1812 in ''The Works, in Verse and Prose...'', p. 344 et seq.) *
The Works, in Verse and Prose, of the Late Robert Treat Paine, Jun. Esq. With Notes. To which are prefixed, sketches of his life, character and writings
', Boston: printed and published by J. Belcher;Web page title

at University of Chicago Library website, retrieved March 4, 2009 posthumously published (1812), with poems in such genres as

political satire Political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics. Political satire can also act as a tool for advancing political arguments in conditions where political speech and dissent are banned. Political satir ...

, drama

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative or positive qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the ...

, neoclassical verse and spiritual

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

, all selected by Charles Prentiss; contains "Philenia to Menander" by

Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton (August 1759 – May 14, 1846) was an American poet. Early life Sarah was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in August 1759. She was the third of ten children born to James Apthorp (1731–1799), a merchant and sla ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paine, Robert Treat Jr. 1773 births 1811 deaths 18th-century American poets 18th-century American male writers American male poets Harvard University alumni

Works

Further reading

References