Author: BOYD (Henry):
Title: Poems chiefly Dramatic and Lyric, By the Rev. H. Boyd, A. M. Translator of Dante's Infermo [sic], Containing the follow Dramatic Poems:The Helots, A Tragedy, The Temple of Vesta, The Rivals, The Royal Message, Prize Poems, &c. &c.
Description: Dublin: Printed by Graisbury & Campbell..., 1793. FIRST EDITION. 8vo, 211 x 124 mms. pp. [xxiv], viii, [5] 6 - 648, [1], 645 - 646 [647 blank, including list of subscribers, with a typed poems tipped in between the two front free end-papers, followed by a printed obituary notice, and that followed by a ms. note by his son and the autograph of the author, rebound in recent quarter buckram. The translator and Church of Ireland clergyman, Henry Boyd(1748/9–1832"was born in Dromore, co. Antrim, the son of Charles Boyd, a farmer. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA 1776), before becoming a priest. In 1785 he published a two-volume translation of Dante's Inferno in English verse, only the second of its kind, with a specimen of the Orlando Furioso of Ariosto. It was printed by subscription, and dedicated to the earl of Bristol, bishop of Derry. The dedication is dated from Killeigh, near Tullamore, which was presumably Boyd's parish at the time. In 1793 he published a volume of his own verse, Poems Chiefly Dramatic and Lyric." (ODNB). A review, probably by John Aikin, appeared in The Monthly Magazine for 1797: "A large volume of Poems, chiefly dramatic, has been published, in Ireland, by Mr. Boyd: he possesses a considerable command of elevated diction and harmonious versification, but has been unfortunate in the choice of his subjects, and spreads out his conceptions with tedious diffuseness."

Keywords: poetry drama


See more books from our catalog: Poetry