Stephen Duck

Stephen Van-Hagen (University of Coventry)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Stephen Duck was born 

c

.1705 in Charlton St. Peter, Wiltshire, the son of labouring parents. Duck went to a charity school until he was fourteen, when his mother withdrew him, according to the anonymous “Some Account of the Author’s Life” in the seventh edition of the pirated

Poems on Several Subjects

published in 1730, “lest he might become too fine a Gentleman for the Family that produced him” (“Some Account”, 1730: iv). He married at nineteen and fathered three children, continuing his education by studying late at night and in work breaks. He was writing his own poetry by 1729, when he came to the attention of local gentry and clergy. His earliest extant poem, originally published untitled in 1730 but later (in 1736) as “To a Gentleman, who requested a Copy of Verses…

4870 words

Citation: Van-Hagen, Stephen. "Stephen Duck". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 March 2007; last revised 08 March 2022. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1331, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1331 Stephen Duck 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.