Adult Life
Somervile was the eldest son of a country gentleman, and was born at Edstone, in the parish of Warren, Warwickshire in 1677. He was educated at Winchester College and at New College, Oxford, where he studied law. While in school he did not show any hint of great knowledge of literature or seem to have a knack for writing poetry. His love of poetry did not come until he was of middle age. He was a part of the Whig Party. After his father's death in 1705 he lived on his estate. He was known to be very hospitable and convivial. This however plunged him into debt, which carried a heavy burden and consequently put him into the habits that ultimately shortened his life. He was not someone one would expect to become a poet, he rather enjoyed sports including horseback riding and hunting.
While he lived on the estate left to him by his father in 1705. He devoted himself to field sports, which supplied the subjects of his best-known poems. His publications were The Two Springs (1725), a fable; Occasional Poems ... (1727); "The Chace" ("The Chase") (1735); Hobbinol, or the Rural Games (1740), a burlesque poem describing the Cotswold Games; and Field Sports (1742), a poem on hawking. While he wrote many types of poetry he never became very famous because of it. It is said that he "writes very well for a gentleman." "The Two Springs" was the favorite of his poems
"The Chace" ("The Chase") is perhaps his most famous poem which is in blank verse and due to his knowledge of sports he was able to write this poem with great enthusiasm. His Chase passed through many editions. It was illustrated by Thomas Bewick (1796), by Thomas Stothard (1800), and by Hugh Thomson (1896), with a preface by RF Sharp.
He died on July 19, 1742 and was buried at Wotton, near Henley on Arden. He was 66. When he died his vast wealth and riches passed on to his mother who lived to be ninety. When he died it was written-" Our old friend Somervile is dead! I did not imagine I could have been so sorry as I find myself on this occasion"
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