Thomas Parnell

Thomas was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and collated as Archdeacon of Clogher in 1705. The third child, a girl, is said to have reached a great age. He spent much of his time in London, where he participated with Pope, Swift and others in the Scriblerus Club, contributing to The Spectator and aiding Pope in his translation of The Iliad. He was also one of the so-called "Graveyard poets": his 'A Night-Piece on Death,' widely considered the first "Graveyard School" poem, was published posthumously in Poems on Several Occasions, collected and edited by Alexander Pope and is thought by some scholars to have been published in December 1721 (although dated in 1722 on its title page, the year accepted by The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature; see 1721 in poetry, 1722 in poetry). Oliver Goldsmith wrote a biography of Parnell which often accompanied later editions of Parnell's works. Poet Azizunnessa Khatun translated one of Parnell's works into the Bengali language under the title Udasīn Kabbo in 1884.

• Essay on the Different Stiles of Poetry (1713) • Battle of the Frogs and Mice (1717 translation in heroic couplets of a comic epic then attributed to Homer) An example of his poetry is the opening stanza of his poem The Hermit: Far in the wild, unknown to public view, From youth to age a revered hermit grew. The moss his bed, the cave his humble cell, His food the fruits, his drink the crystal well. Remote from man with God he passed his days Prayer all his business, all his pleasure, praise.

His recorded language was English. He was the child of Thomas Parnell and Anna Grice. He married Anne Minchin. 2 children are recorded: Jane Parnell and Theobald Tobias Parnell.