Robert Baron (poet)
Encyclopedia
Robert Baron was an English poet and dramatist. He was a very successful plagiarist
, his thefts passing unrecognised for more than a century after his death.
, Baron was born in 1630. He was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, though there is no evidence that he took a degree. After 1650 Baron disappears, and nothing more is heard concerning him.
, 1 April 1647." It is dedicated to James Howell
, the well-known author of "Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ," who was perhaps his uncle. Howell in turn prefixed some verses to Baron's Pocula Castalia, published in 1801. Whole passages of the "Cyprian Academy" and of Baron's other works are taken, scarcely altered, from the 1645 Poems
of John Milton
, who was little-known at that time. An exposure of the plagiarism is given in Thomas Warton
's edition of Milton's minor poems, and is amplified in the sixth volume of the booksellers' edition of Milton's works, published in 1801.
Baron's best known work is a tragedy, entitled Mirza, said on the title-page to have been really acted in Persia in the last age. In an address to the reader, Baron acknowledges that the story is the same as that of Sir John Denham's Sophy, but adds: "I had finished three compleat acts of this tragedy before I saw that, nor was I then discouraged from proceeding." It is without date, but is dedicated to the king, whence probably it was not later than 1648. Denham's Sophy, meanwhile, first saw the light in 1642. Warton says that Mirza is a copy of Ben Jonson
's Catiline, which seems not quite just. John Genest
gives an analysis of the story. There are one or two good and eminently dramatic lines in Mirza, which as yet have not been traced to any other writer. More than one hundred pages of annotation
are supplied by the author, thus swelling the book out to two hundred and sixty-four pages.
Pocula Castalia was published in 1650. In 1649 appeared "Apologie for Paris for rejecting of Juno and Pallas and presenting of Ate's Golden Ball to Venus." Gerard Langbaine
, who anticipates Warton's assertion with regard to the resemblance between Mirza and Catiline, quotes passages from both which have a certain measure of resemblance, but scarcely support a charge stronger than imitation. He also states that Baron "is the first author taken notice of by Phillips
in his Theatrum Poetarum, or his transcriber, Mr. Winstanley
, in his Lives of the English Poets; and though neither of them give any other account of our author but what they collected from my former catalogue, printed 1680, yet, through a mistake in the method of that catalogue, they have ascrib'd many anonymous plays to the foregoing writers, which belonged not to them." The complaint is justified, since many attributions to Baron are mistaken.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
, his thefts passing unrecognised for more than a century after his death.
Life
According to Gerard LangbaineGerard Langbaine
Gerard Langbaine was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his An Account of the English Dramatic Poets , the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrights of English Renaissance theatre...
, Baron was born in 1630. He was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, though there is no evidence that he took a degree. After 1650 Baron disappears, and nothing more is heard concerning him.
Works
Baron's first printed work, "Eροτοπαιγνιον, or the Cyprian Academy," is dated from "my chambers in Gray's InnGray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, 1 April 1647." It is dedicated to James Howell
James Howell
James Howell was a 17th-century Anglo-Welsh historian and writer who is in many ways a representative figure of his age. The son of a Welsh clergyman, he was for much of his life in the shadow of his elder brother Thomas Howell, who became Lord Bishop of Bristol.-Education:In 1613 he gained his B.A...
, the well-known author of "Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ," who was perhaps his uncle. Howell in turn prefixed some verses to Baron's Pocula Castalia, published in 1801. Whole passages of the "Cyprian Academy" and of Baron's other works are taken, scarcely altered, from the 1645 Poems
Milton's 1645 Poems
Milton's 1645 Poems is a collection, divided into separate English and Latin sections, of the poet's youthful poetry in a variety of genres, including such notable works as An Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity, Comus, and Lycidas. Appearing in late 1645 or 1646 , the octavo volume, whose...
of John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, who was little-known at that time. An exposure of the plagiarism is given in Thomas Warton
Thomas Warton
Thomas Warton was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. From 1785 to 1790 he was the Poet Laureate of England...
's edition of Milton's minor poems, and is amplified in the sixth volume of the booksellers' edition of Milton's works, published in 1801.
Baron's best known work is a tragedy, entitled Mirza, said on the title-page to have been really acted in Persia in the last age. In an address to the reader, Baron acknowledges that the story is the same as that of Sir John Denham's Sophy, but adds: "I had finished three compleat acts of this tragedy before I saw that, nor was I then discouraged from proceeding." It is without date, but is dedicated to the king, whence probably it was not later than 1648. Denham's Sophy, meanwhile, first saw the light in 1642. Warton says that Mirza is a copy of Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
's Catiline, which seems not quite just. John Genest
John Genest
-Life:He was the son of John Genest of Dunker's Hill, Devon. He was educated at Westminster School, entered 9 May 1780 as a pensioner at Trinity College, Cambridge, and graduated B.A. 1784 and M.A. 1787. He took holy orders, and was for many years curate of a Lincolnshire village...
gives an analysis of the story. There are one or two good and eminently dramatic lines in Mirza, which as yet have not been traced to any other writer. More than one hundred pages of annotation
Annotation
An annotation is a note that is made while reading any form of text. This may be as simple as underlining or highlighting passages.Annotated bibliographies give descriptions about how each source is useful to an author in constructing a paper or argument...
are supplied by the author, thus swelling the book out to two hundred and sixty-four pages.
Pocula Castalia was published in 1650. In 1649 appeared "Apologie for Paris for rejecting of Juno and Pallas and presenting of Ate's Golden Ball to Venus." Gerard Langbaine
Gerard Langbaine
Gerard Langbaine was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his An Account of the English Dramatic Poets , the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrights of English Renaissance theatre...
, who anticipates Warton's assertion with regard to the resemblance between Mirza and Catiline, quotes passages from both which have a certain measure of resemblance, but scarcely support a charge stronger than imitation. He also states that Baron "is the first author taken notice of by Phillips
Edward Phillips
Edward Phillips , was an English author.-Life:He was the son of Edward Phillips of the crown office in chancery, and his wife Anne, only sister of John Milton, the poet. Edward Phillips the younger was born in the Strand, London. His father died in 1631, and Anne eventually married her husband's...
in his Theatrum Poetarum, or his transcriber, Mr. Winstanley
William Winstanley
William Winstanley was an English poet and compiler of biographies.-Life:Born about 1628, William Winstanley was the second son of William Winstanley of Quendon, Essex, by his wife Elizabeth. Henry Winstanley was his nephew. William was sworn in as a freeman of Saffron Walden on 21 April 1649. He...
, in his Lives of the English Poets; and though neither of them give any other account of our author but what they collected from my former catalogue, printed 1680, yet, through a mistake in the method of that catalogue, they have ascrib'd many anonymous plays to the foregoing writers, which belonged not to them." The complaint is justified, since many attributions to Baron are mistaken.