Joseph Trapp (1679–1747) was an English academic, clergyman, poet, and pamphleteer of the Augustan era. He achieved early academic distinction at Oxford, where his production of occasional verse—written in both English and Latin—and dramatic works led to his appointment as the inaugural Oxford Professor of Poetry in 1708. Alongside his academic pursuits, Trapp was a staunch proponent of High Church Anglicanism, a stance that significantly influenced his career, securing him various ecclesiastical preferments and positions later in life.
Despite his prestigious academic appointment, Trapp's poetry was often met with critical derision by his contemporaries. His literary efforts, particularly his ambitious blank verse translation of Virgil's Aeneid, became the subject of mockery. The poet Abel Evans famously penned a satirical epigram targeting the translation, referencing the biblical commandment against murder to describe the quality of the work. Similarly, Jonathan Swift reportedly went to great lengths to avoid having to revise Trapp's verses, illustrating the low regard in which his creative writing was held by the leading wits of the era.
Beyond his poetry, Trapp was an active pamphleteer, using his writing to engage in the fierce religious and political debates of his day. His High Church opinions established him as a prominent voice within the Church of England, helping him secure influential positions and preferments. Today, he is remembered primarily as a pioneer of academic literary study through his role as Oxford's first professor of poetry, as well as a key example of the highly politicized literary culture of the early eighteenth century.
