Richard Bentley

ABOUT RICHARD BENTLEY

Late 17th and early 18th-century English academic and literary critic. He headed Trinity College, Cambridge and had an acclaimed career as a classical scholar.

He graduated from St. John's College, Cambridge in 1680. Nearly two decades later, he published Dissertation on the Epistles of Phalaris, the academic work for which he is best remembered.

He was one of the key figures in the establishment of the English scholarly field of Hellenism (Greek studies).

In 1701, he married Joanna Bernard, with whom he had three children.

His 1732 scholarly work on John Milton 's Paradise Lost was criticized by numerous literary figures, including fellow classical scholar A.E. Housman.