Elijah Fenton Elijah Fenton ( 1683 - 1730 ) was a poet , biographer and translator . Born in Shelton ( now Stoke-on-Trent ) , and educated at the great university of Cambridge , for a time he acted as secretary to the Charles Boyle , 4th Earl of Orrery in Flanders , and was then Master of Sevenoaks Grammar School . In 1707 he published a book of poems . He is best known , however , as the assistant of Alexander Pope in his translation of the Odyssey , of which he 'Englished ' the first , fourth , nineteenth , and twentieth books , catching the manner of his master so completely that it is hardly possible to distinguish between their work ; while thus engaged he published ( 1723 ) a successful tragedy , Marianne . His later contributions to literature were a Life of Milton , and as an editor of Waller 's Poems ( 1729 ) . This article incorporates public domain text from : Cousin , John William ( 1910 ) . A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature . London , J.M. Dent & sons ; New York , E.P. Dutton . This article about a writer or poet from the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . Categories : A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature | United Kingdom writer stubs | 1683 births | 1730 deaths | British poets | People from Stoke-on-Trent In other languages : Français | Svenska 