The Columbia History of British Poetry (167 page)

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Page 646
a son (1849). Publication of three further collections, including
The Ring and the Book
(18681869), revived Browning's reputation. After Elizabeth died, he lived with his sister in London.
Robert Burns (17591796)
Born at Alloway and self-educated, Burns worked as a farmer at Mossgiel (17841788) and as a government exciseman (17891796). He fell in love with Jean Armour (1785), but when her father prevented their marriage, he had affairs with Alison Begbie ("Mary Morison") and Mary Campbell ("To Mary in Heaven"). Beset by financial problems, he considered emigrating to Jamaica, but the success of
Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect
(1786) made this unnecessary. Lionized in Edinburgh (1787), Burns wrote many songs, including ''Auld Lang Syne." He returned to farming in Dumfriesshire, where he married Armour (1788), had four children, and wrote "Tam o' Shanter" (1791).
George Gordon, Lord Byron (17881824)
Born in London with a club foot, Byron attended Cambridge, wrote
Hours of Idleness
(1807), and toured Europe and the Levant (18091811), which inspired
Childe Harold
(I, II; 1812) and a series of oriental tales. After a brief parliamentary career (18121813), he married Annabella Milbanke (1815), but was separated from her shortly after the birth of their first child, Ada (1816). In Geneva, he fathered Claire Clairmont's child, read Wordsworth at Shelley's prompting, and continued
Childe Harold
(III, 1816; IV, in Rome, 1817). Byron wrote
Don Juan
in Italy, where he also met Teresa Guiccioli (1820) and completed four closet dramas. He fought for Italian (1821) and Greek independence (1823), dying of fever in Missolonghi.
Thomas Carew (1594/51640)
Born at West Wickham and educated at Oxford, Carew studied law at the Inner Temple (1612), and served as secretary to Sir Dudley Carleton at Venice and the Hague. In London again (1616), he was employed by Sir Edward Herbert, ambassador to France; became friendly with Charles I; and received an estate. A noted Cavalier poet, Carew wrote an elegy for Donne (1633), a masque,
Coelum Britannicum
(1634), and
Poems
(1640).
Lewis Carroll (18321898)
Born in Cheshire, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he lectured in mathematics (1855); he was ordained in 1861. The work that began as
Alice's Adventures Underground
(1864) originated in a boat trip with the daughters of H. G. Liddell and was followed by
Through the Looking Glass
(1871), and a long nonsense poem,
The Hunting of the Snark
(1876).
 
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Elizabeth Carter (17171806)
Born in Kent and a master of nine languages, Carter refused a post as royal governess and toured the Continent with Elizabeth Montagu (1763, 1782). Her published verse includes
Poems upon Particular Occasions
(1738) and
Poems on Several Occasions
(1762); "Ode to Wisdom" appears in Richardson's
Clarissa
. Friendly with Johnson, she contributed to his
Rambler
, wrote
Remarks on the Athanasian Creed
(1752), and translated Epictetus (1752) and Algarotti's "Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy Explain'd for the use of the Ladies."
George Chapman (1559?1634)
Born near Hertfordshire and educated at Oxford, Chapman took no degree, worked for Sir Ralph Sadler (1585), and is believed to have traveled to the Low Countries (1585). His verse includes
The Shadow of Night
(1594) and
Ovid's Banquet of Sense
(1595). He translated the
Iliad
and
Odyssey
(15981614), which inspired a sonnet by Keats (1815), and many other works. Associated with the Admiral's Men (15951596), he wrote seven comedies, including
Eastward Hoe
with Jonson and Marston, tragedies such as
Bussy D'Ambois
(1604?), and a masque (1613) celebrating the marriage of Princess Elizabeth.
Geoffrey Chaucer (13431400)
Educated at St. Paul's Cathedral School and the Inner Temple, Chaucer served the Countess of Ulster (1357) and entered Edward III's army (1359). He married Philippa Pan (1366), was appointed a court official (1367), and wrote
Book of the Duchess
(1369 or 1370). In the next decade Chaucer traveled on diplomatic missions, was appointed comptroller of the customs, and completed
House of Fame
(13721380).
Parlement of Foules, Boece
, and
Troilus and Criseyde
were completed between 13801390. During the 1390s, Chaucer remained on close terms with the future Henry IV and wrote
The Canterbury Tales
(13871392).
Arthur Hugh Clough (18191861)
Born in Liverpool and educated at Rugby and Oxford (1837), Clough was a tutor of Oriel College (18421848) until he resigned to become principal of a student hostel and an examiner in the Education Office (1853). Clough's religious doubts found expression in
The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich
(1848),
Amours de Voyage
(1858), and
Dipsychus
(1865).
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (17721834)
Born in Devon, Coleridge left Cambridge (17921794) to enlist in the 15th Light Dragoons. He developed plans for a commune with Robert Southey (Pantisocracy), collaborated on
The Fall of Robespierre
(1794), and married
 
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Sarah Fricker. After writing
Poems on Various Subjects
(1796) and collaborating with Wordsworth for
Lyrical Ballads
(1798), he visited Goslar, Germany (17971798), studied German philosophy, and served as secretary to the governor of wartime Malta (18041806). In 18071808 he returned to England, lectured on Shakespeare (18081810), and published
Christabel
with "Kubla Khan" (1816) and
Biographia Literaria
(1817). He lived with the surgeon James Gillman for the remainder of his life.
William Collins (17211759)
Born in Chichester and educated at Oxford, Collins traveled to London (1744) to begin a literary career. Penniless, he accepted an advance from a London bookseller for a translation of Aristotle's
Poetics
. When he inherited two thousand pounds (1749), he repaid the advance. Collins suffered a mental collapse after a journey in France (1750) and died insane at his sister's house in Chichester. He wrote
Persian Eclogues
(1742),
Odes on Several Descriptive and Allegoric Subjects
(1746), and is best remembered for "Ode to Evening," and "Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands."
Abraham Cowley (16181667)
Born in Devon and educated at Westminster, Cowley left Cambridge for Oxford, where he wrote the
Puritan and the Papist
(1643) and
The Civil War
(1679), which express his support for the royalist cause. Secretary to Queen Henrietta Maria (1644) in France, he was imprisoned as a royalist spy upon his return (1655). His other verse includes
Poetical Blossomes
(1633),
The Mistress
(1647), a biblical epic, and several imitations of Donne and Pindar.
Hannah Cowley (17431809)
Born in Devon, Hannah Parkhouse married Captain Cowley of the East Indian Company (1768). She wrote two tragedies, and several comedies of manners, including
The Runaway
(1776),
The Belle's Stratagem
(1780), and
A Bold Stroke for a Husband
(1783). Cowley is the author of nondramatic work, including sentimental romances. Her poetic correspondence with Robert Merry was satirized by Gifford in
The Baviad
(1794).
William Cowper (17311800)
Born in Hertfordshire and educated at Westminster, Cowper graduated from the Inner Temple (1754), but never practiced law. Suffering from severe depression, intensified by a thwarted love, he attempted suicide when confronted with an examination for a clerkship (1763). A patient in Dr. Cottin's Collegium Insanorum, he was then cared for by Rev. Morley Unwin and adopted Evangelical beliefs. After Unwin's death, Cowper collaborated with the curate, John Newton, on
Olney Hymns
(1779), and wrote
The Task
(1785)
 
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at Lady Austen's suggestion. His other poems include "Yardley Oak" (1791) and "Castaway" (1796).
George Crabbe (17541832)
.
Born in Suffolk, Crabbe was apprenticed to a doctor, studied botany and surgery, and married Sarah Elmy (1783). A curate at Aldeburgh (1781), he was appointed chaplain to the duke of Rutland at Belvoir (17821785), and vicar of Trowbridge (1814). The poems
Inebriety
(1775) and
The Village
(1783) established his reputation.
Richard Crashaw (1612/31649)
Born in London, Crashaw attended Cambridge (1634), where he was a fellow (16351643). He converted to Catholicism (1645) and fled to Paris (16421651). Attendant to Cardinal Palotta, he then held a minor post at the Cathedral of Loreto. Influenced by continental baroque poets, Crashaw wrote
Steps to the Temple
(1646).
Carmen Deo Nostro
, a more complete collection, was published posthumously (1652).
Samuel Daniel (15621619)
Born near Taunton, Daniel attended Oxford (1579), visited Italy, and worked as a tutor. Favored by Queen Anne for his masques, he licensed all entertainments played by the Children of the Queen's Revels (1604), but resigned the post when his second tragedy,
Philotas
(1605), was viewed as sympathetic to the earl of Essex's rebellion. Remembered especially for
Delia
(1592), a sequence of sonnets, Daniel also wrote
Civil Wars
(1595),
The Complaint of Rosamond
(1592), and several court masques.
Donald Davie (1922)
Born in Yorkshire, Davie joined the navy (19411943), received a doctorate from Cambridge (1951), and lectured at Trinity College, Dublin (19501957), Cambridge (19581964), and Essex (19641968). He emigrated to the United States to teach at Stanford and Vanderbilt.
Purity of Diction in English Verse
(1952) led "the Movement"'s break with Imagism. His verse includes
Brides of Reason
(1955),
Essex Poems
(1969), and two volumes of collected poems (1972, 1983).
Sir John Davies (15691626)
Born in Wilshire, Davies was educated at Winchester and Oxford (1585); he pursued his legal studies at New Inn and Middle Temple (1588) and then worked as a barrister (1595). Disbarred for assaulting a friend (1598), he was reappointed (1601) and served as M.P. (1601, 1614, 1621) and attorney general for Ireland (16061619). Shortly before his death, he was appointed chief
 
Page 650
justice for legal services to Charles I. His works include
Orchestra
(1596),
Nosce Teipsum
(1599), and
Hymnes of Astraea
(1599).
John Donne (15721631)
Born in London, Donne was educated at Oxford, and possibly at Cambridge. He may have toured the Continent (15891591) before becoming a law student at Lincoln's Inn (1592). Donne renounced his Catholicism shortly after his brother's death (1593), sailed with Essex to sack Cadiz (1596), and with Ralegh against Spanish treasure ships (1597). Secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton and M.P. for Brackley, Northants (1601), Donne was dismissed by Egerton and briefly imprisoned after secretly marrying Lady Egerton's niece (1601). His patrons included Sir Walter Chute, with whom Donne went to the Continent (16051606), and Sir Robert Ker, whom Donne assisted in the Essex divorce case. At James I's urging, Donne took holy orders (1615). His poems include
Satires and Elegies
(1790s), "The Progress of the Soul" (1601), and
Holy Sonnets
(16101611).
Gavin Douglas (1476?1522)
Douglas studied at St. Andrews (M.A., 1494) and perhaps at Paris; he was provost of St. Giles, Edinburgh (1501), abbot of Aberbrothock, and archbishop of St. Andrews. Nominated by Queen Margaret (1515), Douglas became bishop of Dunkeld (15161520); in the interim, he was imprisoned by the duke of Albany for receiving bulls from the pope. Douglas accompanied Albany to France (1517), but was deprived of his bishopric and accused of high treason by the Scottish Lords of Council (1522) for seeking Henry VIII's support. Douglas wrote allegorical poems, including
The Palice of Honour
(1501) and possibly
King Hart
, as well as a translation of the
Aeneid
(1513).
Ernest Dowson (18671900)
Born in Kent and educated at Oxford, Ernest Christopher Dowson left without taking his degree, and worked in his father's docking business. In 1891 he met the twelve-year-old Adelaide Foltinowicz, who became a symbol of innocence in his poetry. After his parents committed suicide (1895), he traveled between France, Ireland, and London, writing
Poems
(1896),
Decorations
(1899), and a one-act verse play,
The Pierrot of the Minute
(1897).
Michael Drayton (15631631)
Born in Warwickshire, Drayton served Sir Henry Goodere, whose daughter Anne inspired
Idea: The Shepherds' Garland
(1593) and
Idea's Mirror
(1594). He wrote poems on legendary and historical figures, as well as
Poems Lyric and Pastoral
(1606),
Poly-Olbion
(16121622), and wrote plays for the public theater.

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