Paul McCartney is a British singer and song writer, he has also been known to experiment in other forms of art such as painting and poetry. McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 in Liverpool, England. He grew up there with his father, James McCartney, mother, Mary McCartney, and his younger brother and sister.
When Paul McCartney was a child, his mother, Mary McCartney, would read him poems and sparked the young rock star’s interest in poetry and writing. McCartney was also fond of crossword puzzles which increased his vocabulary significantly. Unfortunately however, when McCartney was only fourteen years old, his mother had passed away due to breast cancer back in October of 1956.
Paul McCartney met the young John Lennon in 1957. The duo banded together to form a band which eventually became known as the Beatles. About a year later, Lennon’s mother was hit by a police car which resulted in her death. McCartney was able to relate to dealing with the death of a mother which only brought the boys closer together.
Both Paul McCartney and John Lennon were the main songwriters for the Beatles. Paul McCartney had touched poetry a little bit which led to the creation of a few songs recorded by the group. The song “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” was originally a poem created out of humor by McCartney. As far as actual songwriting goes, McCartney was the writer for the more “hardcore” sounding songs recorded by the Beatles. The Beatles eventually broke up in 1970, and Paul McCartney chose to pursue a solo career where he released two albums, one that year and another the following year. It was also during the 1970’s where Paul McCartney had been inspired to also become a painter.
McCartney married a woman by the name of Linda Eastman. She was an American photographer and also musician. Tragically, the former wife of Paul McCartney died of cancer in 1998. Just one year after McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his “services to music.”
As respected as McCartney is, he also has lived with his own vices. McCartney was introduced to Marijuana along with the other Beatles by fellow rock star Bob Dylan. Marijuana related criteria became more prevalent in the lyrics of the Beatles. The consumption of cannabis became regular to McCartney. McCartney has been arrested on multiple occasions due to possession.
Following the murder of John Lennon back in 1980, news media had asked McCartney his feelings about the incident to which he replied that it was a “drag.” McCartney was highly criticized for his seemingly dry response over the death of his friend and former band mate. Paul McCartney stated that he meant every melancholic sound of his statement. However, when McCartney was quoted in print, his words seemed much less caring than actually intended.
Despite the loss of close friends and family, McCartney’s music career as a singer as well as a songwriter, is still highly respected. McCartney is arguably one of the most commercially successful music artists of all time.
Showing posts with label Biography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biography. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Life of James Joyce - Claire Dennis
For James Joyce, writing was a constant struggle. His works were censored, banned and even burned. Before he was 40 years old, he had undergone 10 eye operations and was nearly blind. He lived in dire poverty for the majority of his life. And even with these terrific odds against him, Joyce prevailed and went on to write some of the strangest and most extraordinary works in the history of British poetry.
James Joyce was born in 1882 in Rathgar, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. His father, John, had run down his distillery business, and continued to try a variety of professions, including politics and tax collecting. His mother, Mary Jane, was a devout Catholic woman who played the piano and worked to hide the family’s poverty, maintaining a solid middle-class façade. James grew up attending Jesuit schools in Dublin, and attended the University College, Dublin. After his graduation in 1902, he fled from his dissatisfaction with the dirty, boring city, packed his bags, left his family behind and began his exploration of the world.
In his middle years, Joyce studied medicine, almost became a professional singer, taught languages in Trieste and Switzerland, and finally settled in Paris to focus on literature. However, James’ plans changed when his mother died in 1904, and, after the onset of World War I, he moved with his family to Zurich, Switzerland, where he began developing the characters of his novel Ulysses. After a few years with his family, James moved back again to Paris, and in 1922, his novel Ulysses was published. Soon after, James began experiencing chronic eye troubles caused by glaucoma, and still lived in great poverty. However, Joyce continued his passion for writing and published his novels, Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, a play called Exilesin and a collection of poems called Chamber Music.
In these works, James is noted for his experimentation in diction and use of language. What he wrote seemed far advanced for the literature of his time period. He invented words, used puns and alluded to mythology, history and literature in his writing. Often his works included an extensive interior monologue, which was technically innovative for that time.
In 1931, James married a chambermaid named Nora Barnacle, and dedicated the rest of his life to his writing. He never had kids and he never achieved fame or financial fortune during his lifetime. In 1941, just before his fifty-ninth birthday, James died of blindness, illness and poverty in Zurich, Switzerland after the fall of France in World War II.
Although he was confronted with constant adversity throughout his life and was never satisfied with his works, James’ reputation has grown immensely since his death, and today his literature is studied across the world.
James Joyce was born in 1882 in Rathgar, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. His father, John, had run down his distillery business, and continued to try a variety of professions, including politics and tax collecting. His mother, Mary Jane, was a devout Catholic woman who played the piano and worked to hide the family’s poverty, maintaining a solid middle-class façade. James grew up attending Jesuit schools in Dublin, and attended the University College, Dublin. After his graduation in 1902, he fled from his dissatisfaction with the dirty, boring city, packed his bags, left his family behind and began his exploration of the world.
In his middle years, Joyce studied medicine, almost became a professional singer, taught languages in Trieste and Switzerland, and finally settled in Paris to focus on literature. However, James’ plans changed when his mother died in 1904, and, after the onset of World War I, he moved with his family to Zurich, Switzerland, where he began developing the characters of his novel Ulysses. After a few years with his family, James moved back again to Paris, and in 1922, his novel Ulysses was published. Soon after, James began experiencing chronic eye troubles caused by glaucoma, and still lived in great poverty. However, Joyce continued his passion for writing and published his novels, Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, a play called Exilesin and a collection of poems called Chamber Music.
In these works, James is noted for his experimentation in diction and use of language. What he wrote seemed far advanced for the literature of his time period. He invented words, used puns and alluded to mythology, history and literature in his writing. Often his works included an extensive interior monologue, which was technically innovative for that time.
In 1931, James married a chambermaid named Nora Barnacle, and dedicated the rest of his life to his writing. He never had kids and he never achieved fame or financial fortune during his lifetime. In 1941, just before his fifty-ninth birthday, James died of blindness, illness and poverty in Zurich, Switzerland after the fall of France in World War II.
Although he was confronted with constant adversity throughout his life and was never satisfied with his works, James’ reputation has grown immensely since his death, and today his literature is studied across the world.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Just Over Seven-Hundred Words Describing the Great Life of William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was born in his hometown of Cockermouth, England on April 7th, 1770. The town is located in Cumberland County in the Lake District, the Northwestern part of England. This area was noticeably less settled than the rest of England. It had many forests, mountains and obviously that Wordsworth could explore. He loved to take hikes and he deeply appreciated the natural beauty that was all around him; His first poem is even titled “An Evening Walk”. He lived in his hometown from his birth to the age of seventeen and from age twenty-nine until his death.
He was the second son of John and Ann Wordsworth. They were a lower-middle class family, who did, however, have the most impressive house in Cockermouth. The house came with Wordsworth’s father’s job as personal lawyer to the unpopular Sir James Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale, who gave the family a bad reputation. Wordsworth’s father made him memorize poems and/or parts of poems at a very young age; he became well accustomed to the complex language of poets such as William Shakespeare and John Milton. This helped him develop an extremely good memory and a keen interest in poetry, which probably heavily influenced his choice to become a writer.
He was enrolled in Hawkshead School at age eight when his mother died from pneumonia, which left John Wordsworth unable to care for five children. The school had a great reputation for making its students well-prepared for university. Wordsworth was educated in mathematics, science, English grammar and composition, the Classical languages, French, and Dancing. He loved the scenic area around the school and often went roaming, tree-climbing, skating, swimming, fishing and hunting with his friends. When he and his best friend went walking they would recite nature poems, sometimes making up their own lines and; though, Wordsworth also enjoyed exploring nature on his own. His father died in 1783 around the same time that Wordsworth had decided that he wanted to be a poet.
He later entered Cambridge University, where his interests had shifted entirely towards languages and writing. One of his uncles, who had some political influence, had made plans to set up a career for him as a clergyman, but Wordsworth did not want to follow in those footsteps. In his second year he wrote his first extensive poem entitled “An Evening Walk”, which reaches nearly four-hundred lines.
He was associated with a small group of free thinkers, including radical philosophers. Wordsworth was a strong follower of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Around the same time, he became very interested in the French Revolution and a French lady named Annette Vallon, who was very different from him politically and personality-wise. Annette gave birth to their first child, Anne Worsworth, but Wordsworth had to leave France when he could no longer support himself financially. He published his first two extensive poems in books, but eared little profit. He did, however, gain the attention of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who became a very close friend whom he would spend a lot of time with. His next major works included two lyrical ballads, or literary ballads; these were initially not well accepted, but are now viewed as breakthroughs in English Poetry. Wordsworth faced a lot of criticism, but was determined to show the world that he was as great a poet as he saw himself to be.
After he had been writing and publishing productively, having created multiple volumes of poetry, he eventually got the recognition that he deserved. He was a very popular poet in the 1820s, when he was in his 50s. Wordsworth had launched a major revolution in poetic style, exemplifying Romantic ideologies and obsoleting Neoclassicism. In 1839, He was given the honorable title of Poet-Laureate of England, even in his less productive old age, in a time when poets of that title were usually expected to productively create poems for public occasions. He lived to be eighty-one years old, dying of Pleurisy in 1850. His last work was a philosophical, autobiographical poem, which he never finished. He is criticized for this and for being, as some critics say, egotistical. Though, it cannot be denied that William Wordsworth was an incredibly influential poet, who defined British Romanticism and was an expert in stirring emotions and describing aesthetically the beauty all around him.
Sources:
Bloom's BioCritiques: William Wordsworth; Bloom's BioCritiques; 2003, p5-52, 48p
Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition; January 2003, p1-2
Critical Survey of Poetry, Second Revised Edition; September 2002, p1-12
The Life Of Ivor Gurney
Ivor Gurney was born on August 28, 1890 in the town of Gloucester. Gloucester is the small town that got its name for the protected shipping port on the River Severn called Glevum. Ivor Gurney was a well educated child growing up, and went to all the most prestigious schools, for his family was moderately wealthy during this time. The school he attended mainly was the school of the King, or the King’s school. Ivor was a very well behaved student and was so advanced in his studies that he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in 1911 when he was just twenty-one years of age. At the beginning of his education, although, he suddenly began to suffer from a condition referred to as Dyspepsia, which in today’s society is basically an upset digestion system, or an irritation to the stomach. Physicians, however, chalked up his illness as a nervous breakdown, and sent Mr. Gurney back to his hometown sometime in June of that year. Later, historians believed that that this illness was the first sign of having a bipolar illness, but this theory can’t be proven entirely. If this breakdown had not occurred, then it is believed that he would have had a very successful career as a composer, for he showed a remarkable talent for it. He also was a decent poet at the time, but his work began to flourish soon after his condition, as a result of the oncoming war.
When the First World War first broke out, Ivor Gurney was among the first to volunteer his services for the war by joining the Army. However, after much of the testing that Ivor had to go through had been completed, the Army finally turned Mr. Gurney down for they found out that he had bad eyesight. Although dishearten, Ivor continued his support for the troops. Then as a change of events occurred, the British Army was beginning to lose more men as planned and became short-handed. Ivor was thus allowed to join in the year 1915. He had to complete a rigorous training program before he joined the troops on the field. He was first trained on the Western Front first, and then was transferred to Albert to learn the Offensive of the battle. He turned out to be a very good soldier after completing his training, but as the tables turn as the seem to do, Ivor Gurney was shot on the battlefield on April 7, 1917 and was thus sent to the army hospital in Rouen. He did not take long to recover; in fact, he rejoined his regiment the following month. Ivor did not remain a solider for his entire life and two months after the rejoinment of his regiment, he was transferred to a machine Gun Company in Buysscheure, or Northern France.
Shortly after, an unfortunate event happened short after, which landed Mr. Gurney right back to the hospital in Edinburgh, in Scotland. During his time in the hospital, he began writing war poems including the ones titled, Severn and Somme, which soon appeared in newspapers nationwide. Ivor Gurney’s name became famous because of his writings, furthering the support of the war until it had ended in 1918. After the war, however, Mr. Gurney spent most of his time in different hospitals for the accident that had happened to him during his duration at the Gun Company, where he was gassed, so his lungs where never the same after the incident. Gurney was finally discharged from hospital and the army on 4th October 1918. Ivor Gurney wrote quite a few poetry books that contained his most prized work, although he couldn’t completely live off of his work. His second book of poems was titled War’s Embers which was published in May 1919. Aside from writing his poems, he was a farm laborer, a piano player in a cinema, and much, much more.
Sadly, Ivor Gurney's mental state was never the same, and after several attempts at suicide he was committed to a mental asylum back in his hometown in Gloucester. Shortly after his admittance to the physic ward, Ivor Gurney was legally declared insane on September 28, 1922, and was moved to the mental hospital in Dartford. Here, he continued his writings and shortly after, his work was published in the London Mercury.
Ivor Gurney died of bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis at the City of London Mental Hospital on 26th December, 1937. Five days later he was buried at Twigworth, Gloucestershire.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWgurney.htm
When the First World War first broke out, Ivor Gurney was among the first to volunteer his services for the war by joining the Army. However, after much of the testing that Ivor had to go through had been completed, the Army finally turned Mr. Gurney down for they found out that he had bad eyesight. Although dishearten, Ivor continued his support for the troops. Then as a change of events occurred, the British Army was beginning to lose more men as planned and became short-handed. Ivor was thus allowed to join in the year 1915. He had to complete a rigorous training program before he joined the troops on the field. He was first trained on the Western Front first, and then was transferred to Albert to learn the Offensive of the battle. He turned out to be a very good soldier after completing his training, but as the tables turn as the seem to do, Ivor Gurney was shot on the battlefield on April 7, 1917 and was thus sent to the army hospital in Rouen. He did not take long to recover; in fact, he rejoined his regiment the following month. Ivor did not remain a solider for his entire life and two months after the rejoinment of his regiment, he was transferred to a machine Gun Company in Buysscheure, or Northern France.
Shortly after, an unfortunate event happened short after, which landed Mr. Gurney right back to the hospital in Edinburgh, in Scotland. During his time in the hospital, he began writing war poems including the ones titled, Severn and Somme, which soon appeared in newspapers nationwide. Ivor Gurney’s name became famous because of his writings, furthering the support of the war until it had ended in 1918. After the war, however, Mr. Gurney spent most of his time in different hospitals for the accident that had happened to him during his duration at the Gun Company, where he was gassed, so his lungs where never the same after the incident. Gurney was finally discharged from hospital and the army on 4th October 1918. Ivor Gurney wrote quite a few poetry books that contained his most prized work, although he couldn’t completely live off of his work. His second book of poems was titled War’s Embers which was published in May 1919. Aside from writing his poems, he was a farm laborer, a piano player in a cinema, and much, much more.
Sadly, Ivor Gurney's mental state was never the same, and after several attempts at suicide he was committed to a mental asylum back in his hometown in Gloucester. Shortly after his admittance to the physic ward, Ivor Gurney was legally declared insane on September 28, 1922, and was moved to the mental hospital in Dartford. Here, he continued his writings and shortly after, his work was published in the London Mercury.
Ivor Gurney died of bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis at the City of London Mental Hospital on 26th December, 1937. Five days later he was buried at Twigworth, Gloucestershire.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWgurney.htm
John Lennon
The Beatles are arguably one of the greatest bands to have ever existed. Their music lives on and their influences can still be seen to this day. One of the cofounders of The Beatles was the late John Lennon. He played guitar, sang, and wrote many songs for the band.
John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. At age five, Lennon was separated from his parents after they refused to raise him, and was forced to live with his strict Aunt, Mimi Smith. As a teenager, he had developed a lot of anger in the wake of his circumstances, but he turned that anger into brilliance. At 16, he founded a band that would eventually evolve into The Beatles.
The Beatles was mainly a joint project between Lennon and Paul McCartney, with both bringing their own musical styles. McCartney had more of a pop style, while Lennon offered a more rebellious rock-and-roll style. Lennon and McCartney both shared their interest in American rock-and-roll and first played together in 1957. With the addition of George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the Beatles were formed and music was revolutionized. Their variety and styles of music, as well as the meanings that it held, made them extremely popular. Much of this style can be accredited to Lennon.
At age 21, Lennon married Cynthia Powell; however, they divorced in 1968. When he was 28, he then married Yoko Ono, a Japanese artist. By 1970, the Beatles formally broke up. Lennon and McCartney began fighting and had many personal disagreements. All of this was elevated by the stress of trying to help symbolize a generation. The band then separated, with each member going off on their own. McCartney went on to form a new band, which was fairly successful. Starr and Harrison also had somewhat successful careers as solo artists. Lennon produced a set of songs with his wife, Ono.
As Lennon began his detachment from the Beatles, he became closer to Ono, as he was very fascinated with her. He continued to make music, with much of it influenced by his political beliefs, especially his disapproval of the Vietnam War. He also expressed a lot of political commitment to feminism. At that time, his music and his writing was clearly showing his opposition to the Vietnam War and President Nixon. Nixon and his administration even attempted to deport him for his opposition to the war. Amidst all of this controversy, Ono left him.
The next period of his life was called the “long weekend.” After Ono left him, he went through a year of heavy drinking and making irregular music in Los Angeles. This period ended when Ono came back, and they soon had a son, Sean, on Lennon’s birthday in 1975. He then left music in order to focus on being a househusband, leaving Ono to handle the business matters. John Lennon’s life ended on December 8, 1980 when he was shot by a psychotic fan outside of his Manhattan apartment building. Lennon might be dead, but his voice is still alive and well.
Works Cited:
"Lennon, John" Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.<http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9438280>.
James E., Miller. "Beatles, the." Britannica Biographies (2010): 1. History Reference Center.
EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.
Robert, Christgau. "Lennon, John." Britannica Biographies (2010): 1. History Reference Center.
EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.
John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. At age five, Lennon was separated from his parents after they refused to raise him, and was forced to live with his strict Aunt, Mimi Smith. As a teenager, he had developed a lot of anger in the wake of his circumstances, but he turned that anger into brilliance. At 16, he founded a band that would eventually evolve into The Beatles.
The Beatles was mainly a joint project between Lennon and Paul McCartney, with both bringing their own musical styles. McCartney had more of a pop style, while Lennon offered a more rebellious rock-and-roll style. Lennon and McCartney both shared their interest in American rock-and-roll and first played together in 1957. With the addition of George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the Beatles were formed and music was revolutionized. Their variety and styles of music, as well as the meanings that it held, made them extremely popular. Much of this style can be accredited to Lennon.
At age 21, Lennon married Cynthia Powell; however, they divorced in 1968. When he was 28, he then married Yoko Ono, a Japanese artist. By 1970, the Beatles formally broke up. Lennon and McCartney began fighting and had many personal disagreements. All of this was elevated by the stress of trying to help symbolize a generation. The band then separated, with each member going off on their own. McCartney went on to form a new band, which was fairly successful. Starr and Harrison also had somewhat successful careers as solo artists. Lennon produced a set of songs with his wife, Ono.
As Lennon began his detachment from the Beatles, he became closer to Ono, as he was very fascinated with her. He continued to make music, with much of it influenced by his political beliefs, especially his disapproval of the Vietnam War. He also expressed a lot of political commitment to feminism. At that time, his music and his writing was clearly showing his opposition to the Vietnam War and President Nixon. Nixon and his administration even attempted to deport him for his opposition to the war. Amidst all of this controversy, Ono left him.
The next period of his life was called the “long weekend.” After Ono left him, he went through a year of heavy drinking and making irregular music in Los Angeles. This period ended when Ono came back, and they soon had a son, Sean, on Lennon’s birthday in 1975. He then left music in order to focus on being a househusband, leaving Ono to handle the business matters. John Lennon’s life ended on December 8, 1980 when he was shot by a psychotic fan outside of his Manhattan apartment building. Lennon might be dead, but his voice is still alive and well.
Works Cited:
"Lennon, John" Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.<http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9438280>.
James E., Miller. "Beatles, the." Britannica Biographies (2010): 1. History Reference Center.
EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.
Robert, Christgau. "Lennon, John." Britannica Biographies (2010): 1. History Reference Center.
EBSCO. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson Biogrpahy
My original post was filled with inaccurate information, sorry about that. I also learned some things that our generation may find amusing may not be shared with the previous generations. Sorry for the problems. But it is what it is. It's real life. –Mike O’Real
Alfred, Lord Tennyson was poet laureate of the United Kingdom. A poet laureate is a poet assigned by the government to write poems for certain occasions. In Britain the poet laureate is the official poet of the King of Queen. He also wrote many poems, some that were received in high regard. He wrote such poems as The Charge of the Light Brigade, Tears, Idle Tears, Break, Break, Break, among others.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born on August 5, 1809 in England. His parents were George Clayton Tennyson and Elizabeth Fytche Tennyson. His father was a reverend. Tennyson’s given name was simply Alfred Tennyson. He was later given the title Lord later on in his life.
Alfred began writing poetry at the age of 8, by age 14 he had written a play. In 1827, Tennyson entered Cambridge University; upon his enrollment he befriended many other peers such as Edward FitzGerald and Arthur Henry Hallam. Tennyson was shocked when Hallam suddenly died in 1833 due to an Apoplexy. An Apoplexy is a type of stroke, which leads to bleeding in the brain.
Tennyson was devastated, that same year he began work on one of his better known books, In Memoriam: A.H.H., dedicated to his friend who passed away. Tennyson later named his son after Arthur, Hallam Tennyson was born in 1852.
In 1830, Tennyson met Emily Sellwood. They fell in love, were engaged in 1839 and were married in 1850. It took twenty years for them to marry because, Emily’s father was upset that Alfred’s opium addicted brother was courting his other daughter. When the married they married in secrecy. During the time Alfred and Emily were separated he traveled the world and devoted his time to writing poetry. He spoke many different languages, including Persian and Hebrew. Two of his children were born in the 1850’s. Hallam in 1852 and Lionel in 1852.
In 1842, Tennyson was a famous poet. He became famous after the publication of his works, Poems. That same year doctors told Alfred that he was in bad health and to put a hold on his work for a while. This recess lasted 2 years, at some point Alfred was not even allowed to read.
Around 1850, after several of his works were published, including The Princess, the United Kingdom was looking for a new Poet Laureate. William Wordsworth had just died so the role was vacated. Several men turned down the role, including Samuel Rogers, who was reallllyyy old at the time. Like 87! After Prince Albert read his work, In Memoriam, he offered the role to Tennyson, he accepted gladly. Tennyson cherished his new role as Poet Laureate, but didn’t care for the attention he attracted from complete strangers.
After Several years on the job as Poet Laureate, the Queen habitually offered Alfred the offer of being knighted and becoming Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Tennyson was shy and declined the offer. It wasn’t until 1884 that Tennyson accepted the Queen’s offer. For the rest of his life he was known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson, or Lord Tennyson. This is a tremendous honor in the United Kingdom.
In the 1870’s Alfred’s health, along with Emily’s began to fail. His work slowed down. He feared f he started something his health wouldn’t allow him to finish it. Due to his bad eye sight, Emily would write down Alfred’s poems. She did this until she became in bad health and his son, Hallam took over. Tennyson suffered a major blow in 1886, when his son Lionel died at sea due to a fever. Tennyson continued his writing slowly during these times. In 1889, Hallam’s first son was born, he named him Lionel. He had another child shortly thereafter in 1891. His name was Alfred Tennyson, Jr. on October 6, 1892, Alfred’s life ended, when he died. It was thought he may have died of gout. His wife and son were by his side when he took his final breath. He was buried in the Poet’s corner of Westminster Abbey.
Tennyson is still regarded to this day as one of the elite poets of all time. Many of his works are still popular today. He definitely set the tone for future writers.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson was poet laureate of the United Kingdom. A poet laureate is a poet assigned by the government to write poems for certain occasions. In Britain the poet laureate is the official poet of the King of Queen. He also wrote many poems, some that were received in high regard. He wrote such poems as The Charge of the Light Brigade, Tears, Idle Tears, Break, Break, Break, among others.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born on August 5, 1809 in England. His parents were George Clayton Tennyson and Elizabeth Fytche Tennyson. His father was a reverend. Tennyson’s given name was simply Alfred Tennyson. He was later given the title Lord later on in his life.
Alfred began writing poetry at the age of 8, by age 14 he had written a play. In 1827, Tennyson entered Cambridge University; upon his enrollment he befriended many other peers such as Edward FitzGerald and Arthur Henry Hallam. Tennyson was shocked when Hallam suddenly died in 1833 due to an Apoplexy. An Apoplexy is a type of stroke, which leads to bleeding in the brain.
Tennyson was devastated, that same year he began work on one of his better known books, In Memoriam: A.H.H., dedicated to his friend who passed away. Tennyson later named his son after Arthur, Hallam Tennyson was born in 1852.
In 1830, Tennyson met Emily Sellwood. They fell in love, were engaged in 1839 and were married in 1850. It took twenty years for them to marry because, Emily’s father was upset that Alfred’s opium addicted brother was courting his other daughter. When the married they married in secrecy. During the time Alfred and Emily were separated he traveled the world and devoted his time to writing poetry. He spoke many different languages, including Persian and Hebrew. Two of his children were born in the 1850’s. Hallam in 1852 and Lionel in 1852.
In 1842, Tennyson was a famous poet. He became famous after the publication of his works, Poems. That same year doctors told Alfred that he was in bad health and to put a hold on his work for a while. This recess lasted 2 years, at some point Alfred was not even allowed to read.
Around 1850, after several of his works were published, including The Princess, the United Kingdom was looking for a new Poet Laureate. William Wordsworth had just died so the role was vacated. Several men turned down the role, including Samuel Rogers, who was reallllyyy old at the time. Like 87! After Prince Albert read his work, In Memoriam, he offered the role to Tennyson, he accepted gladly. Tennyson cherished his new role as Poet Laureate, but didn’t care for the attention he attracted from complete strangers.
After Several years on the job as Poet Laureate, the Queen habitually offered Alfred the offer of being knighted and becoming Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Tennyson was shy and declined the offer. It wasn’t until 1884 that Tennyson accepted the Queen’s offer. For the rest of his life he was known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson, or Lord Tennyson. This is a tremendous honor in the United Kingdom.
In the 1870’s Alfred’s health, along with Emily’s began to fail. His work slowed down. He feared f he started something his health wouldn’t allow him to finish it. Due to his bad eye sight, Emily would write down Alfred’s poems. She did this until she became in bad health and his son, Hallam took over. Tennyson suffered a major blow in 1886, when his son Lionel died at sea due to a fever. Tennyson continued his writing slowly during these times. In 1889, Hallam’s first son was born, he named him Lionel. He had another child shortly thereafter in 1891. His name was Alfred Tennyson, Jr. on October 6, 1892, Alfred’s life ended, when he died. It was thought he may have died of gout. His wife and son were by his side when he took his final breath. He was buried in the Poet’s corner of Westminster Abbey.
Tennyson is still regarded to this day as one of the elite poets of all time. Many of his works are still popular today. He definitely set the tone for future writers.
W.H. Auden Biography
Wystan Hugh Auden was born on February 21, 1907 in
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/120
Monday, April 25, 2011
Geoffrey Chaucer Biography - Boza
Geoffrey Chaucer, born in 1343, was a public servant for the majority of his life. Many records indicate that his jobs ranged from page to working for the king. He was a courtier, page, diplomat, and civil servant. Also being a military man he was captured during the siege of Rheims, but King Edward paid his ransom and he was released. He traveled a lot as a messenger and is also believed to have gone on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. He married around 1366 to Phillipa of Hainault, who was a lady in waiting to Edward III’s queen. They had several children but only 4 are actually cited. He then became a member of King Edward III’s Court. Around this time he wrote The Book of the Dutchess in honor of Blanch of Lancaster, the wife of john Gaunt, who died in 1369. Around the year 1374, a time where poetry and other forms of art were generally rewarded, Edward III granted Chaucer a gallon of wine daily for the delivery of one of his works (it is unknown which work it was). He continued to collect the wine until Richard II came to power. In the same year he gained the position of Comptroller of the Customs, which he kept for 12 years. This was a long time for this type of position in that time, but it is during this period that he is believed to have begun his more famous works. His work was the first to be written in English in a time where writing was generally done in more “courtly” languages like French and Latin. Thus garnering him the name “Father of English Literature.” In his position as Comptroller he was appointed a commissioner of peace for Kent, when a French invasion was a possibility. He became of Member of Parliament for Kent and it was during this time that he began work on the Canterbury Tales. He was robbed on June 17, 1391 which caused him to resign from his positions and he began working as a deputy forester days after the incident. Chaucer is believed to have stopped working on Canterbury tales around the end of this decade. After the overthrow of Richard II, Chaucer falls from historical records. Although the new king renewed his grants, his work Complaint of Chaucer to his Purse alludes that these grants were not honored. Chaucer dies of unknown causes on October 25, 1400. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, because of his status as a tenant, but his remains were moved in 1556 making him the first writer to be buried in the Poets’ Corner.
-Boza
Hate to have two of these...William Blake.
William Blake, born November 28th, 1757, was the third of seven children in his family. Hailing from the Soho District of London, he began school at a young age. However, he only remained in school long enough to learn to read and write. After reaching that stage in his education, he was homeschooled by his mother, Catherine Wright Armitage Blake, due to his unruliness. His father was a hosier, meaning that he sold hosiery for a living. He spent a great deal of his young life around the edges of town and in the countryside of London.
It has been said that around the age of ten, Blake saw his “first vision.” As he gazed upon a tree, he began to see angels. By this time, he stated that he had already begun to read the works of Milton and Isaiah. These were great influences as he began to write not much later in his life.
Soon after his vision, but not related, Blake was sent to an art school in Strand. During his time in Mr. Pars’ Drawing school, he spent most of his time copying plaster molds of ancient sculptures. At the age of 14, he was placed at the apprentice level for an engraver because his father could not afford a lead painter. His master was named James Basire and was an engraver at the London Society of the Antiquaries. Due to this fact, Blake was sent to Westminster Abbey to draw tombs and monuments. After this, he began collecting the works of Michelangelo and the literary works of Elizabethan writers such as Shakespeare.
In August of 1779, Blake was admitted to the Royal Academy. Paying his way by producing art, he eventually ran into a bit of a difference with some of his teachers. Some said that his paintings were “too Michelangelo” or “too extravagant.” After his completion of school, he married Catherine Boucher in 1782. Two years later, Blake’s father died and left the hosiery business to William’s older brother. Later that year, William’s brother, Robert, was struck with illness and eventually died. William, being with Robert when he passed, claimed to have seen Robert’s soul travel through the ceiling.
This was not the only time that William saw his younger brother’s soul. Later, Robert’s came to him as a “vision in the night.” This vision gave him the insight to combine poetry with visual art. By 1789, he had his first copy of his book titled The Songs of Innocence. The entire book, “except the manufacturing of the paper,” was done by Blake and his wife. By 1795, he began printing in full size paintings along with his works.
Blake then moved to Sussex where he began to truly enjoy the true beauty of nature around him. He was hired to paint many pictures of many people, but by 1802, he tired of this trivial task. After a run-in with the military in 1803, Blake moved back to London before he faced trial for sedition. By 1810, Blake had fallen to poverty and paranoia. On August 12, 1827, Blake died. As he began to pass from illness, it is said that he was “singing of the things he saw in heaven.”
http://www.tate.org.uk/learning/worksinfocus/blake/gothic/life_intro.html
PS - I couldn't find this man on Galileo. This site should work though, it was cleared by Dr. Boza.
William Blake Biography
William Blake was born to James and Catherine Blake on November 28, 1757. During his early childhood, Blake encountered God in many visions. First he was inspired to become an artist at the age of ten. His parents sent him to drawing school. Admiring many famous artists such as Raphael, Giulio, and others caused him to stay in drawing school for five years. Two years later, he started to write poetry.
At the age of 14, Blake apprenticed with an engraver due to the fact that art school was too expensive for his family. In his seven years there, Blake sketch tombs with variety of Gothic styles. After those seven years, he started back his of art at Royal Academy of Art. William married Catherine Boucher in 1782 and then opened a print shop in 1784. Even though the business didn’t last long, Blake did manage to complete “Island in the Moon”.
Blake return to engraving tombs and tested the waters in illustrating books and magazines. During this time Blake taught his brother Robert how to draw, paint, and engrave. Then Robert fell ill during the winter of 1787 and died. As he died, William saw his brother’s sprit rise up through the ceiling. In 1788, Blake completed his illuminated book “Songs of Innocence”. William believed Robert helped him in learning the printing method of illuminated works and in his book. Then in 1794, he published “Songs of Experience”. “Songs of Innocence” was considered a children’s book due to its illustrating.
Living during the revolutionary times, Blake’s main influences came from his society. Being a nonconformist, many of Blake friends were radical thinkers. Over some time, he became disgusted with the society he lived in. Blake’s religion and political ideas became radical. In 1800, Blake moved to Felpham. While living there, Blake taught himself Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Italian. His religious beliefs became stronger. This prepared him to write more mature writings and paint more mature art.
Blake believed his poetry could be read and understood by common people. But Blake wanted him and his writings to become popular pieces. Before pasting away, Blake final years were spent in poverty but with admiring friends of artists who called themselves “the Ancients”. Dying at the age of 69 in 1827, his family name died with him. Leaving a legacy as a complex man with many artistic talents will remain strong now and in centuries to come.
-http://www.poemhunter.com/william-blake/biography/
At the age of 14, Blake apprenticed with an engraver due to the fact that art school was too expensive for his family. In his seven years there, Blake sketch tombs with variety of Gothic styles. After those seven years, he started back his of art at Royal Academy of Art. William married Catherine Boucher in 1782 and then opened a print shop in 1784. Even though the business didn’t last long, Blake did manage to complete “Island in the Moon”.
Blake return to engraving tombs and tested the waters in illustrating books and magazines. During this time Blake taught his brother Robert how to draw, paint, and engrave. Then Robert fell ill during the winter of 1787 and died. As he died, William saw his brother’s sprit rise up through the ceiling. In 1788, Blake completed his illuminated book “Songs of Innocence”. William believed Robert helped him in learning the printing method of illuminated works and in his book. Then in 1794, he published “Songs of Experience”. “Songs of Innocence” was considered a children’s book due to its illustrating.
Living during the revolutionary times, Blake’s main influences came from his society. Being a nonconformist, many of Blake friends were radical thinkers. Over some time, he became disgusted with the society he lived in. Blake’s religion and political ideas became radical. In 1800, Blake moved to Felpham. While living there, Blake taught himself Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Italian. His religious beliefs became stronger. This prepared him to write more mature writings and paint more mature art.
Blake believed his poetry could be read and understood by common people. But Blake wanted him and his writings to become popular pieces. Before pasting away, Blake final years were spent in poverty but with admiring friends of artists who called themselves “the Ancients”. Dying at the age of 69 in 1827, his family name died with him. Leaving a legacy as a complex man with many artistic talents will remain strong now and in centuries to come.
-http://www.poemhunter.com/william-blake/biography/
Lewis Carroll Biography!
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, was born in Cheshire, England on January 27, 1832 and died on January 14, 1898. He was the eldest son and the third born of a family of seven girls and four boys. His mother, Frances Jane Lutwidge, was the wife of Rev. Charles Dodgson. His mother was a gentle and caring soul, very patient with all of her children. Lewis’s father was the children’s tutors and he raised them very well.
Lewis and his family lived in a little country village and had few acquaintances outside of their family but had no problem entertaining themselves. At the age of 12, Carroll created a magazine named “The Rectory Magazines”, that his family was supposed to contribute to for fun. He also made up games, wrote poems and stories for his brothers and sisters.
In his early years of education, Lewis attended Richmond School, Yorkshire in 1844 to 1845 then switched to Rugby School through 1850. During this time, he got very sick and went deaf in his left ear. After Rugby School, his father tutored him for a year, during his enrollment in Christ Church, Oxford. Carroll excelled in his mathematical studies, coming out at the head of his class. He then preceded a Bachelor of Arts degree that same year. Carroll graduated in 1854, and in 1855 he became a mathematical lecturer at the college. In the year 1861, Lewis became a deacon because of the permanence of the job and he needed to remain unmarried.
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson had a frustrating love for little girls throughout his whole life and this love, some say, contributed with his poetry. Some people feel that Carroll never attained real adult love. If he would have tried to grow up and marry, some say that he was not psychologically ready for anything pertaining to adult love. As said in one of my sources, The Many Lives of Lewis Carroll, “He loved little girls, but, like Peter Pan, he had no intention of marrying them.”
While being a deacon, Lewis was a reserved, fussy bachelor who refused to get caught up in the political and religious storms that troubled England. Lewis Carroll, however, was a delightful, lovable companion to the children for whom he created his nonsense stories and poems.
One solution is that he had two personalities: "Lewis Carroll" and "the Deacon Mr. Dodgson," with the problems that go along with having a split personality. There were peculiar things about him—he stammered ever since he was a child, he was extremely fussy about his possessions, and he walked as much as twenty miles a day. But another solution seems more nearly correct: "Dodgson" and "Carroll" were parts of one personality. This personality, because of happiness in childhood and unhappiness in the years thereafter, could blossom only in a world that resembled the happy one he knew while growing up.
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ca-Ch/Carroll-Lewis.html
http://web.ebscohost.com/lrc/pdf?sid=0af6d54a-3bb5-4048-8b92-88b827898f4a%40sessionmgr4&vid=2&hid=10
Lewis and his family lived in a little country village and had few acquaintances outside of their family but had no problem entertaining themselves. At the age of 12, Carroll created a magazine named “The Rectory Magazines”, that his family was supposed to contribute to for fun. He also made up games, wrote poems and stories for his brothers and sisters.
In his early years of education, Lewis attended Richmond School, Yorkshire in 1844 to 1845 then switched to Rugby School through 1850. During this time, he got very sick and went deaf in his left ear. After Rugby School, his father tutored him for a year, during his enrollment in Christ Church, Oxford. Carroll excelled in his mathematical studies, coming out at the head of his class. He then preceded a Bachelor of Arts degree that same year. Carroll graduated in 1854, and in 1855 he became a mathematical lecturer at the college. In the year 1861, Lewis became a deacon because of the permanence of the job and he needed to remain unmarried.
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson had a frustrating love for little girls throughout his whole life and this love, some say, contributed with his poetry. Some people feel that Carroll never attained real adult love. If he would have tried to grow up and marry, some say that he was not psychologically ready for anything pertaining to adult love. As said in one of my sources, The Many Lives of Lewis Carroll, “He loved little girls, but, like Peter Pan, he had no intention of marrying them.”
While being a deacon, Lewis was a reserved, fussy bachelor who refused to get caught up in the political and religious storms that troubled England. Lewis Carroll, however, was a delightful, lovable companion to the children for whom he created his nonsense stories and poems.
One solution is that he had two personalities: "Lewis Carroll" and "the Deacon Mr. Dodgson," with the problems that go along with having a split personality. There were peculiar things about him—he stammered ever since he was a child, he was extremely fussy about his possessions, and he walked as much as twenty miles a day. But another solution seems more nearly correct: "Dodgson" and "Carroll" were parts of one personality. This personality, because of happiness in childhood and unhappiness in the years thereafter, could blossom only in a world that resembled the happy one he knew while growing up.
Themes that weave in and out of his poetry are: looking through an eye of a child, love, reality and nonsense, life and death, heroic quests, and the tragic and inevitable loss of childhood innocence. Not all of these themes co-exist is all of his poems, but all of these are a lot of themes that weave in and out of his awesome peotry.
http://library.thinkquest.org/10977/carroll/
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ca-Ch/Carroll-Lewis.html
http://web.ebscohost.com/lrc/pdf?sid=0af6d54a-3bb5-4048-8b92-88b827898f4a%40sessionmgr4&vid=2&hid=10
T.E. Hulme Biography
It all began at hip London café called where one of the founders of modern poetry began setting his place in poetic history. T.E. Hulme was part of the poetry group known as the “School of Images”. Although he only published six works of poetry before his death- called the Complete Poetical Works- Hulme and his fellow poets, like F.S. Flint, and Edward Storer, rebelled against the set themes, rhythms and meters of the Romantic era and created poetry based off day-to-to images at the start of the twentieth- century.
Thomas Ernest Hulme was born on September 16, 1883 to a wealthy household in Endon, Staffordshire England. At an early age he took much interest in questioning and rebelling society around him. He attended St. Johns College, at Cambridge where he first studied Mathematics but did not finish because he was thrown out not once, but twice for multiple occasions of outlandish behavior. Hulme was quite a character who enjoyed heckling actors on stage at plays and kept a set of brass knuckle duster near him at all times for leisurely or emergency use. Many of Hulme’s close friends and colleagues say “his charm was his straightforwardness”, as said in the British publication of the Guardian. After being thrown of St. Johns he began attending the University College of London where he took up philosophy and later he worked and studied in Canada and Brussels.
While teaching in Brussels around 1907, Hulme’s became closely familiar with contemporary works of French philosophy and poetry. One in particular whom he met and developed a close relationship with was Henri Bergson. It was he who influenced Hulme’s deep interest and inspection of nineteenth- century French psychologists, which led to the development of his idea of “imagist theory and thought” as labeled in an article from the Poetry Foundation. Accompanying Hulme in his deep interest in French philosophy to create a literary movement was his disdain for Romanticism. In several instances he expresses his whole hate for it in saying that, “romanticism is dead in reality” or in his definition of romanticism and the movement that came before it classicism:
"Here is the root of all romanticism: that man, the individual, is an infinite reservoir of possibilities; and if you can so rearrange society by the destruction of oppressive order then these possibilities will have a chance and you will get progress." Classicism is precisely the opposite: "Man is an extraordinarily fixed and limited animal whose nature is absolutely constant. It is only by tradition and organization that anything decent can be got out of him."
Hulme believed that image, “was the untouched material of experience”, and the analysis of the works of his mentor Henri Bergson further set Hulme in his new way of understanding art imagery. Bergson specialized in the forms of awareness in which he believed there were only two different types: awareness is intuition and awareness is based in intellect which applies its knowledge to action. In 1913 a translation of Bergson’s book by Hulme Introduction to Metaphysics was released.
Hulme was inspired by another French great, poet Gustave Kahn who resisted following strict modes of poetry that included writing with exact rhythms, meters, and rhymes, but instead letting the authors thoughts wander freely. In 1908 Hulme returned to England , where he established the Poets Club he and other philosophers and poets convened to discuss and debate ideas of image and modern poetry. But this group soon faded when in 1909 the Poets Club was discontinued and the Café Tour D’Eiffel group began. It was in this group where Hulme is now accredited with influencing great American poet Ezra Pound and later T.S. Eliot.
Robert Ferguson the author of the book The Short Sharp Life of T.E. Hulme summarizes Hulme’s writing style as, “overhearing someone in the process of thinking”. Hulme set out to revolutionize an entire era of thinking and writing and depending on how you view the world , he succeeded. In August 1914 , Hulme entered the military where he served with the Royal Marine Artillery in France and Belgium. He was killed on the frontlines in at the age of thirty-four in1917, but his ideas, thoughts, and works still credit him with creation of modern poetry.
Sources
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/t-e-hulme
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/dec/08/biography.poetry
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/mar/25/hulme-modern-poetry-ezra-pound-imagists
http://www.jrank.org/literature/pages/4499/T-E-Hulme-%28Thomas-Ernest-Hulme%29.html
Life of D. H. Lawrence
Outcast. Poet. Novelist. Thinker. Playwright. Misinterpreted. British. Critic. All These words describe David Herbert Lawrence, or D. H. for short, an English Poet from The nineteenth century who stepped outside the boundaries of writing during his time to create some dramatic and memorable literary works. His most famous works include, Sons and Lovers (1913) and Women in Love (1920).
Born on September 11, 1885 into a working class family in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, D. H. Lawrence took in the hardships of a dysfunctional family in the countryside. He often referred to his struggles in his literary works. His educational career began at Beauvale Board School , then onto Nottingham High School, and from there, to University at the University College Nottingham where he received a teaching certificate in 1908. It was during his years in schooling that Lawrence began his writing. His first novel, The White Peacock was published in 1911.
Lawrence’s most influential friend and guide was Jessie Chambers. Chambers was the man who showed Lawrence’s poems and short stories to the well known editor of the paper, English Review. The poems and stories were immediately published and Lawrence began to get a reputation for his poems and short stories. In 1912, Lawrence published his next two novels, The Trespasser and Sons and Lovers. During this time, Lawrence became ill with pneumonia for the second time. He chose to travel abroad and expand his writing. He fell in love with a married woman, Frieda Weekley. After her divorce with her former husband, Weekley and Lawrence married in 1914.
Lawrence’s childhood influenced his writing greatly. He often went back to Eastwood, his birthplace, to contemplate on his early life. Growing up in a mining town surrounded by country side, living with a drinking father and dysfunctional parents, and the hardships of a working class all shaped the literary works of Lawrence. He referenced these and other aspects of his life such as his lovers in many of his poems, stories, essays, and novels. Sons and Lovers can be directly paralleled to Lawrence’s early life. Some would say the novel is a quasi-autobiography of his childhood.
World War I broke out during some of the most influential years in Lawrence’s life. He was still living in England at this time. He and his wife, Weekley, were barely getting by. They were living in poverty in a cottage in Cornwall in the countryside. Because of Lawrence’s anti-war opinions and Frieda Weekely being of German decent, the couple was exiled out of their rural home to London and Derbyshire. Lawrence began to have problems with his wife as well. They fought more frequently and after participating in a secret society named The Apostles, Lawrence questioned his sexuality. This turmoil created some of Lawrence’s greatest pieces.
He left England never to return in 1919. He and his wife first moved to Italy and then eastward to Australia on a long journey to the United States. He wrote Kangaroo while in Australia and in this novel admits that because he was outcasts for his pacifist feelings during World War I, he did not wish to actively participate in society. After his American traveled in New Mexico and Mexico, Lawrence returned to Italy and wrote the controversial novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover in 1926. The book describes the sexual love of two lovers in different classes and concludes that sexual intercourse goes hand in hand with love.
Throughout Lawrence’s life, he produced numerous poems. His early ones were written in conservative rhythmic patterns but eventually he turned to free verse. One of his most remarkable poems was Birds, Beast, and Flowers written in 1923 about his nature experiences in the Mediterranean and America.
D. H. Lawrence is remembered as liberal poet who expertly puts emotion, intuition, sensation, and sexuality into his literary works. He turned away from the traditional Victorian ways to a more modern way of thinking where he allows emotion to take over and delves deeply into the human mind.
Sources
"Lawrence, D.H." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.
“ Women in Love.” EBSCOhost. Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition; January 2009, p1-2
“Lady Chatterley’s Love.” EBSCOhost. Masterplots, Fourth Edition; November 2010, p1-3
Born on September 11, 1885 into a working class family in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, D. H. Lawrence took in the hardships of a dysfunctional family in the countryside. He often referred to his struggles in his literary works. His educational career began at Beauvale Board School , then onto Nottingham High School, and from there, to University at the University College Nottingham where he received a teaching certificate in 1908. It was during his years in schooling that Lawrence began his writing. His first novel, The White Peacock was published in 1911.
Lawrence’s most influential friend and guide was Jessie Chambers. Chambers was the man who showed Lawrence’s poems and short stories to the well known editor of the paper, English Review. The poems and stories were immediately published and Lawrence began to get a reputation for his poems and short stories. In 1912, Lawrence published his next two novels, The Trespasser and Sons and Lovers. During this time, Lawrence became ill with pneumonia for the second time. He chose to travel abroad and expand his writing. He fell in love with a married woman, Frieda Weekley. After her divorce with her former husband, Weekley and Lawrence married in 1914.
Lawrence’s childhood influenced his writing greatly. He often went back to Eastwood, his birthplace, to contemplate on his early life. Growing up in a mining town surrounded by country side, living with a drinking father and dysfunctional parents, and the hardships of a working class all shaped the literary works of Lawrence. He referenced these and other aspects of his life such as his lovers in many of his poems, stories, essays, and novels. Sons and Lovers can be directly paralleled to Lawrence’s early life. Some would say the novel is a quasi-autobiography of his childhood.
World War I broke out during some of the most influential years in Lawrence’s life. He was still living in England at this time. He and his wife, Weekley, were barely getting by. They were living in poverty in a cottage in Cornwall in the countryside. Because of Lawrence’s anti-war opinions and Frieda Weekely being of German decent, the couple was exiled out of their rural home to London and Derbyshire. Lawrence began to have problems with his wife as well. They fought more frequently and after participating in a secret society named The Apostles, Lawrence questioned his sexuality. This turmoil created some of Lawrence’s greatest pieces.
He left England never to return in 1919. He and his wife first moved to Italy and then eastward to Australia on a long journey to the United States. He wrote Kangaroo while in Australia and in this novel admits that because he was outcasts for his pacifist feelings during World War I, he did not wish to actively participate in society. After his American traveled in New Mexico and Mexico, Lawrence returned to Italy and wrote the controversial novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover in 1926. The book describes the sexual love of two lovers in different classes and concludes that sexual intercourse goes hand in hand with love.
Throughout Lawrence’s life, he produced numerous poems. His early ones were written in conservative rhythmic patterns but eventually he turned to free verse. One of his most remarkable poems was Birds, Beast, and Flowers written in 1923 about his nature experiences in the Mediterranean and America.
D. H. Lawrence is remembered as liberal poet who expertly puts emotion, intuition, sensation, and sexuality into his literary works. He turned away from the traditional Victorian ways to a more modern way of thinking where he allows emotion to take over and delves deeply into the human mind.
Sources
"Lawrence, D.H." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.
“ Women in Love.” EBSCOhost. Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition; January 2009, p1-2
“Lady Chatterley’s Love.” EBSCOhost. Masterplots, Fourth Edition; November 2010, p1-3
Terence Ian Fitton Armstrong "John Gawsworth"
Terence Ian Fitton Armstrong who was most commonly known under the pen name of John Gawsworth was born on June 29, 1912. He has 17 major poems or anthologies of poems, and 2 major short stories underneath his pen name. some of his more important writings were his first published Confession, 1931 and his last collection which was kind of a best of John Gawsworth, Collected Poems of John Gawsworth, 1948. He was born in the Baron’s Court district of London, a small and recently built district when he was born. His parents, Frederick Percy Armstrong and Ethel Jackson Armstrong divorced while Terence was very young. After the divorce, Terence seemed to have some resentment of his dad and was troubled by it as he was growing up. Sometime after his parents divorced his mom decided to go to Canada and married her former husband’s brother, Leaving Terence behind in London to live in a garret, which is the top floor in a house, normally a room in the attic of a house or apartment. He also started to work around town in a couple of the bookstores. After working in the bookstores awhile he eventually met and took after Arthur Machen, who was a reader for a local publisher, Ernest Benn. About this time he began to write free verse underneath his pen name of John Gawsworth. In 1933, he married Barbara Kentish who was the social editor of the British newspaper The Daily Mail. With his wife working at a newspaper Terence decided to start compiling horror and mystery short stories and anthologies to put into the newspaper, which created an increase in sales for the newspaper. Terence was very well known for his works, and the detail that he went into with them made him a very popular writer. Often he wrote collaborations of stories that he would piece together from various friends that he would piece all together into one story. in 1941 he enlisted into the RAF underneath his real name of Armstrong after a eries of failed medical tests kept him out of the army. By the later part of his career the stressful life of a writer began to catch up to him, leading him into alcoholism and fits of drunken rage, to the point of which he chucked his typewriter out of the window in one instance. Along with his drunkenness he was dealing with the psychological stress that the divorce of his parents had put on him when he was a very young child, which led him to feed his ego and put himself out there as a more interesting man than he really was. After the type writer incident Terence kept writing poems, but instead choosing to hand write them and keep them in small hand journals. As he started to age he developed diabetes and began to fall ill. He kept writing from the different hospitals he was a patient at. Finally at the age of 58 he received a very large and substantial amount of inheritance, enough money to cure him of his ailments, and allow him to retire. Unfortunately he passed away from a pulmonary embolism two days before he received notification of the inheritance.
www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/bai/eng.htm
http://web.ebscohost.com.wf2dnvr11.webfeat.org/ehost/detail?sid=9a41e0a6-7fbf-4dfa-b653-177cddcf53df%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lfh&AN=103331LM32049790302813
http://www.alangullette.com/lit/shiel/essays/shiel_gawsworth.htm
www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/bai/eng.htm
http://web.ebscohost.com.wf2dnvr11.webfeat.org/ehost/detail?sid=9a41e0a6-7fbf-4dfa-b653-177cddcf53df%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lfh&AN=103331LM32049790302813
http://www.alangullette.com/lit/shiel/essays/shiel_gawsworth.htm
John Milton
John Milton was born to John Sr. and Sara Milton on December 9th, 1608 in Cheapside, England. His father’s job was a scrivener; this basically meant that he was a glorified secretary. John Milton Sr. also composed church music, this led to John Milton Jr. enjoying music for the rest of his life.
His family was pretty well off so they were able to afford him tutors to teach him at home. At the age of twelve he entered St. Paul’s School. Just 5 years later he was he was admitted into Christ’s College in Cambridge. However one year later he was suspended from school for getting in an aggressive argument with his tutor. After the suspension John left Cambridge for London. While he was in London he acquired an interest for poetry. Time passed and he returned to Christ’s College, this time he was given a new tutor. He was not happy at Christ’s College, he felt as if none of the fellow students liked him and he was also dissatisfied with the curriculum. John graduated with honors from Christ’s College in 1632. After his graduation he left Cambridge and went to London, this was so he could do some private study and literature composition. During this time he wrote many literary works one of his more famous works that came out during this time period was the poem “On Shakespeare”. In 1637 his mother died and then months later his good friend died, Edward King. Shortly after the deaths of his two loved one he composed a remarkable elegy, titled, “Lycidas”.
Milton set out for a tour around Europe. This tour was to include many famous sites in Europe. Some of the sites Mr. Milton visited included Paris, Florence, Rome, Naples, and Geneva. In Milton found out that he had lost another good friend. His childhood friend, Charles Diodati, was the victim of death. John had to end his tour of Europe because there were many rumors that civil war was brewing in England. Shortly after he ended his tour he wrote a poem “Epitaphium Damonis”. This was a Latin poem he wrote in memory of his good friend.
In 1642 John married Mary Powell. She was 17 years old while he was 34. This relationship did not work out too well, the two were often very unhappy. Mary ended up leaving to visit the family home and did not return. Milton wanted to divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. Through all of this Milton planned to remarry Mary on her return. When she returned they seemed to have fixed the problems in their relationship. In 1646 their first child, Anna was born. In 1651 his first son was born. The year 1652 was a horrible year for Milton. He lost his sight and this event prompted him to write the sonnet “When I Consider How My Light is Spent”. Mary gave birth to their 4 child Deborah but Mary died just a few days later and his son John died a month later.
In 1663 John spent his time tutoring students. He also worked on his life’s work the epic Paradise Lost. It is considered as one of the greatest pieces of English literature. The crazy thing is that he did all of this while he was blind he basically wrote it in his head and told his aides what to write down. In 1667 the epic was published in ten books. The book met instant success. In 1674 Milton met his end. He was buried at a church in St. Giles.
His family was pretty well off so they were able to afford him tutors to teach him at home. At the age of twelve he entered St. Paul’s School. Just 5 years later he was he was admitted into Christ’s College in Cambridge. However one year later he was suspended from school for getting in an aggressive argument with his tutor. After the suspension John left Cambridge for London. While he was in London he acquired an interest for poetry. Time passed and he returned to Christ’s College, this time he was given a new tutor. He was not happy at Christ’s College, he felt as if none of the fellow students liked him and he was also dissatisfied with the curriculum. John graduated with honors from Christ’s College in 1632. After his graduation he left Cambridge and went to London, this was so he could do some private study and literature composition. During this time he wrote many literary works one of his more famous works that came out during this time period was the poem “On Shakespeare”. In 1637 his mother died and then months later his good friend died, Edward King. Shortly after the deaths of his two loved one he composed a remarkable elegy, titled, “Lycidas”.
Milton set out for a tour around Europe. This tour was to include many famous sites in Europe. Some of the sites Mr. Milton visited included Paris, Florence, Rome, Naples, and Geneva. In Milton found out that he had lost another good friend. His childhood friend, Charles Diodati, was the victim of death. John had to end his tour of Europe because there were many rumors that civil war was brewing in England. Shortly after he ended his tour he wrote a poem “Epitaphium Damonis”. This was a Latin poem he wrote in memory of his good friend.
In 1642 John married Mary Powell. She was 17 years old while he was 34. This relationship did not work out too well, the two were often very unhappy. Mary ended up leaving to visit the family home and did not return. Milton wanted to divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. Through all of this Milton planned to remarry Mary on her return. When she returned they seemed to have fixed the problems in their relationship. In 1646 their first child, Anna was born. In 1651 his first son was born. The year 1652 was a horrible year for Milton. He lost his sight and this event prompted him to write the sonnet “When I Consider How My Light is Spent”. Mary gave birth to their 4 child Deborah but Mary died just a few days later and his son John died a month later.
In 1663 John spent his time tutoring students. He also worked on his life’s work the epic Paradise Lost. It is considered as one of the greatest pieces of English literature. The crazy thing is that he did all of this while he was blind he basically wrote it in his head and told his aides what to write down. In 1667 the epic was published in ten books. The book met instant success. In 1674 Milton met his end. He was buried at a church in St. Giles.
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