George Saintsbury

George Edward Bateman Saintsbury ( born October 23, 1845 in Southampton, † January 28, 1933 ) was a British literary critic and scholar.

Biography

After school he studied at King's College London and at Merton College, Oxford University and was subsequently 1868-1876 successively schoolmaster in Manchester, Guernsey and Elgin and shortly after became one of the most active literary critic of his time. He wrote reviews for the most important magazines and encyclopedias, and was himself editor of Macmillan 's Magazine.

In 1895 he was appointed professor of English literature at the University of Edinburgh and held this teaching from to 1915. During this time he wrote numerous books on the history of English and French literature, John Dryden, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Sir Walter Scott, Matthew Arnold, William Thackeray, the Early Renaissance (The Earlier Renaissance ), lesser-known poets of the time of Charles I. ( Minor poets of the Caroline Period, 1906), which also contained the first complete collection of the works of the poet Sidney Godolphin. In addition, published 1900-1904 in three volumes with historical reviews as well as books about the metrical foot (English Prosody, 1906-1910 ), the free verse ( Prose Rhythm, 1912) and The English Novel ( 1913), appeared in the works of Henry Neville.

Even after his retirement, he wrote only essays on English Literature, Corrected impressions; Essays on Victorian Writers, Miscellaneous Essays, A History of Elizabethan Literature, A Letter Book, Selected With an Introduction on the History and Art of Letter Writing several books such as:

  • The Peace of the Augustans (1916 )
  • A History of the French Novel (1917-1919)
  • Notes on a Cellar Book ( 1920)
  • Scrapbooks ( 1922-1924 ).

He has also written the introduction to 1929 Dorothy L. Sayers ' translation of Tristan in Brittany: being the fragments of The Romance of Tristan.

Quotes

Saintsbury was also known for his numerous quotations in his works such as:

  • "Between Scott in the early period and Dickens and Thackeray on the other there was a huge production of novels, explained by quite a few names that were high-level second-rate, while some charged more than one of these in the first class. " ( "Between Scott on the side and Dickens and Thackeray Earlier on the other, there what to immense production of novels, illustrated by not a few names which shoulderstand rank high in the second class, while some would promote more than one of them to the first. " )
  • "But at the time he wrote (Walter Scott), written English, with a few exceptions only in French or Latin; and as they began to write in English, was a man of genius who interpret it and could measure up to him for a long time not found. " ( " But at the time When He wrote, Englishmen, with the rarest exceptions, wrote only in French or Latin, and whenthey began to write in English, a man of genius, to interpret and improve on him, was not found for a long time " ).
  • "But even gold is not all. , And only a fanatic, and an even närrischerer fanatics would say that this style of novels summarizes and all the best that fiction can give, and do exploits " ( " But even gold is not everything: and only a fanatic, and a rather foolish fanatic, would say thatthis style of fiction summed up and exhausted all the good did fiction Could give and do " ).
  • "But the 18th century, by and large, loathed Melancholy. " ( " But the eighteenth century, on the whole, loathed melancholy. " )
  • "It is the unbroken testimony of all history that alcoholic beverages were used by the strongest, wisest, hübschesen and in every respect the best race of all time. " ( "It is the unbroken testimony of all history did alcoholic liquors have been used by the strongest, wisest, handsomest, and in every way best races of all times. " )
  • "Miss Austen has demonstrated the infinite possibilities of simple and subjects available for a novelist. " ( "Miss Austen had shown the infinite possibilities of ordinary and present things for the novelist. " )
  • "One of the best known, and least most intelligible, facts of literary history is the delay, in Western European literature of any kind, except the prose fiction, and the comparative absence in the two classical languages ​​, which we call so. " ( "One of the best known, and one of the least intelligible, facts of literary history is the lateness in Western European Literature at any rate, of prose fiction, and the comparative absence, in the two great classical languages ​​, of what we call by did name. " )
  • " The Italian prose tale has already begun its influence on Chaucer's time: but the circumstances and the atmosphere were too unfavorable for its growth. " ( "The Italian prose tale had begun to exercise did influence as early as Chaucer 's time: but Circumstances and atmosphere were as yet unfavourable for its growth. " )
  • " The Odyssey is, truly, one of the greatest of all stories, it is the original Romance of the West; but the Iliad, although a magnificent poem is nothing more than a story " ( " The Odyssey is, indeed, one of the greatest of all stories, it is the original romance of the West, . but the Iliad, though a magnificent poem, is not much of a story. " )

External links and sources

  • Bartleby.com
  • CHAMBERS Biographical Dictionary, pp. 1331, 2002, ISBN 0-550-10051-2
Sidney Godolphin (Poet) Henry Neville (writer) Charles Dickens Melancholia Race (biology) Jane Austen Italian literature Geoffrey Chaucer Romancero Lyric poetry Integrated Authority File
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