Coventry Patmore

Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore ( born July 23, 1823 in Woodford, Essex, England; † November 26, 1896 in Lymington, Hampshire, England ) was a British poet and literary critic, primarily through the four songs in praise of marriage existing seal The Angel was known in the House.

Life

Youth and first poems

The eldest son of the author Peter George Patmore received a private school education and developed his interest in literature by the employees and the company of his father. First, he wanted to be a painter and got due to his talent early 1838, the "Silver Palette" awarded the Royal Society of British Artists.

In 1839 he attended a school for six months in France and began writing poems, which were published by his father after his return in part. A short time later he put his literary interests aside in favor of scientific pursuits, but soon started again because of the sudden success of Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson with the re- writing of poems.

In 1844 he published his first volume of poetry entitled Poems, which was not without Indididualität, but suffered from small-scale defects and therefore the one hand, praised by critics, but was on the other reviled. He then acquired the remaining stock of the support and let this destroy. Most touched him doing a sharp criticism in Blackwood 's Edinburgh Magazine, who attacked him in the worst unfounded style. Through the encouragement of private friends and their positive views, however, he continued his writing career, and in fact led the publication and criticism of Poems to the fact that he met numerous literary figures such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti. This made ​​him with William Holman Hunt and the Pre-Raphaelites by the group he joined, and his poem The Seasons published in their newspaper, The Germ.

Library assistant at the British Museum and The Angel in the House

At that his father got into financial difficulties, however, gave him Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton 1846 a job as an assistant librarian at the British Museum. He held this position for 19 years he held until 1865, devoted himself in his spare time but still the writing of poems.

In 1847 he married the writer Emily Andrews, daughter of a doctor from Camberwell. He also became involved in 1852 with the establishment of a program of support for the British Museum, in particular by a letter in the daily newspaper The Times. He also published poems in the published by Charles Dickens 1850-1859 weekly Household Words.

In 1853 he published the successful poems from the band Poems again in Tamerton Church Tower, and added to these some new poem, which showed significant progress both in the design as well as style.

The first part of his major work, The Angel in the House, he wrote in 1854, with the The Epousals (1856 ), Faithful for Ever (1860 ) and The Victories of Love ( 1862) three other songs followed. However, it was at this time also to " counter- drafts " at this perfect picture of the wife, such as by reports of the work of Florence Nightingale and their older sister Frances Parthenope Verney.

After a long illness, died in 1862 his wife Emily Patmore, and shortly thereafter he converted to the Roman Catholic Church. In 1865 he married for the second time and settled with his second wife Marianne Byles in East Grinstead in Mid Sussex.

The Unknown Eros and late works

In 1877 he wrote his second major work, The Unknown Eros, which undoubtedly contains his best lyrical work and how the following later works had mainly mystical or religious content. In 1878 he wrote Amelia, which was regarded by him as his favorite poem, and an essay on the topic The English Metrical Law, in which he dealt with the introduction of the metric system of units in England. This first critical discussion was continued by him in 1879 with the book Principle in nature.

After the death of his second wife in 1880 he married Harriet Robson 1881 for the third time and continued his literary activity continued with the book How I managed my estate, in which he portrayed the Acquired and the administration of his property in East Grinstead. 1886 was followed by the publication of a two-volume collection of his poems, the works contained in The Unknown Eros, Departure and The Toys are among the better-known poems Patmores.

Patmore, the last published books of poetry Religio poetae (1893 ) and The Rod, The Root and the Flower (1895 ), passed away in his retirement home in Lymington. In addition, posthumously published poems by him as well as his 1883 deceased son Henry John Patmore.

A German translation of his lyrical works appeared in 1951 poems in selection - Coventry Patmore in Patmos -Verlag.

Background literature

  • JC Reid: The Mind and Art of Coventry Patmore, 1957

External links and sources

  • Literature of and over Coventry Patmore in the catalog that German national library
  • Coventry Patmore in the Notable Names Database (English)
  • Meyers Lexicon Great people, Mannheim 1968, p 1004
  • Chambers Biographical Dictionary, Edinburgh 2002, ISBN 0-550-10051-2, p 1173
  • Author
  • Literary critic
  • Literature (19th century)
  • Literature ( English )
  • Poetry
  • Non-fiction
  • Person (British Museum )
  • English
  • Briton
  • Born in 1823
  • Died in 1896
  • Man
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