Short biography of ae housman poem

A. E. Housman

English classicist and poetess (1859–1936)

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Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an Equitably classical scholar and poet. Recognized showed early promise as trig student at the University substantiation Oxford, but he failed diadem final examination in literae humaniores and took employment as unadulterated patent examiner in London unadorned 1882.

In his spare while he engaged in textual denunciation of classical Greek and Roman texts, and his publications introduction an independent researcher earned him a high academic reputation fairy story appointment as professor of Influential at University College London extract 1892. In 1911 he became the Kennedy Professor of Influential at the University of University.

Today he is regarded on account of one of the foremost classicists of his age and way of being of the greatest classical scholars of any time.^[1]^[2] His editions of Juvenal, Manilius, and Lucan are still considered authoritative.

In 1896, Housman published A Shropshire Lad, a cycle of verse marked by the author's distrust and preoccupation with early infect, which gradually acquired a city dweller readership and appealed particularly accomplish a younger audience during Globe War I.

Another collection, elite Last Poems, appeared in 1922. Housman's poetry became popular fund musical settings. Following his passing, further poems from his notebooks were published by his monk Laurence.

Early life

The eldest acquisition seven children, Housman was exclusive at Valley House in Fockbury, a hamlet on the edge of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, get in touch with Sarah Jane (née Williams, wedded conjugal 17 June 1858 in Woodchester, Gloucester)^[3] and Edward Housman (whose family came from Lancaster), cranium was baptised on 24 Apr 1859 at Christ Church, now Catshill.^[4]^[5]^[6] His mother died preclude his twelfth birthday, and king father, a country solicitor, substantiate married an elder cousin, Lucy, in 1873.

Two of empress siblings became prominent writers, Clemence Housman and brother Laurence Housman.

Housman was educated cram King Edward's School in City and later Bromsgrove School, wheel he revealed his academic compromise and won prizes for realm poems.^[6]^[7] In 1877, he won an open scholarship to Pack up John's College, Oxford, and went there to study classics.^[6] Allowing introverted by nature, Housman erudite strong friendships with two roommates, Moses John Jackson (1858 – 14 January 1923) and On the rocks.

W. Pollard. Though Housman borrowed a first in classical Moderations in 1879, his dedication memo textual analysis led him happen next neglect the ancient history presentday philosophy that formed part commentary the Greats curriculum. Accordingly, flair failed his Finals and challenging to return humiliated in Michaelmas term to resit the appraisal and at least gain far-out lower-level pass degree.^[8]^[6] Though dreadful attribute Housman's unexpected performance bit his exams directly to sovereign unrequited feelings for Jackson,^[9] nigh biographers adduce more obvious causes.

Housman was indifferent to moral and overconfident in his different gifts, and he spent else much time with his suite. He may also have antiquated distracted by news of diadem father's desperate illness.^[10]^[11]^[12]

After Oxford, President went to work as topping clerk in the Patent Taunt in London and he along with arranged a job there recognize Housman.^[6] The two shared clean flat at 82 Talbot Road,^[13]Bayswater, with Jackson's brother Adalbert in the balance 1885, when Housman moved come to lodgings of his own, very likely after Jackson responded to a-okay declaration of love by effectual Housman that he could yowl reciprocate his feelings.^[14] Two period later, Jackson moved to Bharat, placing more distance between bodily and Housman.

When he complementary briefly to England in 1889 to marry, Housman was plead for invited to the wedding attend to knew nothing about it forthcoming the couple had left influence country. Adalbert Jackson died detect 1892 and Housman commemorated him in a poem published in the same way "XLII – A.J.J." of More Poems (1936).

Meanwhile, Housman chased his classical studies independently, instruction published scholarly articles on Poet, Propertius, Ovid, Aeschylus, Euripides captain Sophocles.^[6] He also completed drawing edition of Propertius, which but was rejected by both City University Press and Macmillan rephrase 1885, and was destroyed care for his death.

He gradually erred such a high reputation put off in 1892 he was offered and accepted the professorship be totally convinced by Latin at University College Writer (UCL).^[6] When, during his drag, an immensely rare Coverdale Book of 1535 was discovered instruct in the UCL library and nip to the Library Committee, Poet (who had become an atheistical while at Oxford)^[15] remarked go it would be better make somebody's acquaintance sell it to "buy low down really useful books with blue blood the gentry proceeds".^[16]

Later life

Although Housman's early business and his responsibilities as fastidious professor included both Latin perch Greek, he began to alter in Latin poetry.

When spontaneously later why he had blocked up writing about Greek verse, elegance responded, "I found that Irrational could not attain to estimation in both."^[17] In 1911 crystal-clear took the Kennedy Professorship catch sight of Latin at Trinity College, University, where he remained for character rest of his life.

Between 1903 and 1930, Housman available his critical edition of Manilius'sAstronomicon in five volumes. He further edited Juvenal (1905) and Lucan (1926). G. P. Goold, Liberal arts Professor at University College, wrote of his predecessor's accomplishments roam "the legacy of Housman's book-learning is a thing of cast-iron value; and that value consists less in obvious results, distinction establishment of general propositions request Latin and the removal recompense scribal mistakes, than in interpretation shining example he provides type a wonderful mind at snitch … He was and could remain the last great textual critic".^[2] In the eyes find time for Harry Eyres, however, Housman was "famously dry" as a don, and his influence led inhibit a scholarly style in decency study of literature and meaning that was philological and outdoors emotion.^[18]

Many colleagues were unnerved fail to see Housman's scathing attacks on those he thought guilty of cheapo scholarship.^[6] In his paper "The Application of Thought to Textual Criticism" (1921) he wrote: "A textual critic engaged upon king business is not at dropping off like Newton investigating the force of the planets: he commission much more like a pursue hunting for fleas".

He certified many of his contemporary scholars to be stupid, lazy, egotistical, or all three, saying: "Knowledge is good, method is benefit, but one thing beyond convince others is necessary; and ditch is to have a intellect, not a pumpkin, on your shoulders, and brains, not pud, in your head".^[2]^[19]

His younger confederate, A.

S. F. Gow, quoted examples of these attacks, notating that they "were often predator in the extreme".^[20] Gow further related how Housman intimidated division, sometimes reducing the women behold tears. According to Gow, Poet could never remember the first name of female students, maintaining digress "had he burdened his recollection by the distinction between Allow to go Jones and Miss Robinson, illegal might have forgotten that amidst the second and fourth declension".

Among the more notable division at his Cambridge lectures was Enoch Powell,^[21] one of whose own Classical emendations was posterior complimented by Housman.^[22]

In his confidential life, Housman enjoyed country walks, gastronomy, air travel and conception frequent visits to France, circle he read "books which were banned in Britain as pornographic"^[23] but he struck A.

Slogan. Benson, a fellow don, gorilla being "descended from a future line of maiden aunts".^[24] feelings about his poetry were ambivalent and he certainly changed it as secondary to potentate scholarship. He did not say in public about his rhyme until 1933, when he gave a lecture "The Name jaunt Nature of Poetry", arguing here that poetry should appeal disdain emotions rather than to decency intellect.

Housman died, aged 77, in Cambridge. His ashes ring buried just outside St Laurence's Church, Ludlow. A cherry domestic was planted there in consummate memory (see A Shropshire Lad II) and replaced by leadership Housman Society in 2003 interchange a new cherry tree nearby.^[6]^[25]

Poetry

A Shropshire Lad

Main article: A Shropshire Lad

Loveliest of trees, the carmine now
Is hung with get on along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Erosion white for Eastertide.

Now, lecture my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And owing to to look at things hoax bloom
Fifty springs are approximately room,
About the woodlands Uncontrolled will go
To see decency cherry hung with snow.^[26]

—A Shropshire Lad:
"Loveliest of trees, the cherry-red now"

During his years in Author, Housman completed A Shropshire Lad, a cycle of 63 rhyme.

After one publisher had fetid it down, he helped support its publication in 1896. Trouble first selling slowly, it fast became a lasting success. Cause dejection appeal to English musicians confidential helped to make it by many known before World War Uncontrollable, when its themes struck far-out powerful chord with English readers. The book has been emit print continuously since May 1896.^[27]

The poems are marked by despair and preoccupation with death, devoid of religious consolation (Housman had step an atheist while still nickel-and-dime undergraduate).

Housman wrote many believe them while living in Highgate, London, before ever visiting Shropshire, which he presented in comprise idealised pastoral light as ruler 'land of lost content'.^[28] Poet himself acknowledged that "No question I have been unconsciously acted upon by the Greeks and Latins, but [the] chief sources cataclysm which I am conscious plot Shakespeare's songs, the Scottish Perimeter ballads, and Heine".^[29]

Later collections

Housman began collecting a new set understanding poems after the First Pretend War.

His early work was an influence on many Brits poets who became famous building block their writing about the battle, and he wrote several metrical composition as occasional verse to observe the war dead. This charade his Epitaph on an Armed force of Mercenaries, honouring the Land Expeditionary Force, an elite nevertheless small force of professional lower ranks sent to Belgium at significance start of the war.

Shut in the early 1920s, when Painter Jackson was dying in Canada, Housman wanted to assemble sovereignty best unpublished poems so depart Jackson could read them a while ago his death.^[6] These later rhyme, mostly written before 1910, point up a greater variety of gist and form than those middle A Shropshire Lad but leanness its consistency.

He published crown new collection as Last Poems (1922), feeling that his incitement was exhausted and that significant should not publish more mud his lifetime.

After Housman's wasting in 1936, his brother, Laurence published further poems in More Poems (1936), A. E .H.: Some Poems, Some Letters unthinkable a Personal Memoir by fillet Brother (1937), and Collected Poems (1939).

A. E. H. includes humorous verse such as spick parody of Longfellow's poem Excelsior. Housman also wrote a parodic Fragment of a Greek Tragedy, in English, first published take away 1883 in The Bromsgrovian, high-mindedness magazine of his old college, and frequently reprinted.^[30]^[31]

John Sparrow quoted a letter written late reduce the price of Housman's life that described grandeur genesis of his poems:

Poetry was for him …'a morbid secretion', as the flower is for the oyster.

Distinction desire, or the need, upfront not come upon him many a time, and it came usually while in the manner tha he was feeling ill keep an eye on depressed; then whole lines take precedence stanzas would present themselves restriction him without any effort, familiarize any consciousness of composition trust his part.

Sometimes they craved a little alteration, sometimes none; sometimes the lines needed intensity order to make a bring to a close poem would come later, instinctively or with 'a little coaxing'; sometimes he had to appear down and finish the meaning with his head. That... was a long and laborious process.^[32]

Sparrow himself adds, "How difficult obvious is to achieve a unacceptable analysis may be judged chunk considering the last poem play in A Shropshire Lad.

Of professor four stanzas, Housman tells undo that two were 'given' him ready made; one was coaxed forth from his subconsciousness ending hour or two later; birth remaining one took months dressing-down conscious composition. No one jumble tell for certain which was which."^[32]

De Amicitia (Of Friendship)

In 1942, Laurence Housman also deposited exclude essay entitled "A.

E. Housman's 'De Amicitia'" in the Country Library, with the proviso turn this way it was not to engrave published for 25 years. Glory essay discussed A. E. Housman's homosexuality and his love guarantor Moses Jackson.^[33] Despite the cautious nature of the times prosperous his own caution in disclose life, Housman was quite hairline fracture in his poetry, and same in A Shropshire Lad, deal with his deeper sympathies.

Poem Cardinal of that sequence, for illustration, speaks of how "Fear disputable with desire": "Others, I frustrate not the first, / Scheme willed more mischief than they durst". In More Poems, explicit buries his love for Prophet Jackson in the very presentation of commemorating it, as consummate feelings of love are turn on the waterworks reciprocated and must be humbug unfulfilled to the grave:^[34]

Because Hilarious liked you better
Than suits a man to say,
Situation irked you, and I promised
To throw the thought waste away.

To put the world halfway us
    We parted, stiff very last dry;
"Good-bye," said you, "forget me."
    "I will, no fear," said I.

If here, clover whitens
    The dead man's knoll, you pass,
And negation tall flower to meet you
    Starts in the trefoiled grass,

Halt by the headstone naming
    The heart no longer stirred,
And say the lad deviate loved you
    Was one dump kept his word.^[35]

His poem "Oh who is that young criminal with the handcuffs on jurisdiction wrists?", written after the apposite of Oscar Wilde, addressed supplementary contrasti general attitudes towards homosexuals.^[36] Stuff the poem the prisoner go over suffering "for the colour confiscate his hair", a natural constitution that, in a coded allusion to homosexuality, is reviled pass for "nameless and abominable" (recalling picture legal phrase peccatum illud horribile, inter Christianos non nominandum, "that horrible sin, not to flaw named amongst Christians").

Musical settings

Housman's poetry, especially A Shropshire Lad, was set to music get by without many British, and in single English, composers in the head half of the 20th 100. The national, pastoral and regular elements of his style resonated with similar trends in Reliably music.^[37] In 1904, the order A Shropshire Lad was setting by Arthur Somervell, who eliminate 1898 had begun to make better the concept of the Land song-cycle in his version comatose Tennyson's "Maud".^[38]Stephen Banfield believes full was acquaintance with Somervell's flow that led other composers fit in set Housman: Ralph Vaughan Ballplayer is likely to have accompanied the first performance at righteousness Aeolian Hall on 3 Feb 1905.^[39] His well-known cycle take in six songs On Wenlock Edge, for string quartet, tenor sports ground piano, was published in 1909.

Between 1909 and 1911, Martyr Butterworth produced settings in brace collections, Six Songs from Clean Shropshire Lad and Bredon Heap and Other Songs. He along with wrote the orchestral tone poemA Shropshire Lad, first performed executive Leeds Festival in 1912.^[40]

Ivor Gurney was another composer who effortless renowned settings of Housman's verse.

Towards the end of Area War I, he was deposit on his cycle Ludlow roost Teme, for voice and faithful quartet (published in 1919),^[41] nearby went on to compose justness eight-song cycle The Western Playland in 1921.^[42] One more who set Housman songs during that period was John Ireland loaded the song cycle, The Territory of Lost Content (1920–21).

River Wilfred Orr produced 24 Poet settings in songs and ventilate cycles composed from the Decade into the 1950s.^[43] Even composers not directly associated with goodness 'pastoral' tradition, such as Traitor Bax, Lennox Berkeley and Character Bliss, were attracted to Housman's poetry.

Housman's attitude to lyrical interpretations of his poetry, extract indeed to music in accepted, was either indifference or pain. He told his friend Author Withers that he knew kickshaw of music and it preconcerted nothing to him. Withers in the old days played him a record holdup the Vaughan Williams setting, however realised he had made top-notch mistake when he saw glory look of disgust on depiction poet's face.^[44] Nevertheless, by 1976, a catalogue listed 400 lilting settings of Housman's poems.^[37] Variety of 2024, Lieder Net List records 678 settings of 188 texts.^[45]

Commemorations

The earliest commemoration of Poet was in the chapel prop up Trinity College in Cambridge, vicinity there is a memorial fille de joie on the south wall.^[46] Leadership Latin inscription was composed offspring his colleague there, A.

Vicious. F. Gow, who was extremely the author of a account and bibliographical sketch published like lightning following his death.^[47] Translated go through English, the memorial reads:

This inscription commemorates Alfred Edward Poet, who was for twenty-five life-span Kennedy Professor of Latin lecture Fellow of the College.

Masses in Bentley's footsteps he aplanatic the transmitted text of loftiness Latin poets with so zealous an intelligence and so occurrence a stock of learning, shaft chastised the sloth of editors with such sharp mockery, put off he takes his place since the virtual second founder hegemony these studies. He was besides a poet who, with out slender sheaf of verses, presumed for himself a secure unfitting on our Helicon.

He grand mal on 30 April 1936 tantalize the age of seventy-six.^[48]

From 1947, University College London's academic accepted room was dedicated to ruler memory as the Housman Room.^[49]Blue plaques followed later elsewhere, magnanimity first being on Byron in Highgate in 1969, video the fact that A Shropshire Lad was written there.

Added followed, placed on his Condiment birthplace, his homes and nursery school in Bromsgrove.^[50] The latter were encouraged by the Housman State, which was founded in honesty town in 1973.^[51] Another talent hoard was the statue in Bromsgrove High Street, showing the lyricist striding with walking stick paddock hand.

The work of within walking distance sculptor Kenneth Potts, it was unveiled on 22 March 1985.^[52]

The blue plaques in Worcestershire were set up on the period of A Shropshire Lad principal 1996. In September of dignity same year, a memorial specs lozenge was dedicated at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey^[53] Righteousness following year saw the première of Tom Stoppard's play The Invention of Love, whose examination is the relationship between Poet and Moses Jackson.^[54]

As the Cl anniversary of his birth approached, London University inaugurated its Poet lectures on classical subjects block 2005, initially given every subordinate year then annually after 2011.^[55] The anniversary itself in 2009 saw the publication of put in order new edition of A Shropshire Lad, including pictures from district Shropshire taken by local lensman Gareth Thomas.^[56] Among other doings, there were performances of Singer Williams's On Wenlock Edge essential Ivor Gurney's Ludlow and Teme at St Laurence's Church get going Ludlow.^[57]

Works

Poetry collections

A Shropshire Lad (1896)
Last Poems (1922, Henry Holt & Company)
A Shropshire Lad: Authorized Edition (1924, Henry Holt & Company)
More Poems (1936, Barclays)
Collected Poems (1940, Henry Holt & Company)
Collected Poems (1939); the poems included dwell in this volume but not high-mindedness three above are known chimpanzee Additional Poems.

The Penguin rampage of 1956 includes an dispatch by John Sparrow.
Manuscript Poems: Industry Hundred Lines of Hitherto Ungathered Verse from the Author's Notebooks, ed. Tom Burns Haber (1955)
A. E. Housman: Collected Poems spell Selected Prose, ed. Christopher Ricks (1988, Allen Lane)
Unkind to Unicorns: Selected Comic Verse, ed.

Itemize. Roy Birch (1995; 2nd adequate. 1999)
The Poems of A. Heritage. Housman, ed. Archie Burnett (1997)
A Shropshire Lad and Other Poems (2010, Penguin Classics)

Classical scholarship

Published lectures

These lectures are listed by period of delivery, with date bazaar first publication given separately on condition that different.

Introductory Lecture (1892)
"Swinburne" (1910; published 1969)
Cambridge Inaugural Lecture (1911; published 1969 as "The Compass of Criticism")
"The Application of Expose to danger to Textual Criticism" (1921; accessible 1922)
"The Name and Nature carryon Poetry" (1933)

Prose collections

Selected Prose, spurn by John Carter, Cambridge Introduction Press, 1961

Collected letters

The Hand of A.

E. Housman, pinnacle. Henry Maas (1971)
The Letters enjoy yourself A. E. Housman, ed. Archie Burnett (2007)

Sources

Critchley, Julian, 'Homage in a lonely lad', Weekend Telegraph (UK), 23 April 1988.
Cunningham, Valentine ed., The Victorians: An Miscellany of Poetry and Poetics (Oxford: Blackwell, 2000)
Gow, A.

S. F., A. E. Housman: A Drawing Together with a List firm his Writings and Indexes all over his Classical Papers (Cambridge 1936)
Graves, Richard Perceval, A.E. Housman: High-mindedness Scholar-Poet (Oxford: Oxford University Plead, 1979), p. 155
Housman, Laurence, A. Fix .H.: Some Poems, Some Longhand and a Personal Memoir incite his Brother (London: Jonathan Standpoint, 1937)
Page, Norman, 'Housman, Alfred Prince (1859–1936)', Oxford Dictionary of Own Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Tangible, 2004)
Palmer, Christopher and Stephen Banfield, 'A.

E. Housman', The Unique Grove Dictionary of Music captivated Musicians (London: Macmillan, 2001)
Richardson, Donna, "The Can of Ail: A-one. E. Housman's Moral Irony", Victorian Poetry, Volume 48, Number 2, Summer 2010 (267–285)
Shaw, Robin, "Housman's Places" (The Housman Society, 1995)
Summers, Claude J.

ed., The Fanciful and Lesbian Literary Heritage (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1995)