Housman is, in this writer s opinion, one of the greatest of lyric poets writing in english. Alfred edward housman26 march 1859 30 april 1936 usually known as a. He did not speak in public about his own poems until 1933, when he gave a lecture the name and nature. Housman, was an english classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems a shropshire lad. Laurence housman poems by the famous poet all poetry. The eldest of seven children in a family that would produce a famous dramatist housmans younger brother, laurence and a novelist and short story writer his sister clemence, housman attended bromsgrove school, a notable institution that emphasized greek and latin studies. He was a scholar at cambridge university and spent a year at harvard as a visiting fellow. Housman, was an extremely versatile artist, writer and social reformer whose output covered all kinds of literature, from socialist and pacifist pamphlets to childrens stories. Here dead lie we was housmans reflection after world war i. Now, of my threescore years and ten, twenty will not come again, and take from seventy springs a score, it only leaves me fifty more. Housman was an english classical scholar and poet, considered to be one of the foremost classicists of his times. In the same lecture, housman says that the function of poetry is to transfuse emotion not to transmit thought but to set up in the reader.
Housman alfred edward housman was born in fockbury, worcestershire, england, on march 26, 1859. Alfred edward housman poems, quotations and biography on alfred edward housman poet page. Alfred edward housmans poems with analysis, the authors. A shropshire lad was published in 1896, last poems in 1922. Although it was not quite so popular with composers, the majority of the poems there have been set to music. It has been superseded by the collected housman page and thats probably where you want to be. Housmans last poems 1922 appeared twentysix years after the first publication of a shropshire lad, leading some critics to speculate on the nature of housmans poetic talent. Housmans irony is poetically effective in that it continues in the literary tradition of classical irony, and his pessimism, or tragic view of life, is derived, at least partially, from the classical tradition. He also designed his own books of illustrated poetry and fairy tales for other publishers. Is hung with bloom along the bough, and stands about the woodland ride. Alfred edward housman march 26, 1859 april 30, 1936, usually known as a. All four sets of poems are contained in this volume. Housman designed bodley head books by john davidson, katharine tynan hinkson, clemence housman, edith nesbit, charles newton robinson and francis thompson, as well as his own volume of poems, green arras 1896.
After education at bromsgrove school, he went with his sister clemence to study art at the lambeth. Alfred edward housman was born in worcestershire, england, and he was profoundly affected by his mothers death when he was 12. The poems of heinrich heine, the songs of william shakespeare, and scottish border ballads were housmans models, from which he learned to express emotion yet keep it at a certain distance. It is a short poem made up of two stanzas, in which the young speaker talks about the experience of falling inand outof love. Last poems 1922 was the last of the two volumes of poems which a. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. The collection expresses his romantic pessimism and was. A poet of simple forms and straightforward language. Housman s collection of 63 poems entitled a shropshire lad was published in 1896.
His poetry reveals an acute sensitivity to all humanitys losses, love and youth among them. What is the gist of what on wenlock edge the woods in trouble by a. Their beauty, simplicity and distinctive imagery appealed strongly to late. Housman selected poems the following is a fairly extensive selection of housmans poetry originally published by me, martin hardcastle, in the early 1990s. At first glance, it can be a major surprise that the author of the enormously popular poetry collection a shropshire lad was a classical scholar by the name of a. The rythms, alliteration, mythological allusions and romantic imagey that elicit an almost painful pathos, are rarely equaled. Housman selected poems the following is a fairly extensive selection of housman s poetry originally published by me, martin hardcastle, in the early 1990s. In contains a shropshire lad, last poems, more poems, the additional poems, and the three translations from a. This quizworksheet combo will help you test your understanding of the themes carried in. He published two volumes of poetry during his life, including a shropshire lad 1896, which was widely read during world war i. Housmans collection of 63 poems entitled a shropshire lad was published in 1896. He would become this cambridge university professor of latin left no doubt about his.
Lyrical and almost epigrammatic in form, the poems wistfully evoke the dooms and disappointments of youth in the english countryside. Housman, in full alfred edward housman, born march 26, 1859, fockbury, worcestershire, eng. Housmans lyrics express a romantic pessimism in a clear, direct style. Additional poems xxii uses some lines that also appear in a poem by robert louis stevenson. Alfred edward housman 26 march 1859 30 april 1936 usually known as a. Radio 4s recent series of great lives came to an end with a typically nuanced and insightful. The poems in a shropshire lad are not completely disconnected from housmans scholarly workamong other things, they owe something to horace, housmans favorite latin poet, in.
Housman, was a famous and popular english poet and writer, best known for his a shropshire lad, a cycle of 63 poems. Alfred edward housman alfred edward housman poems poem. Here dead we lie poem by alfred edward housman poem hunter. In last poems there is far less material of an autobiographical character. Housman i publish these poems, few though they are, because it is not likely that i shall ever be impelled to write much more. Read all poems of alfred edward housman and infos about alfred edward housman. Housman was one of the foremost classicists of his age and a formidable, sometimes savage, critic. I can no longer expect to be revisited by the continuous excitement under which in the early months of 1895 i wrote the greater part of my first book, nor indeed could i well sustain it if it came. How he goes about achieving this aim in his own poems is a sign of the. Housman, whose father was a solicitor, was one of seven children.
Laurence housman was born in bromsgrove, worcestershire, one of seven children who included the poet a. Few poems as short as this have caused as much controversy as here dead we lie. Housman, was an english classical scholar and poet regarded. Pollards anthology, odes from the greek dramatists. Housman s verse as it was established in 1939, three years after his death. He would become this cambridge university professor of latin left no. These near misses and almostmeetings are important. Housman, published in his extremely popular first collection a shropshire lad 1896. Failing his final exams he left oxford without a degree. Laurence housman 18651959, brother of poet and scholar a. Lyrical and almost epigrammatic in form, the poems wistfully evoke the dooms and disappointments of youth in the english. Housman was known for his vast collection of lyrical poetry that reflected a very pessimistic outlook. Lyrical and almost epigrammatic in form, the poems were mostly written before 1900. English poet and scholar, whose verse exerted a strong influence on later poets.
Ever afterward he presented himself as a coldly reserved an. More poems and additional poems were published posthumously by housman s brother lawrence, the former in 1936, the latter as part of his memoir of housman, a. Alfred edward housman was born in 1859 in fockbury, worcestershire, england. In 1871 his mother died, and his father remarried, to a cousin. Laurence housman was born in bromsgrove, worcestershire, one of seven children including an older brother and sister, the classical scholar and poet a. Though his poetry comprises but four slender volumesa shropshire lad asl, last poems lp, more poems mp, and additional poems adalfred edward housman 18591936 belongs to the pantheon of english poets. Jun 03, 2008 a poet of simple forms and straightforward language. Ypres, belgium after wwi, destroyed cloth hall, built 1200 ypres, belgium after wwi, destroyed cloth hall, built 1200. Many attempts have beeen made to reinterpret it in the light of more modern views of war but i think houseman is indeed saying that it is preferable to accept the risk of death than the shame of cowardice and that the life of the individual is less.
Housmans verse as it was established in 1939, three years after his death. Alfred edward houseman is a mystery you might consider worthy of jekyll and hyde. Housman, including the works 1887, loveliest of trees, the cherry now, to an athlete dying young, terence, this is stupid stuff, epitaph on. Many attempts have beeen made to reinterpret it in the light of more modern views of war but i think houseman is indeed saying that it is preferable to accept the risk of death than the shame of cowardice and that the life of the individual is less significant than that of the. In more poems and additional poemsthe two selections for which. Eight hundred lines of hitherto uncollected verse from the authors notebooks, edited by tom burns haber, university of minnesota press, 1955 published in england as the manuscript poems of a. Alfred edward housman was born in worcestershire, england, and he was profoundly affected by. Here dead lie we was housman s reflection after world war i. Subsequent smaller volumes of his work, last poems, more poems and additional poems, were published decades later, the latter two posthumously. His poetry was set to music by numerous composers including arthur somervell, ralph vaughan williams, george butterworth, ivor. Eight hundred lines of hitherto uncollected verse from the authors notebooks, oxford university press, 1955.
I publish these poems, few though they are, because it is not likely that i shall ever be impelled to write much more. Housman was a major poet of the english language, a master of the lyric form, common meter and direct statement. Of the 42 poems there, seventeen were given titles, a greater proportion than in his previous collection, a shropshire lad 1896. Housman 18591936 was both a celebrated poet and the foremost classicist of his day. Death of a comrade 1950s death must not find us thinking that we die too soon, too soon our banner draped for you i would prefer the banner in the wind not bound so tightly in a scarlet fold not sodden, sodden with your peoples tears. Topics literature, womens suffrage movement, social reform. Housman led a rather reclusive life, active in scholarly pursuits and teaching at. The collection expresses his romantic pessimism and was slow to receive notoriety, but in 1922 last poems was. Born in worcestershire, in the environs of the shropshire hills, housman liked to amble through highland, field, and dale. Housman, was an english classical scholar and poet, best known to. Their beauty, simplicity and distinctive imagery appealed strongly to late victorian and edwardian. More poems and additional poems were published posthumously by housmans brother lawrence, the former in 1936, the latter as part of his memoir of housman, a. His poetry was set to music by numerous composers including arthur somervell, ralph vaughan williams, george butterworth, ivor gurney, john ireland and samuel barber.