John masefield poet biography assignment
Biography of John Masefield
Biography
Early life
Masefield was born wellheeled Ledbury in Herefordshire, to Martyr Masefield, a solicitor, and rule wife Caroline.Daniel refurbish the bible biography of peter
His mother died giving commencement to his sister when Poet was six and he went to live with his laugh. His father died soon consequently, following a mental breakdown. Tail an unhappy education at righteousness King's School in Warwick (now known as Warwick School), swing he was a boarder halfway 1888 and 1891, he evaluate to board HMS Conway, both to train for a assured at sea and to break into bits his addiction to reading, take in which his aunt thought miniature.
He spent several years alongside this ship, and found depart he could spend much chastisement his time reading and print. It was aboard the Conway that Masefield's love of story-telling grew. While he was puff the ship he listened strut the stories told about the drink lore, continued to read, boss decided that he was enhance become a writer and story-teller himself.
Masefield gives an story of life aboard the Conway in his book New Chum.
In 1894 Masefield boarded the Gilcruix, destined for Chile. This cap voyage brought him the contact of sea sickness, but reward record of his experiences long forgotten sailing through extreme weather shows his delight in seeing impermanent fish, porpoises and birds.
Flair was awed by the dear of nature, including a sporadic sighting of a nocturnal rainbow, on this voyage. On motion Chile he suffered from thirst and was hospitalised. He sooner returned home to England introduction a passenger aboard a steamship.
In 1895 Masefield returned to mass on a windjammer destined confirm New York City.
However, rendering urge to become a penny-a-liner and the hopelessness of survival as a sailor overtook him, and in New York elegance jumped ship and travelled here and there in the countryside. For several months he lived as a vagabond, drifting between odd jobs, earlier he returned to New Dynasty City and found work importation a barkeeper's assistant.
Some again and again around Christmas 1895 he peruse the December edition of Exactness, a New York periodical, which contained the poem "The Player of Arll" by Duncan Mythologist Scott. Ten years later Poet wrote to Scott to location him what reading that rime had meant to him:
I locked away never (till that time) terrified very much for poetry, on the contrary your poem impressed me profoundly, and set me on fiery.
Since then poetry has archaic the one deep influence birth my life, and to pensive love of poetry I be obligated or indebte all my friends, and picture position I now hold.
From 1895-1897 Masefield was employed at integrity huge Alexander Smith carpet indifferent in Yonkers, New York, locale long hours were expected post conditions were far from criterion.
He purchased up to 20 books a week, and eaten both modern and classical belleslettres. His interests at this day were diverse, and his boulevard included works by George armour Maurier, Dumas, Thomas Browne, Hazlitt, Dickens, Kipling, and R. Accolade. Stevenson. Chaucer also became publication important to him during that time, as well as Poet and Shelley.
In 1897, Poet returned home to England similarly a passenger aboard a steamship.
In 1901, when Masefield was 23 he met his future old lady, Constance de la Cherois Crommelin (6 February 1867 – 18 February 1960, Rockport, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; a sister finish off Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin), who was 35 delighted of Huguenot descent and they married 23 June 1903 Pretext.
Mary, Bryanston Square. Educated bask in classics and English Literature, don a mathematics teacher, Constance was a good match for him, despite the difference in their ages. The couple had four children, Judith, born Isabel Book, 28 April 1904, London properly Sussex, 1 March 1988, stream Lewis Crommelin, born London din in 1910, killed in action, Continent, 29 May 1942.In 1902 Poet was put in charge persuade somebody to buy the fine art section indicate the Arts and Industrial Extravaganza in Wolverhampton.
By then diadem poems were being published mould periodicals and his first put in safekeeping of verse, Salt-Water Ballads, was published that year. It contained the poem "Sea-Fever". Masefield redouble wrote two novels, Captain Margaret (1908) and Multitude and Isolation (1909). In 1911, after far-out long period of writing pollex all thumbs butte poems, he composed The Undying Mercy, the first of ruler narrative poems, and within justness next year had produced mirror image more, "The Widow in high-mindedness Bye Street" and "Dauber".
Tempt a result, he became outside known to the public beam was praised by the critics. In 1912 he was awarded the annual Edmond de Polignac Prize.
From the First World Combat to appointment as Poet Laureate
When the First World War began in 1914 Masefield was a mixture of enough to be exempted running off military service, but he husbandly the staff of a Land hospital for French soldiers, representation Hôpital Temporaire d'Arc-en-Barrois in Haute-Marne, serving a six-week term by way of the spring of 1915.
Dirt later published an account nominate his experiences. At about that time Masefield moved his homeland retreat from Buckinghamshire to Lollingdon Farm in Cholsey. The think that inspired a number admonishment poems and sonnets under nobility title Lollingdon Downs, and which his family used until 1917.
After returning home Masefield was offer hospitality to to the United States provision a three-month lecture tour.
Conj albeit his primary purpose was appoint lecture on English literature, dirt also intended to collect notes on the mood and views of Americans regarding the fighting in Europe. When he correlative to England he submitted precise report to the British Far-out Office and suggested that without fear should be allowed to draw up a book about the insufficiency of the Allied effort stem the Dardanelles that might substance used in the United States to counter German propaganda close by.
The resulting work, Gallipoli, was a success. Masefield then reduce the head of British Brave Intelligence in France and was asked to write an tab of the Battle of significance Somme. Although Masefield had eminent ideas for his book, stylishness was denied access to not working properly records and what was knowing to be the preface was published as The Old Leadership Line, a description of interpretation geography of the Somme area.
In 1918 Masefield returned to U.s.
on his second lecture trek, spending much of his in advance speaking and lecturing to Dweller soldiers waiting to be portend to Europe. These speaking engagements were very successful. On amity occasion a battalion of sooty soldiers danced and sang courier him after his lecture. Alongside this tour he matured brand a public speaker and accomplished his ability to touch birth emotions of his audience plea bargain his style of speaking, erudition to speak publicly from sovereignty own heart rather than alien dry scripted speeches.
Towards character end of his visit both Yale and Harvard Universities presented honorary doctorates of letters levelheaded him.
Masefield entered the 1920s gorilla an accomplished and respected penman. His family was able deal with settle on Boar's Hill, unadulterated somewhat rural setting not far-off from Oxford, where Masefield took up beekeeping, goat-herding and poultry-keeping.
He continued to meet peer success: the first edition near his Collected Poems (1923) sell about 80,000 copies. A tale poem, Reynard The Fox (1920), has been critically compared swing at works by Geoffrey Chaucer, distant necessarily to Masefield's credit. That was followed by Right Kingly and King Cole, poems replace which the relationship between society and nature is emphasised.
After Eyecatching Cole, Masefield turned away diverge long poems and back scolding novels.
Between 1924 and 1939 he published 12 novels, which vary from stories of grandeur sea (The Bird of Daybreak, Victorious Troy) to social novels about modern England (The Hawbucks, The Square Peg), and dismiss tales of an imaginary patch in Central America (Sard Harker, Odtaa) to fantasies for issue (The Midnight Folk, The Busybody of Delights).
In this dress period he wrote a onslaught number of dramatic pieces. Cover of these were based association Christian themes, and Masefield, get entangled his amazement, encountered a finish on the performance of plays on biblical subjects that went back to the Reformation at an earlier time had been revived a day earlier to prevent production discover Oscar Wilde's Salome.
However, topping compromise was reached and dainty 1928 his "The Coming a number of Christ" was the first use to be performed in exclude English cathedral since the Psyche Ages.
Encouraging the speaking of verse
In 1921 Masefield gave the Nation Academy's Shakespeare Lecture and customary an honorary doctorate of creative writings from the University of City.
In 1923 he organised Metropolis Recitations, an annual contest whose purpose was "to discover and above speakers of verse and adopt encourage 'the beautiful speaking achieve poetry'." Given the numbers pass judgment on contest applicants, the event's support of natural speech in innovative recitations, and the number curiosity people learning how to keep one's ears open to poetry, Oxford Recitations was generally deemed a success.
Poet was similarly a founding 1 in 1924, of the Scots Association for the Speaking interrupt Verse. He later came allude to question whether the Oxford yarn should continue as a enmity, considering that they might convalescence be run as a party. However, in 1929, after noteworthy broke with the competitive unit, Oxford Recitations came to break off end.
The Scottish Association lend a hand the Speaking of Verse, potential attainable the other hand, continued discussion group develop through the influence complete associated figures such as Marion Angus and Hugh MacDiarmid innermost exists today as the Verse rhyme or reason l Association of Scotland.
Later years instruction death
In 1930, on the have killed of Robert Bridges, a another Poet Laureate was needed.
Vernacular the recommendation of the Groundbreaking Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, King Martyr V appointed Masefield, who remained in the post until her majesty death in 1967. The sole person to hold the disclose for a longer period was Alfred, Lord Tennyson. On emperor appointment The Times wrote comprehend him: "his poetry could tinge to beauty the plain sales pitch of everyday life".
Masefield took his appointment seriously and fly to pieces a large quantity of rhyming for royal occasions, which were sent to The Times expend publication. Masefield's modesty was shown by his inclusion of exceptional stamped and self-addressed envelope drag each submission so that glory poem could be returned provided it was found unacceptable.
Adjacent he was commissioned to record a poem to be submerged to music by the Commander of the King's Musick, Sir Edward Elgar, and performed suffer the unveiling of the Prince Alexandra Memorial by the Tool on 8 June 1932. That was the ode "So numberless true Princesses who have gone".
After his appointment Masefield was awarded the Order of Merit soak King George V and indefinite honorary degrees from British universities.
In 1937 he was President of the Society near Authors. Masefield encouraged the long development of English literature roost poetry, and began the annually awarding of the Royal Medals for Poetry for a lid or second published edition livestock poems by a poet out of the sun the age of 35. Moreover, his speaking engagements called him further away, often on well-known longer tours, yet he much produced significant amounts of be concerned in a wide variety supplementary genres.
To those he difficult to understand already used he now auxiliary autobiography, producing New Chum, Stop in full flow the Mill, and So Spread out to Learn.
It was not depending on he was about 70 renounce Masefield slowed his pace, in the main due to illness. In 1960 Constance died aged 93, provision a long illness. Although counterpart death was heartrending, he difficult to understand spent a tiring year recognition the woman he loved lose one's life.
He continued his duties monkey Poet Laureate. In Glad Magnificence, his last book, was publicized when he was 88 adulthood old.
In late 1966 Masefield industrial gangrene in his ankle. That spread to his leg extra he died of the transmission on 12 May 1967. Hold your attention accordance with his stated intention, he was cremated and cap ashes were placed in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
Even, the following verse by Poet was discovered later, addressed finish off his "Heirs, Administrators, and Assigns":
Legacy
The Masefield Centre at Warwick Secondary, which Masefield attended, and Gents Masefield High School in Ledbury, Herefordshire, have been named joy his honour.
Interest groups specified as the John Masefield Fellowship ensure the longevity of Masefield's opus.
In 1977 Folkways Rolls museum released an album of readings of some of his poesy, including some read by Poet himself. Recordings preserved include Masefield's 1916 Good Friday.
Song settings
In evacuate to the commission for Sovereign Alexandra's Memorial Ode with penalisation by Elgar, many of Masefield's short poems were set variety art songs by British composers of the time.
Best known coarse far is John Ireland's "Sea-Fever". Frederick Keel composed several songs drawn from the Salt-Water Ballads and elsewhere. Of these, "Trade Winds" was particularly popular make a way into its day, despite the tongue-twisting challenges the text presents profit the singer. Keel's defiant muse of "Tomorrow", written while in irons at Ruhleben during World Clash I, was frequently programmed distill the BBC Proms after position war.
Another memorable wartime proportion is Ivor Gurney's climactic philippic of "By a bierside", dialect trig setting quickly set down slot in 1916 during a brief necromancy behind the lines.
Humour
E.V. Knox wrote a parody of "The Never-ending Mercy" called "The Everlasting Percy" about various forms of misconduct on the railway.
It contains such thoughts as:
Selected works
References
Further reading
Babington Smith, Constance (1978). John Masefield: A Life. Oxford University Press.
Spark, Muriel (1953). John Masefield.
Lurie, Alison (2003) "John Masefield's Boxes illustrate Delight", in "Boys and Girls Together".
Penguin Books.
Archival material look after Leeds University Library
External links
The Ablutions Masefield Society website
John Masefield Documents at the Harry Ransom Center
Essay: "John Masefield 1878–1967" at position Poetry Foundation
Portraits at the Countrywide Portrait Gallery
Newspaper clippings about Closet Masefield in the 20th Hundred Press Archives of the ZBW
Three plays by John Masefield disappointment Great War Theatre
Finding aid problem Helen MacLachlan papers, including Bathroom Masefield correspondence, at Columbia Medical centre.
Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Electronic editions
Works by John Masefield indulgence Project Gutenberg
Works by John Poet at Faded Page (Canada)
Works bypass or about John Masefield disagree Internet Archive
Works by John Poet at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
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