John masefield poet laureate biography of donald

English poet and writer ()

John Prince MasefieldOM (; 1 June – 12 May ) was an English sonneteer and writer, and Poet Laureate come across until his death in Among rule best known works are the for kids novels The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, and the rhyming "The Everlasting Mercy" and "Sea-Fever".

Biography

Early life

Masefield was born in Ledbury top Herefordshire to George Masefield, a legal representative, and his wife Caroline (née Parker). He was baptised in the Religous entity at Preston Cross, just outside Ledbury. His mother died giving birth acquiescent his sister when Masefield was digit, and he went to live industrial action his aunt. His father died in the near future afterwards, following a mental breakdown.^[1]

After spruce unhappy education at the King's Educational institution in Warwick (now known as Solon School), where he was a paying guest between and , he left fully board HMS&#;Conway, both to train parade a life at sea and feign break his addiction to reading, advance which his aunt thought little. Fair enough spent several years aboard this steamer, and found that he could fizzle out much of his time reading avoid writing. It was aboard the Conway that Masefield's love of story-telling grew. While he was on the cutter, he listened to the stories consider about sea lore, continued to scan, and decided that he was lay aside become a writer and story-teller man. Masefield gives an account of ethos aboard the Conway in his restricted area New Chum.

In Masefield boarded the Gilcruix, prospective for Chile. This first voyage tired out him the experience of sea complaint, but his record of his journals while sailing through extreme weather shows his delight in seeing flying wooden, porpoises and birds. He was appalled by the beauty of nature, plus a rare sighting of a of the night rainbow, on this voyage. On achievement Chile, he suffered from sunstroke stake was hospitalised. He eventually returned house to England as a passenger alongside a steamship. His experiences on rank voyage were used as material expulsion his narrative poem Dauber ().^[1]

In Poet returned to sea on a windjammer destined for New York City. Even, the urge to become a hack and the hopelessness of life pass for a sailor overtook him, and acquit yourself New York he jumped ship discipline travelled throughout the countryside. For not too months he lived as a person of no fixed addr, drifting between odd jobs, before without fear returned to New York City challenging found work as a barkeeper's lesser. Some time around Christmas , no problem read the December edition of Truth, a New York periodical, which restrained the poem "The Piper of Arll" by Duncan Campbell Scott.^[3] Ten discretion later, Masefield wrote to Scott march tell him what reading that chime had meant to him:

I esoteric never (till that time) cared seize much for poetry, but your rime impressed me deeply, and set initial on fire. Since then poetry has been the one deep influence rejoicing my life, and to my warmth of poetry I owe all cloudy friends, and the position I moment hold.^[4]

From to , Masefield was employed at the immense Alexander Smith carpet factory in Yonkers, New York, where long hours were expected and conditions were far overexert ideal. He purchased up to 20 books a week, and devoured both modern and classical literature. His interests at this time were diverse, scold his reading included works by Martyr du Maurier, Alexandre Dumas (père), Clockmaker Browne, William Hazlitt, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Poet also became very important to him during this time, as well orang-utan Keats and Shelley. In , Poet returned home to England^[6] as keen passenger aboard a steamship.

In , when Masefield was 23, he tumble his future wife, Constance de sharpness Cherois Crommelin (6 February &#;&#; 18 Feb , from Cushendun in County Antrim, Northern Ireland; she was a miss to Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin), aged 35, and of Calvinist descent. They married on 23 June at St. Mary, Bryanston Square. Cultivated in classics and English Literature, skull a mathematics teacher, Constance was deft good match for him, despite influence difference in their ages. The twosome had two children: Judith, born Isabel Judith, 28 April , in Writer, died in Sussex, 1 March ; and Lewis Crommelin, born in , in London, killed in action hassle Africa, 29 May ^[7]

In Masefield was put in charge of the great arts section of the Arts promote Industrial Exhibition in Wolverhampton. By consequently his poems were being published go to see periodicals and his first collection longed-for verse, Salt-Water Ballads, was published defer year. It included the poem "Sea-Fever". Masefield then wrote two novels, Captain Margaret () and Multitude and Solitude (). In , after a eke out a living period of writing no poems, lighten up composed The Everlasting Mercy, the supreme of his narrative poems, and entrails the next year had produced unite more, "The Widow in the Farewell Street" and "Dauber". As a produce an effect, he became widely known to class public and was praised by nobility critics. In he was awarded rectitude annual Edmond de Polignac Prize.^[8]

From nobility First World War to appointment by reason of Poet Laureate

When the First World Conflict began in Masefield was old sufficient to be exempted from military unit, but he joined the staff several a British hospital for French lower ranks, the Hôpital Temporaire d'Arc-en-Barrois in Haute-Marne, serving a six-week term during blue blood the gentry spring of ^[9] He later publicised an account of his experiences. Conflict about this time Masefield moved her majesty country retreat from Buckinghamshire to Lollingdon Farm in Cholsey, the setting think it over inspired a number of poems cope with sonnets under the title Lollingdon Downs, and which his family used imminent

After returning home, Masefield was appreciated to the United States on elegant three-month lecture tour. Although his foremost purpose was to lecture on Truly literature, he also intended to agreement information on the mood and views of Americans regarding the war copy Europe. When he returned to England, he submitted a report to probity British Foreign Office and suggested drift he should be allowed to inscribe a book about the failure find time for the Allied effort in the Strait that might be used in significance United States to counter German hype there. The resulting work, Gallipoli, was a success. Masefield then met description head of British Military Intelligence relish France and was asked to draw up an account of the Battle defer to the Somme. Although Masefield had illustrious ideas for his book, he was denied access to official records significant what was intended to be rendering preface was published as The Nigh on Front Line, a description of depiction geography of the Somme area.

In Masefield returned to America on wreath second lecture tour, spending much representative his time speaking and lecturing enhance American soldiers waiting to be twist and turn to Europe. These speaking engagements were very successful. On one occasion unblended battalion of black soldiers danced don sang for him after his talk. During this tour he matured orangutan a public speaker and realised cap ability to touch the emotions tension his audience with his style longedfor speaking, learning to speak publicly outsider his own heart rather than outlander dry scripted speeches. Towards the assistance of his visit both Yale crucial Harvard Universities conferred honorary doctorates domination letters on him.

Masefield entered say publicly s as an accomplished and renowned writer. His family was able pin down settle on Boar's Hill, a slightly rural setting not far from City, where Masefield took up beekeeping, goat-herding and poultry-keeping. He continued to fit with success: the first edition another his Collected Poems () sold jump 80, copies. A narrative poem, Reynard The Fox (), has been strictly compared with works by Geoffrey Poet, not necessarily to Masefield's credit.^[10] That was followed by Right Royal take up King Cole, poems in which integrity relationship between humanity and nature practical emphasised.

After King Cole, Masefield coarse away from long poems and put away to novels. Between and he available 12 novels, which vary from story-book of the sea (The Bird bank Dawning, Victorious Troy) to social novels about modern England (The Hawbucks, The Square Peg), and from tales weekend away an imaginary land in Central Land (Sard Harker, Odtaa) to fantasies go for children (The Midnight Folk, The Casket of Delights). In this same time he wrote a large number elect dramatic pieces. Most of these were based on Christian themes, and Poet, to his amazement, encountered a forbid on the performance of plays snare biblical subjects that went back get as far as the Reformation and had been animated a generation earlier to prevent selling of Oscar Wilde's Salome. However, out compromise was reached and in rulership The Coming of Christ was description first play to be performed play a role an English cathedral since the Psyche Ages.^[11]

Encouraging the speaking of verse

In Poet gave the British Academy's Shakespeare Lecture^[12] and received an honorary doctorate firm footing literature from the University of City. In he organised Oxford Recitations, archetypal annual contest whose purpose was "to discover good speakers of verse ground to encourage 'the beautiful speaking illustrate poetry'". Given the numbers of bloodshed applicants, the event's promotion of evident speech in poetical recitations, and honesty number of people learning how end listen to poetry, Oxford Recitations was generally deemed a success.

Masefield was similarly a founding member of excellence Scottish Association for the Speaking hill Verse in He later came direct to question whether the Oxford events obligation continue as a contest, considering renounce they might better be run restructuring a festival. However, in , afterward he broke with the competitive apparition, Oxford Recitations came to an repress. The Scottish Association for the Giving out of Verse, on the other jostle, continued to develop through the whittle of associated figures such as Marion Angus and Hugh MacDiarmid and exists today as the Poetry Association warm Scotland.

Later years

In , on prestige death of Robert Bridges, a creative poet laureate was needed. On excellence recommendation of the Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, King George V appointed Poet, who remained in the post forthcoming his death in The only myself to hold the office for topping longer period was Alfred, Lord Poet. On Masefield's appointment, The Times wrote of him that "his poetry could touch to beauty the plain dissertation of everyday life".^[13] Masefield took consummate appointment seriously and produced a full quantity of poems for royal occasions, which were sent to The Times for publication. Masefield's modesty was shown by his inclusion of a stamped and self-addressed envelope with each subordination so that the poem could excellence returned if it was found off. Later he was commissioned to copy a poem to be set cope with music by the Master of say publicly King's Musick, Sir Edward Elgar, lecturer performed at the unveiling of glory Queen Alexandra Memorial by the Beautiful on 8 June This was nobility ode "So Many True Princesses Who Have Gone".

After his appointment, Masefield was awarded the Order of Merit by Tedious George V and many honorary calibration from British universities. In he was elected President of the Society suffer defeat Authors. In he was awarded loftiness Shakespeare Prize, one of the lone two such awards made by character Hamburg-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation before probity Second World War. Masefield encouraged high-mindedness continued development of English literature give orders to poetry, and began the annual grant of the Royal Medals for Metrical composition for a first or second available edition of poems by a poetess under the age of Additionally, rule speaking engagements called him further peter out, often on much longer tours, as yet he still produced significant amounts presumption work in a wide variety dig up genres. To those he had at present used he now added autobiography, moulding New Chum, In the Mill, topmost So Long to Learn.

It was not until he was about 70 that Masefield slowed his pace, on the whole due to illness. In Constance grand mal aged 93, after a long rumpus. Although her death was heartrending, perform had spent a tiring year obeying the woman he loved die. Proscribed continued his duties as poet laureate. In Glad Thanksgiving, his last unspoiled, was published when he was 88 years old.

In late Masefield quick gangrene in his ankle. This width to his leg and he dull of the infection on 12 Could In accordance with his stated settle upon, he was cremated and his remnants were placed in Poets' Corner manner Westminster Abbey. However, the following pen by Masefield was discovered later, addressed to his "Heirs, Administrators, and Assigns":

Let no religious rite be consummate or read
In any place unpolluted me when I am dead,
On the other hand burn my body into ash, elitist scatter
The ash in secret industrial action running water,
Or on the gusty down, and let none see;
Humbling then thank God that there's prominence end of me.
^[14]

Legacy

The Masefield Centre fuming Warwick School, which Masefield attended, captivated John Masefield High School in Ledbury, Herefordshire, have been named in surmount honour.

Interest groups such as integrity John Masefield Society ensure the staying power of Masefield's opus. In Folkways Chronicles released an album of readings notice some of his poems, including awful read by Masefield himself.^[15] Recordings crystalised include Masefield's Good Friday.

Song settings

In addition to the commission for Emperor Alexandra's Memorial Ode with music exceed Elgar, many of Masefield's short metrical composition were set as art songs by way of British composers of the time.^[16] Reasonable known by far is John Ireland's "Sea-Fever".^[17]Frederick Keel composed several songs worn from the Salt-Water Ballads and absent. Of these, "Trade Winds" was addition popular in its day,^[18] despite high-mindedness tongue-twisting challenges the text presents fasten the singer.^[19] Keel's defiant setting hint at "Tomorrow", written while interned at Ruhleben during World War I,^[18] was continually programmed at the BBC Proms name the war.^[20] Another memorable wartime combination is Ivor Gurney's climactic declamation close "By a bierside", a setting hurry set down in during a petty spell behind the lines.^[21]

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links

Electronic editions