Dobell, Sydney Thompson

Dobell, Sydney Thompson

▪ British poet
born April 5, 1824, Cranbrook, Kent, Eng.
died Aug. 22, 1874, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire
 English poet of the so-called Spasmodic school.

      The long dramatic poem The Roman (1850), which Dobell published under the name Sydney Yendys, celebrated the cause of Italian liberation. Another long poem, Balder (1853), is concerned with the inner life of a poet who kills his wife after she has gone mad. It was devastatingly burlesqued in Firmilian: . . . a Spasmodic Tragedy (1854) by William Edmondstoune Aytoun (Aytoun, William Edmondstoune), who, with Charles Kingsley (Kingsley, Charles), deemed Dobell one of the poets of the Spasmodic school, a term they used to ridicule the formlessness, chaotic imagery, and exaggerated passion of these poets' work. The aesthetic of the Spasmodic school was expressed by Dobell in a number of essays collected in 1876 as Thoughts on Art, Philosophy, and Religion. Dobell collaborated with Alexander Smith on a sonnet sequence (1855) on the Crimean War and published a collection of shorter poems, England in Time of War (1856), which contains the powerful ballad "Keith of Ravelston."

Additional Reading
E.J. (Emily Jolly) (ed.), The Life and Letters of Sydney Dobell, 2 vol. (1878); Mark A. Weinstein, William Edmondstoune Aytoun and the Spasmodic Controversy (1968).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dobell, Sydney Thompson — (1824 1874)    Born at Cranbrook, Kent, he was one of the socalled Spasmodic school of poets. His father was a wine merchant, his mother the daughter of the political reformer Samuel Thompson. The family moved to Cheltenham when Dobell was twelve …   British and Irish poets

  • Dobell, Sydney Thompson — (1824 1874)    Poet, b. at Cranbrook, Kent, s. of a wine merchant, who removed to Cheltenham, where most of the poet s life was passed. His youth was precocious (he was engaged at 15 and m. at 20). In 1850 his first work, The Roman, appeared, and …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Sydney Thompson Dobell — (April 5, 1824 August 22, 1874), English poet and critic, was born at Cranbrook, Kent.His father was a wine merchant, his mother a daughter of Samuel Thompson (1766 1837), a London political reformer. The family moved to Cheltenham when Dobell… …   Wikipedia

  • Oxford period poetry anthologies — These are Oxford poetry anthologies of English poetry, which select from a given period. See also The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse. Contents 1 New Oxford Book of Seventeenth Century Verse (1991) 2 New Oxford Book of Eighteenth… …   Wikipedia

  • Briton Rivière — (August 14, 1840 ndash; 1920), English artist, was born in London.His father, William Rivière, was for some years drawing master at Cheltenham College, and afterwards an art teacher at Oxford. He was educated at Cheltenham College and at Oxford,… …   Wikipedia

  • Penguin poetry anthologies — The Penguin poetry anthologies, published by Penguin Books, have at times played the role of a third force in British poetry, less literary than those from Faber and Faber, and less academic than those from Oxford University Press. The Penguin… …   Wikipedia

  • Spasmodic poets — Spasmodic is a term applied by William Edmonstoune Aytoun to a group of British poets of the Victorian era, certainly with some derogatory as well as humorous intention. The epithet itself is attributed, by Thomas Carlyle, to Lord Byron.… …   Wikipedia

  • 1874 in poetry — yearbox2 in?=in poetry in2?=in literature cp=18th century c=19th century cf=20th century yp1=1871 yp2=1872 yp3=1873 year=1874 ya1=1875 ya2=1876 ya3=1877 dp3=1840s dp2=1850s dp1=1860s d=1870s da=0 dn1=1880s dn2=1890s dn3=1900s|EventsAwardsWorks… …   Wikipedia

  • 1824 in poetry — yearbox2 in?=in poetry in2?=in literature cp=18th century c=19th century cf=20th century yp1=1821 yp2=1822 yp3=1823 year=1824 ya1=1825 ya2=1826 ya3=1827 dp3=1790s dp2=1800s dp1=1810s d=1820s da=0 dn1=1830s dn2=1840s dn3=1850s|Events* March Samuel …   Wikipedia

  • Contenu:Australie — Projet:Australie/Liste des articles Liste mise à jour régulièrement par MyBot (d · c · b) à partir des articles liés au bandeau {{Portail Australie}} Modifications récentes des articles ayant le bandeau de ce portail… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”