Matthiessen, Francis Otto

Matthiessen, Francis Otto

▪ American educator and critic
born Feb. 19, 1902, Pasadena, Calif., U.S.
died April 1, 1950, Boston

      U.S. educator and critic who examined the lasting value of American classics as products of a certain author, society, and era.

      Matthiessen received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1927, and, attracted by the school's commitment to correlating literature and culture, he taught there almost exclusively. His major book is American Renaissance: Art and Expression in the Age of Emerson and Whitman (1941), a book of literary criticism that covers the principal figures and works of 19th-century American literature.

      Matthiessen became a leader in establishing the importance of T.S. Eliot with The Achievement of T.S. Eliot: An Essay on the Nature of Poetry (1935); he also helped to revive interest in Henry James with such volumes as Henry James: The Major Phase (1944). His distinguished writing won praise for its clarity and penetration.

      While Matthiessen was on leave from Harvard, world problems, the absence of students, and difficulties with work so depressed him that he committed suicide at the age of 48.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Francis Otto Matthiessen — (* 19. Februar 1902 in Pasadena, Kalifornien; † 1. April 1950 in Boston, Massachusetts) war ein amerikanischer Literaturwissenschaftler. Nach der Scheidung seiner Eltern wuchs er auf der Farm seiner Großeltern in Illinois auf. Kurz vor dem Ende… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Matthiessen — is a Danish Norwegian patronymic surname meaning son of Mathies (equivalent of the Biblical Μαθθαιος, cf. English Matthew). Several spelling variants are used, including Matthiesen, Mathiesen, Matthisen and Mathissen. A similar diversity of forms …   Wikipedia

  • F. O. Matthiessen — Francis Otto Matthiessen (1902 April 1, 1950) was a historian and literary critic influential in the creation of the field of American studies.cholarly workHe wrote and edited landmark works of scholarship on T. S. Eliot, Ralph Waldo Emerson,… …   Wikipedia

  • F. O. Matthiessen — Francis Otto Matthiessen (* 19. Februar 1902 in Pasadena, Kalifornien; † 1. April 1950 in Boston, Massachusetts) war ein amerikanischer Literaturwissenschaftler. Nach der Scheidung seiner Eltern wuchs er auf der Farm seiner Großeltern in Illinois …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • F. O. Matthiesen — Francis Otto Matthiessen (* 19. Februar 1902 in Pasadena, Kalifornien; † 1. April 1950 in Boston, Massachusetts) war ein amerikanischer Literaturwissenschaftler. Nach der Scheidung seiner Eltern wuchs er auf der Farm seiner Großeltern in Illinois …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Mas–Mat — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Decasyllabic quatrain — is a term used for a poetic form in which each stanza consists of four lines of ten syllables each, usually with a rhyme scheme of AABB or ABAB. Examples of the decasyllabic quatrain in heroic couplets appear in some of the earliest texts in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Literary initials — A surprisingly large number of authors choose to use some form of initials in their name when it appears in their literary work. This includes some of the most famous authors of the 20th century D. H. Lawrence, J. D. Salinger, T. S. Eliot, J. R.… …   Wikipedia

  • Μάθισεν, Φράνσις Ότο — (Francis Otto Matthiessen, Πασαντίνα, Καλιφόρνια 1902 – Βοστόνη 1950). Αμερικανός κριτικός της λογοτεχνίας και πανεπιστημιακός. Υπήρξε καθηγητής της αγγλικής φιλολογίας στο πανεπιστήμιο Χάρβαρντ (1929 50). Επηρεασμένος από το Βέρνον Λιούις… …   Dictionary of Greek

  • Russell Cheney — (1881 1945) was an American painter. He graduated from Yale, where he was a member of the Skull and Bones secret society.Cheney studied painting at the Art Students League of New York and was its acting president in 1909 10. He held his first New …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

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