Title: Robert Southey : entire man of letters /
Authors: Speck, W. A. 1938-
Publisher: Yale University Press,
Year: 2006
Subjects: Southey, Robert,; Authors, English Biography
Abstract: "In his lifetime Robert Southey was very much the equal of his fellow 'Lake poets', Coleridge and Wordsworth. But since his death his reputation has been overshadowed by their success. In this new biography W.A. Speck argues that if Southey's poetry is no longer considered as significant, his other writings were more salient and his political views far more influential than those of his fellow poets. He was, as Byron conceded, England's 'only existing entire man of letters'." "The book engages with Southey's voluminous publications, weaving discussion of them into the narrative of his life. It shows how he moved from self-confessed republican and admirer of the French Revolution in the 1790s, to 'the most powerful literary supporter of the tories' by the 1820s."
Contents: Family tree -- pt. I. 'A morning of ardour and of hope' Schoolboy (1774-1792) ; Student (1792-1794) ; Pantisocrat (1794-1795) ; 'Jacobin' (1795-1800) ; 'Shuttlecock of fortune' (1800-1803) -- pt. II. 'A day of clouds and storms' Laker (1803-1807) ; Lake poet (1807-1809) ; 'Historiographer to Mr. Ballantyne' (1809-1813) ; Poet laureate (1813-1816) ; 'Apostate' (1817-1822) ; 'The most powerful literary supporter of the Tories' (1822-1829) ; 'The doctor' (1829-1834) -- pt. III. 'An evening of gloom closed in by premature darkness' Widower (1834-1837) ; Old man (1837-1839) ; Epilogue.