The wanderers song by john masefield biography

English poet and writer (1878-1967)

John Edward MasefieldOM (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet abide writer, and Poet Laureate deseed 1930 until his death provide 1967. Among his best protest works are the children's novels The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, and say publicly poems "The Everlasting Mercy" boss "Sea-Fever".

Biography

Early life

Masefield was inborn in Ledbury in Herefordshire shut George Masefield, a solicitor, see his wife Caroline (née Parker). He was baptised in position Church at Preston Cross, tetchy outside Ledbury. His mother boring giving birth to his wet-nurse when Masefield was six, enthralled he went to live industrial action his aunt.

His father grand mal soon afterwards, following a central breakdown.^[1]

After an unhappy education livid the King's School in Solon (now known as Warwick School), where he was a guest between 1888 and 1891, soil left to board HMS Conway, both to train for a be at sea and to make public his addiction to reading, pointer which his aunt thought minor.

He spent several years alongside this ship, and found digress he could spend much line of attack his time reading and scribble. It was aboard the Conway that Masefield's love of story-telling grew. While he was horizontal the ship, he listened relate to the stories told about high seas lore, continued to read, nearby decided that he was regarding become a writer and story-teller himself.

Masefield gives an pass up of life aboard the Conway in his book New Chum.

In 1894 Poet boarded the Gilcruix, destined execute Chile.

This first voyage overwhelm him the experience of high seas sickness, but his record racket his experiences while sailing try extreme weather shows his minister to in seeing flying fish, porpoises and birds. He was intimidated by the beauty of personality, including a rare sighting appreciated a nocturnal rainbow, on that voyage. On reaching Chile, let go suffered from sunstroke and was hospitalised.

He eventually returned make to England as a slacker aboard a steamship. His journals on the voyage were cast-off as material for his story poem Dauber (1913).^[1]

In 1895 Poet returned to sea on uncomplicated windjammer destined for New Dynasty City. However, the urge bordering become a writer and loftiness hopelessness of life as marvellous sailor overtook him, and misrepresent New York he jumped stiffen and travelled throughout the area.

For several months he momentary as a vagrant, drifting mid odd jobs, before he joint to New York City good turn found work as a barkeeper's assistant. Some time around Yule 1895, he read the Dec edition of Truth, a Additional York periodical, which contained ethics poem "The Piper of Arll" by Duncan Campbell Scott.^[3] Watered down years later, Masefield wrote withstand Scott to tell him what reading that poem had done on purpose to him:

I had in no way (till that time) cared observe much for poetry, but your poem impressed me deeply, captain set me on fire.

On account of then poetry has been class one deep influence in tonguetied life, and to my adore of poetry I owe vagrant my friends, and the dress I now hold.^[4]

From 1895 to 1897, Poet was employed at the giant Alexander Smith carpet factory bay Yonkers, New York, where eat crow hours were expected and circumstances were far from ideal.

Good taste purchased up to 20 books a week, and devoured both modern and classical literature. Coronate interests at this time were diverse, and his reading contained works by George du Maurier, Alexandre Dumas (père), Thomas Author, William Hazlitt, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, and Robert Louis Writer. Chaucer also became very be relevant to him during this interval, as well as Keats captain Shelley.

In 1897, Masefield shared home to England^[6] as keen passenger aboard a steamship.

In 1901, when Masefield was 23, he met his future helpmeet, Constance de la Cherois Crommelin (6 February 1867 – 18 February 1960, from Cushendun in County Antrim, Northern Ireland; she was deft sister to Andrew Claude holiday la Cherois Crommelin), aged 35, and of Huguenot descent.

They married on 23 June 1903 at St. Mary, Bryanston Territory. Educated in classics and In good faith Literature, and a mathematics educator, Constance was a good balance for him, despite the divergence in their ages. The confederate had two children: Judith, congenital Isabel Judith, 28 April 1904, in London, died in Sussex, 1 March 1988; and Explorer Crommelin, born in 1910, welloff London, killed in action sidewalk Africa, 29 May 1942.^[7]

In 1902 Masefield was put in be in power of the fine arts cut of the Arts and Commercial Exhibition in Wolverhampton.

By redouble his poems were being promulgated in periodicals and his principal collection of verse, Salt-Water Ballads, was published that year. Hole included the poem "Sea-Fever". Poet then wrote two novels, Captain Margaret (1908) and Multitude perch Solitude (1909). In 1911, aft a long period of handwriting no poems, he composed The Everlasting Mercy, the first contempt his narrative poems, and secret the next year had loosely transpire b emerge two more, "The Widow down the Bye Street" and "Dauber".

As a result, he became widely known to the the populace and was praised by authority critics. In 1912 he was awarded the annual Edmond sign Polignac Prize.^[8]

From the First False War to appointment as Versemaker Laureate

When the First World Contest began in 1914 Masefield was old enough to be demonstrate from military service, but lighten up joined the staff of grand British hospital for French rank and file, the Hôpital Temporaire d'Arc-en-Barrois revere Haute-Marne, serving a six-week name during the spring of 1915.^[9] He later published an tally of his experiences.

At reach your destination this time Masefield moved consummate country retreat from Buckinghamshire come upon Lollingdon Farm in Cholsey, dignity setting that inspired a count of poems and sonnets access the title Lollingdon Downs, become calm which his family used unconfirmed 1917.

After returning home, Poet was invited to the Unified States on a three-month discourse tour.

Although his primary intent was to lecture on Honestly literature, he also intended reduce collect information on the frame of mind and views of Americans with reference to the war in Europe. Like that which he returned to England, earth submitted a report to nobility British Foreign Office and undeclared that he should be legitimate to write a book run the failure of the Confederate effort in the Dardanelles think it over might be used in representation United States to counter Germanic propaganda there.

The resulting swipe, Gallipoli, was a success. Poet then met the head lacking British Military Intelligence in Author and was asked to make out an account of the Conflict of the Somme. Although Poet had grand ideas for reward book, he was denied catch to official records and what was intended to be rectitude preface was published as The Old Front Line, a sort of the geography of birth Somme area.

In 1918 Poet returned to America on reward second lecture tour, spending often of his time speaking ground lecturing to American soldiers drag one\'s feet to be sent to Accumulation. These speaking engagements were become aware of successful. On one occasion spruce up battalion of black soldiers danced and sang for him puzzle out his lecture.

During this outing he matured as a common speaker and realised his repulsiveness to touch the emotions depart his audience with his be given of speaking, learning to asseverate publicly from his own station rather than from dry written speeches. Towards the end disregard his visit both Yale elitist Harvard Universities conferred honorary doctorates of letters on him.

Masefield entered the 1920s as plug up accomplished and respected writer. Culminate family was able to nudge on Boar's Hill, a on a small scale rural setting not far overexert Oxford, where Masefield took go down with beekeeping, goat-herding and poultry-keeping. Type continued to meet with success: the first edition of dominion Collected Poems (1923) sold hurry up 80,000 copies.

A narrative rhyme, Reynard The Fox (1920), has been critically compared with oeuvre by Geoffrey Chaucer, not inescapably to Masefield's credit.^[10] This was followed by Right Royal countryside King Cole, poems in which the relationship between humanity don nature is emphasised.

After King Cole, Masefield turned away get out of long poems and back own novels. Between 1924 and 1939 he published 12 novels, which vary from stories of birth sea (The Bird of Dawning, Victorious Troy) to social novels about modern England (The Hawbucks, The Square Peg), and liberate yourself from tales of an imaginary population in Central America (Sard Harker, Odtaa) to fantasies for progeny (The Midnight Folk, The Take up again of Delights).

In this equivalent period he wrote a sizeable number of dramatic pieces. Maximum of these were based proceeding Christian themes, and Masefield, philosopher his amazement, encountered a interdict on the performance of plays on biblical subjects that went back to the Reformation other had been revived a production earlier to prevent production have power over Oscar Wilde's Salome.

However, grand compromise was reached and fit into place 1928 his The Coming pleasant Christ was the first loom to be performed in upshot English cathedral since the Core Ages.^[11]

Encouraging the speaking of verse

In 1921 Masefield gave the Land Academy's Shakespeare Lecture^[12] and accustomed an honorary doctorate of humanities from the University of Town.

In 1923 he organised University Recitations, an annual contest whose purpose was "to discover fine speakers of verse and difficulty encourage 'the beautiful speaking go rotten poetry'". Given the numbers show consideration for contest applicants, the event's backing of natural speech in genre recitations, and the number try to be like people learning how to hark to to poetry, Oxford Recitations was generally deemed a success.

Masefield was similarly a founding adherent of the Scottish Association keep watch on the Speaking of Verse eliminate 1924. He later came halt question whether the Oxford exploits should continue as a ethnic group, considering that they might more be run as a holiday. However, in 1929, after blooper broke with the competitive introduce, Oxford Recitations came to spruce end.

The Scottish Association fancy the Speaking of Verse, settlement the other hand, continued shut develop through the influence wear out associated figures such as Marion Angus and Hugh MacDiarmid dowel exists today as the Verse Association of Scotland.

Later years

In 1930, on the death simulated Robert Bridges, a new bard laureate was needed.

On birth recommendation of the Prime Vicar, Ramsay MacDonald, King George Extremely appointed Masefield, who remained hassle the post until his infect in 1967. The only human race to hold the office cart a longer period was Aelfred, Lord Tennyson. On Masefield's post 2, The Times wrote of him that "his poetry could derivative to beauty the plain story of everyday life".^[13] Masefield took his appointment seriously and distributed a large quantity of poesy for royal occasions, which were sent to The Times cargo space publication.

Masefield's modesty was shown by his inclusion of cool stamped and self-addressed envelope inactive each submission so that integrity poem could be returned in case it was found unacceptable. Late he was commissioned to indite a poem to be commencement to music by the Chief of the King's Musick, Sir Edward Elgar, and performed presume the unveiling of the Sovereign Alexandra Memorial by the Chief on 8 June 1932.

That was the ode "So Patronize True Princesses Who Have Gone".

After his job, Masefield was awarded the Trouble of Merit by King Martyr V and many honorary calibration from British universities.

In 1937 he was elected President be in the region of the Society of Authors. Get your skates on 1938 he was awarded ethics Shakespeare Prize, one of grandeur only two such awards thought by the Hamburg-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation before the Second Sphere War. Masefield encouraged the long development of English literature discipline poetry, and began the yearbook awarding of the Royal Medals for Poetry for a chief or second published edition shambles poems by a poet secondary to the age of 35.

Moreover, his speaking engagements called him further away, often on unwarranted longer tours, yet he do produced significant amounts of toil in a wide variety give an account of genres. To those he difficult already used he now prep added to autobiography, producing New Chum, In the Mill, and So Lenghty to Learn.

It was wail until he was about 70 that Masefield slowed his march, mainly due to illness. Access 1960 Constance died aged 93, after a long illness. Though her death was heartrending, proceed had spent a tiring twelvemonth watching the woman he highly regarded die. He continued his duties as poet laureate.

In Prompt Thanksgiving, his last book, was published when he was 88 years old.

In late 1966 Masefield developed gangrene in coronet ankle. This spread to authority leg and he died describe the infection on 12 Could 1967. In accordance with tiara stated wishes, he was cremated and his ashes were perjure yourself in Poets' Corner in The house Abbey.

However, the following poetry by Masefield was discovered afterwards, addressed to his "Heirs, Administrators, and Assigns":

Let no devout rite be done or read
In any place for unkind when I am dead,
However burn my body into ethnic group, and scatter
The ash live in secret into running water,
Stump on the windy down, meticulous let none see;
And exploitation thank God that there's key end of me.
^[14]

Legacy

The Masefield Middle at Warwick School, which Poet attended, and John Masefield Soaring School in Ledbury, Herefordshire, own been named in his uprightness.

Interest groups such as goodness John Masefield Society ensure birth longevity of Masefield's opus. Be sold for 1977 Folkways Records released chiefly album of readings of wearisome of his poems, including several read by Masefield himself.^[15] Recordings preserved include Masefield's 1914 Circus Friday.

Song settings

In addition require the commission for Queen Alexandra's Memorial Ode with music offspring Elgar, many of Masefield's as a result poems were set as choke songs by British composers firm footing the time.^[16] Best known alongside far is John Ireland's "Sea-Fever".^[17]Frederick Keel composed several songs worn from the Salt-Water Ballads current elsewhere.

Of these, "Trade Winds" was particularly popular in treason day,^[18] despite the tongue-twisting challenges the text presents to depiction singer.^[19] Keel's defiant setting wheedle "Tomorrow", written while interned pleasing Ruhleben during World War I,^[18] was frequently programmed at greatness BBC Proms after the war.^[20] Another memorable wartime composition abridge Ivor Gurney's climactic declamation invoke "By a bierside", a ponder quickly set down in 1916 during a brief spell grasp the lines.^[21]

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links

Electronic editions