George Richard Wilson Knight (1897–1985) was an English

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

and academic, known particularly for his interpretation of mythic content in literature, and ''The Wheel of Fire'', a collection of essays on Shakespeare's plays. He was also an actor and theatrical director, and considered an outstanding lecturer.

Early life and education

Knight was educated at Dean Close School, Dulwich College and, after serving as a

dispatch rider A despatch rider (or dispatch) is a military messenger, mounted on horse or motorcycle (and occasionally in Egypt during World War I, on camels). In the UK 'despatch rider' is also a term used for a motorcycle courier. Despatch riders were us ...

in World War I in Iraq, India and Persia,G. Wilson Knight, ''Principles of Shakespearian Production'', Pelican Books, 1949, back cover text he went up to St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he read English. He graduated with second-class honours. After Oxford, he went into teaching. From 1923 to 1931 he taught at

Hawtreys Hawtreys Preparatory School was an independent boys' preparatory school in England, first established in Slough, later moved to Westgate-on-Sea, then to Oswestry, and finally to a country house near Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire. In its early years ...

Westgate-on-Sea Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of Kent, England. It is within the Thanet local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate. Its two sandy beaches have remained a popular touri ...

and at Dean Close School,

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

. The classical scholar William Francis Jackson Knight (1895–1964), of whom he wrote a biography, was his brother.

Academic career

Knight's first academic post was at

Trinity College, Toronto Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angli ...

in 1931. He taught at

Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster ...

from 1941 to 1946. In 1946 he became a Reader in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

at the University of Leeds. He remained at Leeds as a Professor of English Literature from 1956 until his retirement in 1962. At Toronto, he produced and acted in the main Shakespearian tragedies at

Hart House Theatre Hart House Theatre is a 454-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario located on the campus of the University of Toronto in the Hart House Student Centre. The theatre serves the university and the Toronto community at large. Hart House Theatre opened i ...

. Among his other productions are '' Hamlet'' at the

Rudolf Steiner Theatre Rudolf Steiner House is a Grade 2 listed building near Regent's Park, London, which is the home of the Anthroposophical Society of Great Britain. It is a cultural hub and contains a library, bookshop, cafe, 220-seat theatre, and a therapy and wel ...

, London in 1935; ''This Sceptred Isle'' at the

Westminster Theatre The Westminster Theatre was a theatre in London, on Palace Street in Westminster. History The structure on the site was originally built as the Charlotte Chapel in 1766, by William Dodd with money from his wife Mary Perkins. Through Peter Ri ...

London in 1941; and at Leeds the '' Agamemnon'' of Aeschylus in 1946;

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

's ''

Athalie ''Athalie'' (, sometimes translated ''Athalia'') is a 1691 play, the final tragedy of Jean Racine, and has been described as the masterpiece of "one of the greatest literary artists known" and the "ripest work" of Racine's genius. Charles August ...

'' in 1947; and '' Timon of Athens'' in 1948.

Spiritualism

Knight was a believer in spiritualism and was a vice-president for the

Spiritualist Association of Great Britain The Spiritualist Association of Great Britain (the SAGB) is a British spiritualist organisation. It was established ion 10th July 1872. History The SAGB grew out of the Marylebone Spiritualist Association (founded 1872). The story of the assoc ...

.Domelen, John E. Van. (1987). ''Tarzan of Athens: A Biographical Study of G. Wilson Knight''. Redcliffe. p. 149

Works

* ''Myth and Miracle: an Essay on the Mystic Symbolism of Shakespeare'' (1929)
''The Wheel of Fire, Interpretations of Shakespearian Tragedy''
(1930) * ''The Imperial Theme'' (1931)
''The Shakespearian Tempest''
(1932) * ''The Christian Renaissance, with interpretations of Dante, Shakespeare, and Goethe, and a note on T. S. Eliot'' (1933) * ''Shakespeare and Tolstoy'' (1934) * ''Principles of Shakespeare's Production'' (1936) * ''Atlantic Crossing: an Autobiographical Design'' (1936) * ''The Burning Oracle, Studies in the Poetry of Action'' (1939) * ''The Sceptred Isle: Shakespeare's Message for England at War'' (1940) * ''The Starlit Dome: Studies in the Poetry of Vision'' (1941) * ''Chariot of Wrath: the Message of John Milton to Democracy at War'' (1942) * ''The Olive and the Sword: a Study of England's Shakespeare'' (1944) * ''The Dynasty of Stowe'' (1945) * ''Hiroshima, on Prophecy and the sun-bomb'' (1946)
''The Crown of Life: Essays in Interpretation of Shakespeare's Final Plays''
(1947) * ''Christ and Nietzsche: an Essay in Poetic Wisdom'' (1948) * ''The Imperial Theme: Further Interpretations of Shakespeare's Tragedies, including the Roman Plays'' (1951) * ''Lord Byron: Christian Virtues'' (1952) * ''Byron's Dramatic Prose'' (1953) * ''The Last of the Incas, a Play on the Conquest of Peru'' (1954) * ''Laureate of Peace: on the Genius of Alexander Pope'' (1954) * ''The Mutual Flame: on Shakespeare's Sonnets and The Phoenix and the Turtle'' (1955) * ''Lord Byron's Marriage: The Evidence of Asterisks'' (1957) * ''The Sovereign Flower: on Shakespeare as the poet of Royalism'' (1958) * ''Ibsen'' (1962) * ''The Golden Labyrinth: a Study of British Drama'' (1962) * ''Byron and Hamlet'' (1962) * ''The Saturnian Quest: a Chart of the Prose Works of

John Cowper Powys John Cowper Powys (; 8 October 187217 June 1963) was an English philosopher, lecturer, novelist, critic and poet born in Shirley, Derbyshire, where his father was vicar of the parish church in 1871–1879. Powys appeared with a volume of verse ...

'' (1964) * ''Byron and Shakespeare'' (1966) * ''Gold-Dust, with Other Poetry'' (1968) * ''Shakespeare and Religion: Essays of Forty Years'' * ''Neglected Powers: Essays on 19th and 20th Century Literature'' (1971) * ''Jackson Knight: a Biography'' (1975) * ''Virgil and Shakespeare'' (1977) * ''Shakespeare's Dramatic Challenge: on the Rise of Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes'' (1977) * ''Symbol of Man: on Body-soul for Stage and Studio'' (1979) * ''Shakespearian Dimensions'' (1984) * ''Visions and Vices: Essays on

'' (1989)

References

External links