Denis Donoghue (1 December 1928 – 6 April 2021) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

literary critic. He was the

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

Chair of English and American Letters at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Life and career

Donoghue was born at

Tullow Tullow (; , formerly ''Tulach Ó bhFéidhlim/ Tullowphelim'') is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 4,673. History There is a statue of ...

, County Carlow, into a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

family, the youngest of four surviving children. He was brought up in

Warrenpoint Warrenpoint ( ga, An Pointe) is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is beside ...

, County Down,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, where his father, Denis, was sergeant-in-charge of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. His mother was Johanna (O'Neill) Donoghue. He was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers at the Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Newry. He stood 6'7". He studied

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and English at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

, earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1949, an M.A. in 1952, a Ph.D. in 1957, and a D.Litt. (honoris causa) in 1989. He then studied Lieder singing at the

Royal Irish Academy of Music The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution whic ...

. He earned an M.A. at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

in 1964, and returned to Dublin, becoming a professor at UCD. In 1980, he was appointed to the

chair of English and American letters at NYU, his final teaching post. He married Frances Rutledge, formerly a teacher and flight attendant, on 1 December 1951. The couple had eight children. One,

Emma Donoghue Emma Donoghue (born 24 October 1969) is an Irish-Canadian playwright, literary historian, novelist, and screenwriter. Her 2010 novel ''Room'' was a finalist for the Booker Prize and an international best-seller. Donoghue's 1995 novel '' Hood'' ...

(born 1969), is an Irish-Canadian novelist, literary historian, teacher, playwright, and radio/film scriptwriter. On 7 December 2018, aged 90, Donoghue married his longtime partner of more than twenty years, Melissa Malouf, in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, USA. Malouf Melissa Malouf (born 1951), previously married to literary critic Frank Lentriccia. Malouf is a writer and retired Duke University professor of English. They resided together in Durham, North Carolina until Denis Donoghue's death at age 92 on 6 April 2021 from natural causes. His first wife, Frances, predeceased him in 2018. He is survived by his second wife Melissa, his children (David, Helen, Hugh, Celia, Mark, Barbara, Stella and Emma) and a large extended family.

Works

*''The Third Voice: Modern British and American Verse Drama'' (1959) *''The Integrity of Yeats'' (1964) editor *''An Honoured Guest - New Essays on W.B. Yeats'' (1965) editor with J.R. Mulryne *''Connoisseurs of Chaos: Ideas of Order in Modern American Poetry'' (1965) *''The Ordinary Universe: Soundings in Modern Literature'' (1968) criticism *''Swift Revisited'' (1968) editor, Thomas Davis Lectures, with

Roger McHugh Roger Joseph McHugh (24 July 1908 – 2 January 1987) was an Irish academic, author, playwright, politician and Irish Republican. He was educated Our Lady's Bower, Athlone; Synge Street CBS, Dublin and University College Dublin (UCD). McHugh ...

, Matthew Hodgart, Mark Kinkead-Weekes, and John Holloway *''Emily Dickinson'' (1969) *''Jonathan Swift: A Critical Introduction'' (1969) editor *''Jonathan Swift, Penguin Critical Anthologies'' (1971) editor *''Yeats'' (

Fontana Modern Masters The Fontana Modern Masters was a series of pocket guides on writers, philosophers, and other thinkers and theorists who shaped the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century. The first five titles were published on 12 January 1970 by Fontana ...

, 1971) *''W. B. Yeats, Memoirs'' (1972) editor *''Thieves of Fire'' (1973) T.S. Eliot Memorial Lectures. *''Seven American Poets from MacLeish to Nemerov'' (1975) essays on

John Berryman John Allyn McAlpin Berryman (born John Allyn Smith, Jr.; October 25, 1914 – January 7, 1972) was an American poet and scholar. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and is considered a key figure in th ...

Richard Eberhart Richard Ghormley Eberhart (April 5, 1904 – June 9, 2005) was an American poet who published more than a dozen books of poetry and approximately twenty works in total. "Richard Eberhart emerged out of the 1930s as a modern stylist with romanti ...

Randall Jarrell Randall Jarrell (May 6, 1914 – October 14, 1965) was an American poet, literary critic, children's author, essayist, and novelist. He was the 11th Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—a position that now bears the title Poe ...

, Robert Lowell, Archibald MacLeish,

Howard Nemerov Howard Nemerov (March 1, 1920 – July 5, 1991) was an American poet. He was twice Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, from 1963 to 1964 and again from 1988 to 1990. For ''The Collected Poems of Howard Nemerov'' (1977) ...

and

Theodore Roethke Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book ''The Wa ...

*''The Sovereign Ghost: Studies in Imagination'' (1976) *''Ferocious Alphabets'' (1981) criticism *''The Politics of Modern Criticism'' (1981) *''The Arts Without Mystery'' (1983) 1982

Reith Lectures The Reith Lectures is a series of annual BBC radio lectures given by leading figures of the day. They are commissioned by the BBC and broadcast on Radio 4 and the World Service. The lectures were inaugurated in 1948 to mark the historic contribu ...

*''Creation and Interpretation'' (1984) with William Barrett,

Richard Wollheim Richard Arthur Wollheim (5 May 1923 − 4 November 2003) was a British philosopher noted for original work on mind and emotions, especially as related to the visual arts, specifically, painting. Wollheim served as the president of the British ...

*''R. P. Blackmur, Selected Essays'' (1986) editor *''We Irish : Essays on Irish Literature & Society'' (1986) *''Reading America: Essays on American Literature'' (1987) *''America in Theory'' (1988) editor with

Leslie Berlowitz Leslie Cohen Berlowitz (March 1, 1944 – June 13, 2020) was President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Berlowitz became the Academy's executive officer in 1996 and was later promoted to Chief Executive Of ...

and

Louis Menand Louis Menand (; born January 21, 1952) is an American critic, essayist, and professor, best known for his Pulitzer-winning book '' The Metaphysical Club'' (2001), an intellectual and cultural history of late 19th and early 20th century America. ...

*''England their England: Commentaries on English Language and Literature'' (1988) *''Warrenpoint'' (1990) memoirs *''The Pure Good Of Theory'' (1992) Bucknell Lectures in Literary Theory *''Who Says What and The Question of Voice'' (1992) Princess Grace Irish Library Lectures *''The Old Moderns,: Essays on Literature and Theory'' (1994) *''

Walter Pater Walter Horatio Pater (4 August 1839 – 30 July 1894) was an English essayist, art critic and literary critic, and fiction writer, regarded as one of the great stylists. His first and most often reprinted book, ''Studies in the History of the Re ...

: Lover of Strange Souls'' (1995) biography *''Henry James Complete Stories, 1898-1910'' (1997) editor *''Practice Of Reading'' (1998) *''Words Alone : The Poet T. S. Eliot'' (2000) *''Adam's Curse: Reflections on Religion and Literature'' (2001) *''Speaking of Beauty'' (2003) *''The American Classics'' (2005) *''On Eloquence'' (2008) *''Warrenpoint ''(2013) *''Metaphor'' (2014)

Broadcasting

In 1982 the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Life and career

Works

Broadcasting

References

Sources