Lascelles Abercrombie, (9 January 1881 – 27 October 1938) was a British

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

and literary critic, one of the "

Dymock poets The Dymock poets were a literary group of the early 20th century who made their homes near the village of Dymock in Gloucestershire, in England, near to the border with Herefordshire. Significant figures and events The 'Dymock Poets' are genera ...

". After the First World War he worked as a professor of English literature in a number of English universities, writing principally on the theory of literature.

Biography

Abercrombie was born in

Ashton upon Mersey Ashton upon Mersey is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 9,693 at the 2011 census. It lies on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. Historically pa ...

, Sale, Cheshire.Thorne, J. O. and Collocott, T. C., eds. (1984). ''

Chambers Biographical Dictionary ''Chambers Biographical Dictionary'' provides concise descriptions of over 18,000 notable figures from Britain and the rest of the world. It was first published in 1897. The publishers, Chambers Harrap, who were formerly based in Edinburgh, clai ...

'', revised ed. (Chambers), p. 4; ; accessed 5 May 2014. He was educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

, and at

Owens College, Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

. Before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he lived for a time at

Dymock Dymock is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, about four miles south of Ledbury. In 2014 the parish had an estimated population of 1,205. Dymock is the origin of the Dymock Red, a cider appl ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...

, part of a community of poets, including

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American collo ...

, and often visited by

Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...

, and Edward Thomas. The

were included among the "Georgian poets", and Abercrombie's poetry was included in four of the five volumes of

Georgian Poetry Georgian Poetry refers to a series of anthologies showcasing the work of a school of English poetry that established itself during the early years of the reign of King George V of the United Kingdom. The Georgian poets were, by the strictest d ...

(edited by Edward Marsh, 1912-1922). During the pre-War years, he earned his living reviewing books, and started his poetry writing. His first book, ''Interludes and Poems'' (1908), was followed by ''Mary and the Bramble'' (1910) and the play ''Deborah'', and later by ''Emblems of Love'' (1912) and ''Speculative Dialogues'' (1913). His critical works include ''An Essay Towards a Theory of Art'' (1922), and ''Poetry, Its Music and Meaning'' (1932). ''Collected Poems'' (1930) was followed by ''The Sale of St. Thomas'' (1930), a dramatic poem. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served as a munitions examiner, after which, he was appointed to the first lectureship in poetry at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. In 1922 he was appointed Professor of English at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in preference to J. R. R. Tolkien, with whom he shared, as author of ''The Epic'' (1914), a professional interest in

heroic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

. In 1929 he moved on to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, and in 1935 to the prestigious Goldsmiths' Readership at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where he was elected as a Fellow of

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

. He wrote a series of works on the nature of poetry, including ''The Idea of Great Poetry'' (1925) and ''Romanticism'' (1926). He published several volumes of original verse, largely metaphysical poems in dramatic form, and a number of verse plays. Abercrombie also contributed to ''

'' and several of his verse plays appeared in ''New Numbers'' (1914). His poems and plays were collected in 'Poems' (1930). Lascelles Abercrombie suffered in his later years from serious diabetes, and died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1938, aged 57. At the end of the Second World War, it was discovered that despite his death Abercrombie's name had been mistakenly included in " The Black Book" or ''Sonderfahndungsliste G.B.'' list of Britons who were to be arrested in the event of a Nazi invasion of Britain.

Family

Abercrombie was the brother of architect and noted town planner

Patrick Abercrombie Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (; 6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English regional and town planner. Abercrombie was an academic during most of his career, and prepared one city plan and several regional studies prior to the Second Worl ...

. In 1909 he married Catherine Gwatkin (1881–1968) of

Grange-over-Sands Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 ...

. They had 4 children, a daughter and three sons. Two of the sons achieved prominence, David Abercrombie as a phonetician and

Michael Abercrombie Michael Abercrombie FRS (14 August 1912 – 28 May 1979) was a British cell biologist and embryologist. He was one of four children of the poet Lascelles Abercrombie. Early life Michael was born at Ryton near Dymock in Gloucestershire on 14 A ...

as a cell biologist. The latter's son

Nicholas Abercrombie Nicholas Abercrombie (born 1944) is a British sociologist and retired academic. He was Professor of Sociology at Lancaster University from 1990 to 2004. Education and career Born in Birmingham in 1944, Abercrombie's father Michael and mother J ...

is a sociologist. A grandson, Jeffrey Cooper, produced an admirable bibliography of his grandfather, with brief but important notes, while a great-grandson is author

Joe Abercrombie Joseph Edward Abercrombie (born December 31, 1974) is a British fantasy writer and film editor. He is the author of '' The First Law'' trilogy, as well as other fantasy books in the same setting and a trilogy of young adult novels. His novel ' ...

.Index entry for Lascelles Abercrombie at Poets' Corner
accessed 5 May 2014.Dymock Poets Archive
, resources.glos.ac.uk; accessed 5 May 2014.

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...

dedicated his second children's adventure novel

Swallowdale ''Swallowdale'' is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome and first published by Jonathan Cape in 1931. The book features Walker siblings (The Swallows) and Blackett sisters (The Amazons), camping in the hills and moorland ...

to Lascelles' daughter Elizabeth.

Poetry and Plays

Abercrombie's poetry consists very largely of long poems in blank verse, mainly in dramatic form. They treat the extremes of imagined rather than actual experience, from ecstasy to anguish and malice, with little in between, in verse full of sharp, gem-like imagery and generally rugged in sound and metre. Admired for a time by good judges such as Charles Williams, Oliver Elton and

Una Ellis-Fermor Una Mary Ellis-Fermor (20 December 1894 – 24 March 1958), who also used the pseudonym Christopher Turnley, was an English literary critic, author and Hildred Carlile Professor of English at Bedford College, London (1947–1958). In recognition o ...

, and respected by his fellow 'Georgian' poets, it was never popular, and by the 1930s no longer corresponded to what readers sought in modern verse. His 'Four Short Plays' of 1922 have fared better and still receive some attention, particularly 'The Staircase', because of their more realistic characters and setting. They compare favourably to the poetic plays of the other Georgian poets, such as John Drinkwater and

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ''The Box of Delights'', and the poem ...

Works

References

External links

*
Elizabeth Whitcomb Houghton Collection
containing letters by Abercrombie

in the Special Collections of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

at the