Barbara Elizabeth Rooke (1917–1978) was a Canadian scholar of English literature, a specialist in the works of

Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

. A professor of English at the

Trent University Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Founded in 1964, the university is known for its Oxbridge college system, sma ...

in Canada, she won the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

Rose Mary Crawshay Prize The Rose Mary Crawshay Prize is a literary prize for female scholars, inaugurated in 1888 by the British Academy. Description The prize, set up in 1888, is said by the British Academy to be the only UK literary prize specifically for female sc ...

in 1970.

Life

Rooke attended the

Queen's University, Kingston Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public university, public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and ...

, Ontario, graduating with honours in 1940 and winning the Wilhelmina Gordon Foundation scholarship for English. Following her master's degree the following year, she was in the Women's Division of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

until the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was an assistant section officer based in

Mossbank, Saskatchewan Mossbank is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The town is south of Old Wives Lake and 68 km south of Moose Jaw. History Mossbank was incorporated in 1912 as an extension of the railroad from Expanse. The townsite was chos ...

in charge of new recruits. Rooke obtained a

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

Fellowship to study abroad in 1948–1949. She obtained a doctorate from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. In 1948, Rooke and

Kathleen Coburn Kathleen Hazel Coburn (September 7, 1905 – September 23, 1991) was a Canadian academic and a leading authority on the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Born in Stayner, Ontario, a fourth generation Canadian of Scottish–Irish descent,Co ...

undertook a research trip to Scotland, following Coleridge and Wordsworth's 1803 journey. Coburn related how their ration cards were often not accepted to obtain eggs and meat. Rooke's doctoral research was on

, which she continued in her later academic life. This led to the two-volume edition of ''The Friend'' that she published in 1969 as part of the Bollingen series of Coleridge's collected works (edited by Kathleen Coburn), for which she won the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize. The work was lauded for its beauty and lucidity. In 1951, Rooke was a member of the department of English at the Victoria College,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. She was a lecturer of English at the

University College of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in the ...

in Jamaica. Between 1967 and 1979, she was a professor of English literature at

in Canada.

Recognition

A Barbara Rooke Fellowship for post-doctoral research was established by Trent University, allowing scholars to study the English Romantic period. The Rooke Memorial Lectures are held annually since 1998 at the Trent University to honour Barbara Rooke. The Barbara Rooke Travel Prize has been offered since 2013 to a high-achieving graduate of the university's English department to travel to a ''significant literary heritage site''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooke, Barbara 1917 births 1978 deaths Academic staff of Trent University Rose Mary Crawshay Prize winners Canadian academics of English literature