Anthony Stephen Knowland (22 March 1919 – 10 December 2006) was a professor of English literature, specialising in the work of

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and

classical Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...

literature. He was a conscientious objector in

World War II 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 ...

Early life and education

Knowland was born in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, Sussex, one of seven children of Albert James Knowland and Maria Maud Knowland (née Sturley). He was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

and later at Frensham Heights, Surrey, where he became

head boy The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

and studied Latin and Greek. He won a place at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, in 1938. There he studied

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

until the outbreak of

the Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...

, gaining a wartime degree. In 1947, he returned to Exeter College, where he took English and gained a

first-class degree The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

Conscientious objector

As a captain in the Suffolk 3rd Division of the British Army, Knowland was involved in planning for the

Second Front The Western Front was a military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The Italian front is considered a separate but related theatre. The Wester ...

. However, he became a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

before the invasion and was court-martialled in 1944. He was represented at the court martial by

Raymond Blackburn Albert Raymond Blackburn (11 March 1915 – 3 November 1991) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament for the Birmingham King's Norton and Birmingham Northfield constituencies. Early life Blackburn was born on ...

, dismissed from service, and confined to

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

for two months because of his knowledge of the invasion plans. On his release, he was employed as a teacher at Frensham Heights, although within weeks as a civilian, he was called up again and had to put his case to the Conscientious Objectors Tribunal at Reading, where it was decreed that, having once put himself at risk of imprisonment, he should be allowed to stand down and return to teaching.Nixon-Smiths and Knowlands by Irma Knowland (1992) According to his daughter Isabel, who wrote his obituary, he was a committed

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

Career

In 1950, he was invited to the

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 ...

in Canada as lecturer in English. In 1953, he took up a post at Magee University, Derry, where he was elected to the chair of English. As well as directing several

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

plays, he founded a music society at which many distinguished musicians performed, including

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perc ...

Amaryllis Fleming Amaryllis Marie-Louise Fleming (10 December 1925 – 27 July 1999) was a British cello performer and teacher. Early life and education Fleming was born in 1925, reportedly in Switzerland.G. R. Seaman, 'Fleming, Amaryllis Marie-Louise (1925? ...

Alan Loveday Alan Raymond Loveday (29 February 1928 – 12 April 2016) was a New Zealand violinist. A child prodigy, he became leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and a soloist and leader with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. He was a professor ...

Lamar Crowson John Lamar Crowson (May 27, 1926 – August 25, 1998) was an American concert pianist and a chamber musician.''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (2009) Crowson was born in Tampa, Florida. His early education was in Portland, Oregon, wit ...

, Frederick Grinke, and a 14-year-old

Jacqueline du Pré Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film) ...

. Contrary to the prevailing ethos of the university, Knowland insisted that

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

be allowed to join the society. In 1960, he joined

St Clare's, Oxford St Clare's is a coeducational private, international day and boarding college in North Oxford, England. St Clare's is an IB World School, offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma and a Preparatory IB programme, as well as English Langua ...

, and was responsible for directing the academic programme for external London degrees and a liberal arts programme for visiting American students. Knowland became vice principal in 1972. During his career, he had visiting professorships to universities in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. He published work on 17th-century drama, translations of Sophocles and Aristophanes, and was an authority on

. His book, ''W.B. Yeats – Dramatist of Vision'', was published in 1984. Knowland was interested in

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

, and from the 1950s, he made many recordings of musicians on the west coast of Ireland, which are now in Ireland's national archives.

Personal life

In December 1943, Knowland married Barbara Amy Morris (1 May 1926 – 4 August 2014), the eldest daughter of John Morris (co-founder of

Boriswood Boriswood Limited was a small London publishing house which was active from 1931 until 1938. The directors, at various times, were Cecil J Greenwood, Kenneth W Marshall, John Morris and the New Zealander Terence T Bond. It also incorporated anoth ...

publishers) and Pamela Paramythioti (co-founder of St Clare's, Oxford) and granddaughter of the composer

Amy Horrocks Amy Elise Horrocks (23 February 1867 – 4 December 1919), a life-long pacifist, was an England, English music educator, composer (particularly of songs) and pianist, born to English parents (Francis James Horrocks 8 July 1829 – 27 April 1913) a ...

. Living in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and finally,

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, Oxfordshire, they had five children. Knowland was an accomplished pianist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowland, Tony British academics of English literature 1919 births 2006 deaths People from Hove