William John Courthope, (17 July 184210 April 1917) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

writer and historian of poetry, whose father was rector of South Malling,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

Life

From

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

he went to

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

; took first-classes in classical moderations and greats; and won the

Newdigate Newdigate is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley borough of Surrey. Lying in a relatively flat part of the Weald, Newdigate is to the east of the A24 road between Dorking and Horsham, ESE of Guildford and south of London. Neigh ...

prize for poetry (1864) and the Chancellors English essay (1868). He seemed destined for distinction as a poet, his volume of ''Ludibria Lunae'' (1869) being followed in 1870 by the remarkably fine ''Paradise of Birds''. But a certain academic quality of mind seemed to check his output in verse and divert it into the field of criticism. Apart from many contributions to the higher journalism, his literary career is associated mainly with his continuation of the edition of

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

's works, begun by

Whitwell Elwin Whitwell Elwin (26 February 1816 – 1 January 1900) was an English clergyman, critic and editor of the ''Quarterly Review''. Life He was the son of Marsham Elwin, a country gentleman of Thurning, Norfolk, Whitwell Elwin studied at Caius Coll ...

, which appeared in ten volumes from 1871 to 1889; his life of

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(''Men of Letters'' series, 1882); his ''Liberal Movement in English Literature'' (1885); and his tenure of the professorship of Poetry at Oxford (1895–1901), which resulted in his elaborate ''History of English Poetry'' (the first volume appearing in 1895), and his ''Life in Poetry'' (1901). He published a selection from

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

's ''Epigrams'' in 1914, and a volume of verse, ''The Country Town and other Poems'', appeared in 1920. He dealt with the history of English poetry as a whole, and in its unity as a result of the national spirit and thought in succeeding ages, and attempted to bring the great poets into relation with this. In 1887 he was appointed a civil service commissioner, being first commissioner in 1892, and being made a CB. He was made an honorary fellow of his old college at Oxford in 1896, and was given the honorary degrees of D.Litt. by

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

in 1895 and of

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

in 1898. His daughter, Katharine Courthope, married Reverend Charles Fiennes Cholmondeley (born 26 Nov 1863, d. Dec 1959).Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.

References

Attribution: * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Courthope, William John People educated at Harrow School Alumni of New College, Oxford Companions of the Order of the Bath English literary critics 1842 births 1917 deaths Oxford Professors of Poetry English male poets Fellows of the British Academy English male non-fiction writers