George Meredith

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George Meredith, George Frederic Watts , 1893
Signature of George Meredith.jpg
George Meredith at the age of 35

George Meredith (born February 12, 1828 in Portsmouth , † May 18, 1909 in Flint Cottage near Dorking ) was an English writer and poet .

Life

After the early death of his mother, he first grew up in his hometown. At the age of 14 he was sent to an institute of the Moravian Brethren in Neuwied , Germany , which he attended for two years. After completing his school education, he studied law and worked as a lawyer after completing his studies . However, he soon gave up this activity to turn to literature.

Initially he worked as a journalist . In magazines his first literary attempts, mostly were poems and sonnets published. His first volume of poetry appeared in 1851, followed by the Modern Love sonnet collection a little later . Several novels followed; including Emilia (1864) and a year later Rhoda Fleming . His first novel The Ordeal of Richard Feveral , with which he first gained attention as a novelist, was banned for moral reasons.

Around 1865/1866 Meredith went to Italy . Here he worked as a war correspondent during the German War of 1866 . Returned to England, he settled in Surrey and continued his writing work. In the period that followed, other novels and volumes of poetry were published.

He died in 1909 near Dorking.

The poem The Lark Ascending by Meredith inspired the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams to write the composition of the same name . Williams prefixed the score with extracts from the poem.

Major works

Novels
  • The Shaving of Shagpat: An Arabian Entertainment (1885, dated 1856)
  • Farina: A Legend of Cologne (1857)
  • The Ordeal of Richard Feverel : A History of Father and Son (1859); (German Richard Feverel )
  • Evan Harrington ; or, He Would Be a Gentleman (1860)
  • Emilia in England (1864; renamed Sandra Belloni, 1889)
  • Rhoda Fleming (1865)
  • Vittoria (1867)
  • The Adventures of Harry Richmond (1871); (German Harry Richmond's Adventure )
  • Beauchamp's Career (1875, dated 1876)
  • The Egoist: A Comedy in Narrative (1879); (Eng. the egoist )
  • The Tragic Comedians (1880)
  • Diana of the Crossways (1885); (German Diana of the Way of the Cross )
  • One of Our Conquerors (1891)
  • Lord Ormont and His Aminta (1894)
  • The Amazing Marriage (1895)
  • Celt and Saxon (1910; unfinished)
Poetry - selection
  • Poems ( 1851), including the first version of 'Love in the Valley ”
  • Modern Love, and Poems of the English Roadside , with Poems and Ballads (1862)
  • Poems and Lyrics of the Joy of Earth (1883)
  • Ballads and Poems of Tragic Life (1887)
  • A Reading of Earth (1888)
  • Poems. The Empty Purse. With Odes to the Comic Spirit, to Youth in Memory, and Verses (1892)
  • Odes in Contribution to the Song of French History (1898)
  • A Reading of Life , with Other Poems (1901)
  • Last Poems (1909)
  • George Meredith - poems online
more publishments
  • The House on the Beach (1877)
  • The Case of General Ople and Lady Camper (1890)
  • The Tale of Chloe (1890), three short stories
  • An Essay on Comedy (1897)

literature

  • Barbara Alberts-Arndt: English society in the mirror of the novels by George Meredith . Diss., University of Marburg 1929.
  • Reinhard Becker: The education with George Meredith . Diss., University of Marburg 1928.
  • Erna Bierig: Female figures with George Meredith . Diss., University of Cologne 1936.
  • Margit Hengelhaupt: The personification in George Meredith . Diss., University of Freiburg 1930.
  • Marie Moll: George Meredith's marital problem . Diss., University of Freiburg 1930.
  • Maria Römer-Krusemeyer : The influence of Goethe on George Meredith . Diss., University of Münster 1925.
  • Richard Wilcox: Goethe's influence on George Meredith . Diss., University of Frankfurt am Main 1976.

Web links

Commons : George Meredith  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
Wikiquote: George Meredith  - Quotes
personal data
SURNAME Meredith, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English writer and poet
DATE OF BIRTH February 12, 1828
PLACE OF BIRTH Portsmouth
DATE OF DEATH May 18, 1909
Place of death Flint Cottage at Dorking