Francis Thompson was born on 18 December 1859 in Preston, Lancashire, and died in London on 13 November 1907. His life has often been told as a dramatic Victorian parable: the devout doctor’s son who failed at the professions chosen for him, fell into homelessness and opium dependence in London, and was rescued into literary recognition by sympathetic Catholic publishers. There is truth in that narrative, but it can…
“Without health, no energy; without energies, no struggle. Seldom does the faineant become the Saint; the vigorous sinner often. He that sins strongly has the stuff of sanctity, rather than the languid sinner.”
Neighbourhood:
Devotional Poets, Mystical & Spiritual Poets, Symbolist Poets
Emotional landscape: Fear, Tenderness, Longing
Francis William Bourdillon, born on 22 March 1852 and dead on 13 January 1921, occupies an unusual position in English literary history. He is remembered by many readers, often without recognition of his name, for a single exquisite lyric: “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes.” Its opening contrast—“The night has a thousand eyes, / And the day but one”—has passed into common literary memory, quoted in anthologies, schoolro…
Neighbourhood:
Love Poets, Nature Poets, Victorian Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Longing, Tenderness
