Bryan Waller Procter, known to generations of readers by the literary name Barry Cornwall, was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, on 21 November 1787, and died in London on 5 October 1874. He belonged to that broad, fascinating company of early nineteenth-century writers who stood close to the great Romantic generation without ever wholly entering its innermost circle. He was not a poet of Byron’s volcanic self-dramatization,…
“When we encounter a new idea it surprises us, and we begin to doubt and examine it—and this is thought.”
Neighbourhood:
Death & Mortality, Love Poets, Romantic Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Wonder, Tenderness
In the pantheon of Irish literary figures, few names carry the weight of both political revolution and artistic brilliance quite like Lady Jane Wilde. Born Jane Francesca Elgee on December 27, 1821, in Wexford, Ireland, she would become one of the most influential voices of Irish nationalism, a celebrated poet writing under the pseudonym "Speranza," and the mother of one of literature's most iconic figures, Oscar Wil…
“A woman can forgive a man for the harm he does her, but she can never forgive him for the sacrifices he makes on her account.”
Neighbourhood:
Folk & Ballad Poets, Irish Poets, Political Poets, Women Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Despair, Sorrow