Lewis Morris (1833–1907)

For other people named Lewis Morris, see Lewis Morris (disambiguation).

Lewis Morris

Sir Lewis Morris (23 January 1833 – 12 November 1907) was a Welsh academic and politician. He was also a popular poet of the Anglo-Welsh school.

Background

Born in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales to Lewis Edward William Morris and Sophia Hughes, he first attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School there (1841–47).Then in 1847 he transferred to Cowbridge Grammar School on the appointment to it of the energetically reviving and academically gifted young headmaster, Hugo Harper. There "he gave promise of his future classical scholarship by writing a prize poem on Pompeii".[1] In 1850 he was one of about thirty Cowbridge boys[2][3][4] who followed Harper to Sherborne whither the latter was bound on a similar mission of resuscitating a moribund school. Such "swarming" in the wake of a charismatic headmaster was typical of the period. Morris and Harper remained lifelong friends. He studied classics at Jesus College, Oxford, graduating in 1856: the first student in thirty years to obtain first-class honours in both his preliminary and his final examinations.[5] In 1868 he married Florence Pollard.

Career

He then became a lawyer. He was Liberal candidate for Pembroke Boroughs in 1886 but lost to his Conservative opponent. He was Liberal candidate for Carmarthen Boroughs in 1892 but retired before the poll.[6] He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1895, and narrowly missed being appointed Poet Laureate, possibly because of his association with Oscar Wilde. One of his most famous poems is "Love's Suicide".

He is buried at the parish church of Saint Cynnwr in Llangunnor.

Principal works

  • Songs of Two Worlds 1875
  • The Epic of Hades 1877
  • Gwen: A Drama in Monologue Six Acts 1879
  • The Ode of Life 1880
  • Poetical Works 1882
  • Songs Unsung 1883
  • Gycia: A Tragedy in Five Acts 1886
  • Songs of Britain 1887
  • Selections from the Works of Sir Lewis Morris 1897
  • Harvest Tide: A Book of Verse 1900
  • The New Rambler from Desk to Platform 1905

References

  1. ^ C.D. Phillips, Sir Lewis Morris (University of Wales Press, 1981), p. 12
  2. ^ C. D. Phillips, Sir Lewis Morris (University of Wales Press, 1981), pp. 12-13
  3. ^ Iolo Davies, A Certaine Schoole (Cowbridge: D. Brown and Sons, Ltd.), 1967, pp. 76-77
  4. ^ L.V. Lester, A Memoir of Hugo Daniel Harper (Longmans, 1896), p. 23
  5. ^ Stephens, Meic. "Morris, Sir Lewis (1833–1907)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
  6. ^ 'MORRIS, Sir Lewis', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 retrieved 23 April 2015
  • Worldcat.org. Retrieved 3 May 2008
  • Chisholm, Hugh. "Morris, Sir Lewis." The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General information. (11 ed.) Vol. XVIII The Encyclopædia Britannica Company, New York, 1911. (pp. 870–871) googlebooks. Retrieved 3 May 2008
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