John Livingston Lowes
Encyclopedia
John Livingston Lowes was an American scholar of English literature, specializing in Samuel Taylor Coleridge
and Geoffrey Chaucer.
Lowes earned a B.A. from Washington and Jefferson College in 1888 and did postgraduate work in Germany
and at Harvard University
. He taught mathematics at Washington and Jefferson College until 1891 when he received his M.A.
From 1909 to 1918 he worked as an English professor at Washington University in St. Louis
, where he also served as dean of arts and sciences. From 1918 to 1939 he taught English at Harvard
. In 1919 he was the Lowell Institute
lecturer and the author of
Convention and Revolt in Poetry.
and Kubla Khan
. Using Coleridge's notebook and other papers at the Bristol Library, Lowes put together a list of books that the poet read before and during the time he composed his poems. The trick was to connect images and ideas in the poems to images and ideas in Coleridge's reading. Though later critics have disputed both Lowe's findings and method, The Road to Xanadu remains a classic. Toby Litt
, an English author, has called it a book of a lifetime: "Its argument, that Coleridge had one of the most extraordinary minds the world has ever seen, is there on every page"; it "is one of the books which helped me understand what writing is."
, treats the poet not just as the "father of English poetry" but as, along with Shakespeare and Milton, English literature's greatest poet. The book greatly influenced E. Talbot Donaldson and other eminent mid-20th-century Chaucerians.
His grandfather was David Elliott
, who had served as President of Washington College
.
Lowes died in Boston, Massachusetts, aged 77.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
and Geoffrey Chaucer.
Lowes earned a B.A. from Washington and Jefferson College in 1888 and did postgraduate work in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He taught mathematics at Washington and Jefferson College until 1891 when he received his M.A.
From 1909 to 1918 he worked as an English professor at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, where he also served as dean of arts and sciences. From 1918 to 1939 he taught English at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. In 1919 he was the Lowell Institute
Lowell Institute
The Lowell Institute is an educational foundation in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., providing for free public lectures, and endowed by the bequest of $250,000 left by John Lowell, Jr., who died in 1836. Under the terms of his will 10% of the net income was to be added to the principal, which in...
lecturer and the author of
Convention and Revolt in Poetry.
Coleridge
Lowes's most famous work is The Road to Xanadu: A Study in the Ways of the Imagination (Houghton Mifflin, 1927), which examines the sources of Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient MarinerThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 and was published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. Modern editions use a later revised version printed in 1817 that featured a gloss...
and Kubla Khan
Kubla Khan
Kubla Khan is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in Christabel, Kubla Khan, and the Pains of Sleep in 1816...
. Using Coleridge's notebook and other papers at the Bristol Library, Lowes put together a list of books that the poet read before and during the time he composed his poems. The trick was to connect images and ideas in the poems to images and ideas in Coleridge's reading. Though later critics have disputed both Lowe's findings and method, The Road to Xanadu remains a classic. Toby Litt
Toby Litt
Toby Litt is an English writer, born in Bedford in 1968. He studied at Bedford Modern School, read English at Worcester College, Oxford and studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where he was taught by Malcolm Bradbury....
, an English author, has called it a book of a lifetime: "Its argument, that Coleridge had one of the most extraordinary minds the world has ever seen, is there on every page"; it "is one of the books which helped me understand what writing is."
Chaucer
Lowes' book on Chaucer (1934), building on the work of George Lyman KittredgeGeorge Lyman Kittredge
George Lyman Kittredge was a celebrated professor and scholar of English literature at Harvard University. His scholarly edition of the works of William Shakespeare' as well as his writings and lectures on Shakespeare and other literary figures made him one of the most influential American...
, treats the poet not just as the "father of English poetry" but as, along with Shakespeare and Milton, English literature's greatest poet. The book greatly influenced E. Talbot Donaldson and other eminent mid-20th-century Chaucerians.
His grandfather was David Elliott
David Elliott (college president)
David Elliott was the third president of Washington College from 1830 to 1831.Following the resignation of Andrew Wylie, Washington College was temporarily suspended in 1829 due to the difficulty in finding a candidate willing to accept the presidency, and several Trustees resigned from the Board. ...
, who had served as President of Washington College
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
.
Lowes died in Boston, Massachusetts, aged 77.
External links
- Pearson Education
- http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/book-of-a-lifetime-the-road-to-xanadu-john-livingston-lowes-789383.htmlBook of a Lifetime, Toby LittToby LittToby Litt is an English writer, born in Bedford in 1968. He studied at Bedford Modern School, read English at Worcester College, Oxford and studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where he was taught by Malcolm Bradbury....
on The Road to Xanadu, The Independent 29 February 2008]