William Paton Ker
Encyclopedia
William Paton Ker was a Scottish
literary scholar and essayist.
in 1855. He studied at Glasgow Academy, the University of Glasgow
and Balliol College, Oxford
.
He was appointed to a fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford
in 1879. He became Professor of English Literature
and History
at the University College of South Wales, Cardiff in 1883; and moved to University College London
as Quain Professor
in 1889. He was the Oxford Professor of Poetry from 1920 to his death whilst hill-climbing in Europe. A W. P. Ker Memorial Lecture is held at Glasgow University in his honour.
's essay Beowulf
: The Monsters and the Critics. W. H. Auden
's discovery of Ker was a turning point:
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
literary scholar and essayist.
Life
He was born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in 1855. He studied at Glasgow Academy, the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
.
He was appointed to a fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
in 1879. He became Professor of English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at the University College of South Wales, Cardiff in 1883; and moved to University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
as Quain Professor
Quain Professor
Quain Professor is the professorship title for certain disciplines at University College, London, England. The title is derived from Richard Quain who became professor of anatomy in 1832 at what was to become UCL...
in 1889. He was the Oxford Professor of Poetry from 1920 to his death whilst hill-climbing in Europe. A W. P. Ker Memorial Lecture is held at Glasgow University in his honour.
Influence
He is referred to repeatedly in J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's essay Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
: The Monsters and the Critics. W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
's discovery of Ker was a turning point:
- "... what good angel lured me into Blackwell's one afternoon and, from such a wilderness of volumes, picked out for me the essays of W. P. Ker? No other critic whom I have subsequently read could have granted me the same vision of a kind of literary All Souls Night in which the dead, the living and the unborn writers of every age and tongue were seen as engaged upon a common, noble and civilizing task. No other could have so instantaneously aroused in me a fascination with prosody, which I have never lost."
Works
- Epic and Romance: Essays on Medieval Literature (1897); second edition, 1908.
- The Dark Ages [1904]
- Sturla the Historian (1906)
- Tennyson (1909)
- English literature; medieval (1912) — also known as Medieval English literature (ISBN 9780198880431 ISBN: 019888043X)
- Two Essays (1918)
- Sir Walter Scott (1919)
- The Art of Poetry (1923)
- Form And Style In Poetry (1928)
- On Modern Literature
- Collected Essays (1968) edited by Charles WhibleyCharles WhibleyCharles Whibley was an English literary journalist and author. Whibley’s style was described by Matthew as “often acerbic high-tory commentary”.-Life:...