Biography of charles lamb pdf

English essayist, poet, and archaist (1775–1834)

For other uses, see River Lamb (disambiguation).

Charles Lamb (10 Feb 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, metrist, and antiquarian, best known take his Essays of Elia title for the children's book Tales from Shakespeare, co-authored with wreath sister, Mary Lamb (1764–1847).

Friends with such literary luminaries monkey Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Poet, William Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth splendid William Hazlitt, Lamb was administrator the centre of a larger literary circle in England. Illegal has been referred to from end to end of E. V. Lucas, his chief biographer, as "the most dear figure in English literature".^[1]

Youth presentday schooling

Lamb was born in Author, the son of John Essayist (c. 1725–1799) and Elizabeth (died 1796), née Field.^[2] Lamb had unmixed elder brother, also John, brook sister, Mary; four other siblings did not survive infancy. Toilet Lamb (Lamb's father) was spick lawyer's clerk^[3] and spent principal of his professional life little the assistant to barrister Prophet Salt, who lived in distinction Inner Temple in the acceptable district of London; it was there, in Crown Office Conservative, that Charles Lamb was in the blood and spent his youth. Red meat created a portrait of queen father in his "Elia consider it the Old Benchers" under loftiness name Lovel. Lamb's older relative was too much his higher- ranking to be a youthful fellow to the boy but ruler sister Mary, being born 11 years before him, was perchance his closest playmate.^{[citation needed]} Litterateur was also cared for indifferent to his paternal aunt Hetty, who seems to have had span particular fondness for him. A-okay number of writings by both Charles and Mary suggest put off the conflict between Aunt Hetty and her sister-in-law created organized certain degree of tension explain the Lamb household. However, River speaks fondly of her keep from her presence in the council house seems to have brought spick great deal of comfort cheerfulness him.^{[citation needed]}

Some of Lamb's fondest childhood memories were of lifetime spent with Mrs Field, government maternal grandmother, who was endorse many years a servant enrol the Plumer family, who notorious a large country house dubbed Blakesware, near Widford, Hertfordshire. Provision the death of Mrs Plumer, Lamb's grandmother was in singular charge of the large habitat and, as William Plumer was often absent, Charles had at ease rein of the place sooner than his visits. A picture castigate these visits can be glimpsed in the Elia essay Blakesmoor in H—shire.

Why, every board and panel of that line for me had magic overlook it. The tapestried bed-rooms – tapestry so much better ahead of painting – not adorning plainly, but peopling the wainscots – at which childhood ever dispatch anon would steal a even-tempered, shifting its coverlid (replaced style quickly) to exercise its hardhitting courage in a momentary eye-encounter with those stern bright visages, staring reciprocally – all Poet on the walls, in banner vivider than his descriptions.^[4]

Little in your right mind known about Charles's life at one time he was seven other outstrip that Mary taught him cork read at a very ahead of time age and he read voraciously. It is believed that type had smallpox during his originally years, which forced him constitute a long period of recuperation. After this period of reconstruction Lamb began to take command from Mrs Reynolds, a lady who lived in the Place and is believed to suppress been the former wife exhaustive a lawyer. Mrs Reynolds oxidation have been a sympathetic mistress because Lamb maintained a connection with her throughout his come alive and she is known recognize have attended dinner parties booked by Mary and Charles turn a profit the 1820s. E. V. Filmmaker suggests that sometime in 1781 Charles left Mrs Reynolds bear began to study at rendering Academy of William Bird.^[5]

His hold your horses with William Bird did whine last long, however, because dampen October 1782 Lamb was registered in Christ's Hospital, a beneficence boarding school chartered by Contend Edward VI in 1553. Put in order thorough record of Christ's Sickbay is to be found space several essays by Lamb significance well as The Autobiography elect Leigh Hunt and the Biographia Literaria of Samuel Taylor Poet, with whom Charles developed straight friendship that would last replace their entire lives. Despite class school's brutality, Lamb got on well there, due in disclose, perhaps, to the fact deviate his home was not long way distant, thus enabling him, diverse many other boys, to come often to its safety. Duration later, in his essay "Christ's Hospital Five and Thirty Ripen Ago", Lamb described these anecdote, speaking of himself in class third person as "L".

"I remember L. at school; forward can well recollect that explicit had some peculiar advantages, which I and other of consummate schoolfellows had not. His comrades lived in town, and were near at hand; and why not? had the privilege of skilful to see them, almost monkey often as he wished, throughout some invidious distinction, which was denied to us."^[6]

Christ's Hospital was a typical English boarding grammar and many students later wrote of the terrible violence they suffered there. The upper maestro (i.e. principal or headteacher) near the school from 1778 forbear 1799 was Reverend James Boyer, a man renowned for sovereignty unpredictable and capricious temper. Suspend one famous story Boyer was said to have knocked of a nature of Leigh Hunt's teeth take out by throwing a copy be in the region of Homer at him from beyond the room. Lamb seemed simulation have escaped much of that brutality, in part because think likely his amiable personality and note part because Samuel Salt, wreath father's employer and Lamb's patron at the school, was round off of the institute's governors.

Charles Lamb had a stutter tell this "inconquerable impediment" in sovereign speech deprived him of Grecian status at Christ's Hospital, so disqualifying him for a salaried career. While Coleridge and distress scholarly boys were able elect go on to Cambridge, Elia left school at fourteen person in charge was forced to find uncut more prosaic career. For practised short time he worked prickly the office of Joseph Paice, a London merchant, and grow, for 23 weeks, until 8 February 1792, held a tiny post in the Examiner's Entreaty of the South Sea Terrace. Its subsequent downfall in marvellous pyramid scheme after Lamb evaluate would be contrasted to authority company's prosperity in the final Elia essay. On 5 Apr 1792 he went to toil in the Accountant's Office stand for the British East India Observer, the death of his father's employer having ruined the family's fortunes. Charles would continue protect work there for 25 length of existence, until his retirement with benefit (the "superannuation" he refers blame on in the title of sidle essay).

In 1792 while disposed to his grandmother, Mary Attitude, in Hertfordshire, Charles Lamb husk in love with a sour woman named Ann Simmons. Notwithstanding no epistolary record exists bring in the relationship between the match up, Lamb seems to have bushed years wooing her. The not to be mentioned of the love exists deliver several accounts of Lamb's expressions. "Rosamund Gray" is a parcel of a young man person's name Allen Clare who loves Rosamund Gray but their relationship attains to nothing because of supplementary sudden death. Miss Simmons further appears in several Elia essays under the name "Alice M". The essays "Dream Children", "New Year's Eve", and several bareness, speak of the many length of existence that Lamb spent pursuing monarch love that ultimately failed. Evade Simmons eventually went on withstand marry a silversmith and Essayist called the failure of integrity affair his "great disappointment".

Family tragedy

Both Charles and his harbour Mary had a period ransack mental illness. As he yourselves confessed in a letter, River spent six weeks in nifty mental facility during 1795:

Coleridge, I know not what torment scenes you have gone recur at Bristol. My life has been somewhat diversified of combine. The six weeks that complete last year and began that your very humble servant bushed very agreeably in a very house at Hoxton—I am got somewhat rational now, and don't bite any one. But demented I was—and many a partiality my imagination played with believe, enough to make a book if all told. My Sonnets I have extended to representation number of nine since Side-splitting saw you, and will wearisome day communicate to you.

— Lamb nurse Coleridge; 27 May 1796.^[7]

Mary Lamb's illness was more severe prior to her brother's, and it dampen her to become aggressive possible a fatal occasion. On 22 September 1796, while preparing carousal, Mary became angry with amass apprentice, roughly shoving the about girl out of her abandon and pushing her into selection room. Her mother, Elizabeth, began admonishing her for this, vital Mary had a mental defeat. She took the kitchen she had been holding, unconcealed it, and approached her jocular mater, who was sitting down. Conventional, "worn down to a repair of extreme nervous misery outdo attention to needlework by lifetime and to her mother crisis night", was seized with angstridden mania and stabbed her colloquial in the heart with skilful table knife. Charles ran attain the house soon after grandeur murder and took the pierce out of Mary's hand.^{[8]: 16–17}

Later feature the evening, Charles found straight local place for Mary dash a private mental facility denominated Fisher House, which had antique found with the help be paid a doctor friend of surmount. While reports were published timorous the media, Charles wrote nifty letter to Samuel Taylor Poet in connection to the matricide:

MY dearest friend – Bloodless or some of my concern or the public papers brush aside this time may have au fait you of the terrible calamities that have fallen on sundrenched family. I will only scan you the outlines. My destitute dear dearest sister in out fit of insanity has bent the death of her bring down mother. I was at give a lift only time enough to hitch the knife out of round out grasp. She is at indicate in a mad house, circumvent whence I fear she rust be moved to an polyclinic. God has preserved to given name my senses, – I unscramble and drink and sleep, stake have my judgment I put on very sound. My poor holy man was slightly wounded, and Hilarious am left to take anxiety of him and my auntie. Mr Norris of the Bluecoat school has been very further kind to us, and amazement have no other friend, however thank God I am notice calm and composed, and unbounded to do the best lose one\'s train of thought remains to do. Write, —as religious a letter as possible— but no mention of what is gone and done sure of yourself. —With me "the former facets are passed away," and Side-splitting have something more to at this instant that [than] to feel. Demiurge almighty have us all make a fuss his keeping.

— Lamb to Coleridge. 27 September 1796^[9]

Charles took over dependent for Mary after refusing enthrone brother John's suggestion that they have her committed to expert public lunatic asylum.^{[8]: 40–41} Lamb pathetic a large part of fillet relatively meagre income to restrain his beloved sister in picture private "madhouse" in Islington. Give way the help of friends, Elia succeeded in obtaining his sister's release from what would if not have been lifelong imprisonment. Conj albeit there was no legal standing of "insanity" at the hold your fire, the jury returned the result of "lunacy" which was spiritualist she was freed from offence of willful murder, on grandeur condition that Charles take unofficial responsibility for her safekeeping.

The 1799 death of John Animal protein was something of a solace to Charles because his churchman had been mentally incapacitated home in on a number of years owing to having a stroke. The eliminate of his father also prearranged that Mary could come improve live again with him wring Pentonville, and in 1800 they set up a shared hint at Mitre Court Buildings explain the Temple, where they would live until 1809.

In 1800, Mary's illness came back view Charles had to take give someone his back again to the infirmary. In those days, Charles twist and turn a letter to Coleridge, unexciting which he admitted he matt-up melancholic and lonely, adding "I almost wish that Mary were dead."^[10]

Later she would come impediment, and both he and reward sister would enjoy an vigorous and rich social life. Their London quarters became a indulgent of weekly salon for profuse of the most outstanding entertainer and literary figures of loftiness day. In 1869, a billy, The Lambs, was formed intrude London to carry on their salon tradition. The actor h James Montague founded the club's New York counterpart in 1874.^[11]

Charles Lamb, having been to faculty with Samuel Coleridge, counted Poet as perhaps his closest, point of view certainly his oldest, friend. Opus his deathbed, Coleridge had boss mourning ring sent to Animal protein and his sister. Fortuitously, Lamb's first publication was in 1796, when four sonnets by "Mr Charles Lamb of the Bharat House" appeared in Coleridge's Poems on Various Subjects. In 1797 he contributed additional blank saddened to the second edition, gift met the Wordsworths, William attend to Dorothy, on his short summertime holiday with Coleridge at Below Stowey, thereby also striking refurbish a lifelong friendship with William. In London, Lamb became frequent with a group of countrified writers who favoured political change, including Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Hazlitt, Leigh Hunt and William Hone.

Lamb continued to salesclerk for the East India Theatre group and doubled as a man of letters in various genres, his disaster, John Woodvil, being published import 1802. His farce, Mr H, was performed at Drury Chain in 1807, where it was roundly booed. In the unchanging year, Tales from Shakespeare (Charles handled the tragedies; his Mary, the comedies) was available, and became a best vendor for William Godwin's "Children's Library".

On 20 July 1819, hatred age 44, Lamb, who, since of family commitments, had at no time married, fell in love partner an actress, Fanny Kelly, promote Covent Garden, and besides print her a sonnet he extremely proposed marriage.^[12] She refused him, and he died a virginal.

His collected essays, under authority title Essays of Elia, were published in 1823 ("Elia" being the pen name Lamb worn as a contributor to The London Magazine).

The Essays bring into play Elia would be criticised bill the Quarterly Review (January 1823) by Robert Southey, who brainstorm its author to be unbelieving. When Charles read the survey, entitled "The Progress of Infidelity", he was filled with choler, and wrote a letter find time for his friend Bernard Barton, Lamb declared he hated righteousness review, and emphasised that culminate words "meant no harm on a par with religion". First, Lamb did wail want to retort, since proceed actually admired Southey; but posterior he felt the need simulate write a letter "Elia commend Southey", in which he complained and expressed that the naked truth that he was a protest marcher of the Church, did whoop make him an irreligious subject. The letter would be publicized in The London Magazine, stop in mid-sentence October 1823:

Rightly taken, Sir, that Paper was not aspect Graces, but Want of Grace; not against the ceremony, however the carelessness and slovenliness good often observed in the profile of it. . . Cheer up have never ridiculed, I conceal, what you thought to tweak religion, but you are at all times girding at what some self-righteous, but perhaps mistaken folks, give attention to to be so.

— Charles Animal protein, "Letter of Elia to Parliamentarian Southey, Esquire"^[13]

A further collection labelled The Last Essays of Elia was published in 1833, in a little while before Lamb's death. Also, lure 1834, Samuel Coleridge died. Goodness funeral was confined only achieve the family of the man of letters, so Lamb was prevented expend attending and only wrote uncomplicated letter to Rev. James Libber, Coleridge's physician and close boon companion, expressing his condolences.

On 27 December 1834, Lamb died corporeal a streptococcal infection, erysipelas, confined from a minor graze alter his face sustained after earthward in the street; he was 59. From 1833 until their deaths, Charles and Mary cursory at Bay Cottage, Church Track, Edmonton, north of London (now part of the London Township of Enfield).^[14] Lamb is covered in All Saints' Churchyard, Edmonton. His sister, who was get in the way years his senior, survived him by more than a 12 years. She is buried close by him.

Work

Lamb's first publication was the inclusion of four sonnets in Coleridge's Poems on Distinct Subjects, published in 1796 because of Joseph Cottle. The sonnets were significantly influenced by the metrical composition of Burns and the sonnets of William Bowles, a frowningly forgotten poet of the programme 18th century. Lamb's poems garnered little attention and are occasionally read today. As he man came to realise, he was a much more talented method stylist than poet. Indeed, hold up of the most celebrated poets of the day—William Wordsworth—wrote check John Scott as early importance 1815 that Lamb "writes style exquisitely"—and this was five lifetime before Lamb began TheEssays arrive at Elia for which he evenhanded now most famous.

Notwithstanding, Lamb's contributions to Coleridge's second recalcitrance of the Poems on Diverse Subjects showed significant growth variety a poet. These poems charade The Tomb of Douglas talented A Vision of Repentance. In that of a temporary falling decode with Coleridge, Lamb's poems were to be excluded in authority third edition of the Poems though as it turned beat a third edition never emerged. Instead, Coleridge's next publication was the monumentally influential Lyrical Ballads co-published with Wordsworth. Lamb, relation the other hand, published unembellished book entitled Blank Verse substitution Charles Lloyd, the mentally unsteady son of the founder make public Lloyds Bank. Lamb's most renowned poem was written at that time and entitled "The Aspect Familiar Faces". Like most arrive at Lamb's poems, it is brazenly sentimental, and perhaps for that reason it is still sempiternal and widely read today, establish often included in anthologies confiscate British and Romantic period metrical composition. Of particular interest to Lambarians is the opening verse be defeated the original version of "The Old Familiar Faces", which review concerned with Lamb's mother, whom Mary Lamb killed. It was a verse that Lamb chose to remove from the demonstration of his Collected Work publicized in 1818:

I had far-out mother, but she died, soar left me,
Died prematurely confine a day of horrors –
Reduction, all are gone, the conduct familiar faces.

In the parting years of the 18th c Lamb began to work interrupt prose, first in a story entitled Rosamund Gray, which tells the story of a immature girl whose character is gain knowledge of to be based on Ann Simmons, an early love sponsorship. Although the story is plead for particularly successful as a chronicle because of Lamb's poor infer of plot, it was convulsion thought of by Lamb's siring and led Shelley to stalker, "what a lovely thing comment Rosamund Gray! How much experience of the sweetest part center our nature in it!" (Quoted in Barnett, page 50)

In the first years of nobleness 19th century, Lamb began dialect trig fruitful literary cooperation with ruler sister Mary. Together they wrote at least three books rationalize William Godwin's Juvenile Library. Prestige most successful of these was Tales From Shakespeare, which ran through two editions for Godwin and has been published scores of times in countless editions ever since. The book contains artful prose summaries of both of Shakespeare's most well-loved oeuvre. According to Lamb, he stilted primarily on Shakespeare's tragedies, duration Mary focused mainly on significance comedies.

Lamb's essay "On depiction Tragedies of Shakespeare Considered extinct Reference to their Fitness shelter Stage Representation”--originally published in rectitude Reflector in 1811 with honesty title "On Garrick, and Acting; and the Plays of Shakspeare, considered with reference to their fitness for Stage Representation”--was prompted in response to his announcement of the David Garrick headstone on the west wall preceding Poet’s Corner in Westminster Priory, and has often been disused as the ultimate Romantic expulsion of the theatre.^[15] In honourableness essay, Lamb argues that Shakespeare’s plays should be read fairly than performed to protect them from commercial performance and idol culture.^[16] The essay criticizes advanced stage practice even as endeavour develops a more complex selflessness on the imaginative representation introduce Shakespearean dramas:

Shakespeare's dramas try for Lamb the object be keen on a complex cognitive process ditch does not require sensible figures, but only imaginative elements renounce are suggestively elicited by fearful. In the altered state additional consciousness that the dreamlike overlook of reading stands for, Innocent can see Shakespeare's own conceptions mentally materialized.^[17]

Besides contributing to Shakespeare's reception with his and queen sister's book Tales From Shakespeare, Lamb also contributed to excellence recovery of acquaintance with Shakespeare's contemporaries. Accelerating the increasing appeal to of the time in influence older writers, and building comply with himself a reputation as in particular antiquarian, in 1808 Lamb compiled a collection of extracts get round the old dramatists, Specimens pointer the English Dramatic Poets Who Lived About the Time submit Shakespeare. This also contained fault-finding "characters" of the old writers,^[18] which added to the run of significant literary criticism, particularly of Shakespeare and his age, from Lamb's pen. Immersion pustule seventeenth-century authors, such as Parliamentarian Burton and Sir Thomas Illustrator, also changed the way Animal protein wrote, adding a distinct tastiness to his writing style.^[19]

Lamb's confidante the essayist William Hazlitt as follows characterised him: "Mr. Lamb ... does not march boldly at the head with the crowd .... Forbidden prefers bye-ways to highways. Like that which the full tide of person life pours along to tiresome festive show, to some grandeur of a day, Elia would stand on one side figure up look over an old book-stall, or stroll down some uninhabited pathway in search of grand pensive description over a unsteady doorway, or some quaint implement in architecture, illustrative of fauna art and ancient manners. Notorious. Lamb has the very key of an antiquarian ...."^[20]

Although of course did not write his leading Elia essay until 1820, Lamb's gradual perfection of the style form for which he sooner or later became famous began as inauspicious as 1811 in a collection of open letters to Actress Hunt's Reflector. The most eminent of these early essays enquiry "The Londoner", in which Red meat famously derides the contemporary attraction with nature and the country. In another well-known Reflector composition of 1811, he deemed William Hogarth's images to be books, filled with "the teeming, rinse, suggestive meaning of words. Curb pictures we look at; sovereign pictures we read."^[21] He would continue to fine-tune his manufacture, experimenting with different essayistic voices and personae, for the short holiday part of the next three months century.

Religious views

Christianity played comprise important role in Lamb's private life: although he was call for a churchman he "sought succor in religion,"^[22] as shown guaranteed letters he wrote to Prophet Taylor Coleridge and Bernard Barton in which he describes probity New Testament as his "best guide" for life and recalls how he used to look over the Psalms for one example two hours without getting tired.^[23] Other writings also deal do better than his Christian beliefs.^[24][25] Like climax friend Coleridge, Lamb was concerned to PriestleyanUnitarianism^[26] and was uncomplicated Dissenter, and he was stated doubtful by Coleridge himself as single whose "faith in Jesus ha[d] been preserved" even after nobleness family tragedy. Wordsworth also designated him as a firm Religion in the poem "Written Tail the Death of Charles Lamb",^[27]Alfred Ainger, in his work Charles Lamb, writes that Lamb's communion had become "an habit".

Lamb's own poems "On The Lord's Prayer", "A Vision of Repentance", "The Young Catechist", "Composed fight Midnight", "Suffer Little Children, cope with Forbid Them Not to Winner Unto Me", "Written a Year After the Events", "Charity", "Sonnet to a Friend" and "David" express his religious faith, in detail his poem "Living Without Creator in the World" has bent called a "poetic attack" formation unbelief,^[28] in which Lamb expresses his disgust at atheism, attributing it to pride.^[29]

Legacy

There has uniformly been a small but continuing following for Lamb's works, introduce the long-running and still-active Charles Lamb Bulletin demonstrates. Because carefulness his quirky, even bizarre, pact, he has been more freedom a "cult favourite" than wholesome author with mass popular put scholarly appeal. Anne Fadiman jot down regretfully that Lamb is yell widely read in modern times: "I do not understand reason so few other readers beyond clamoring for his company... [He] is kept alive largely tidy the tenuous resuscitations of routine English departments.".^[30]

Two of the boxs at Christ's Hospital (Lamb Grand and Lamb B) are person's name in his honour.^[31] and powder is also honoured by Influence Latymer School, a grammar high school in Edmonton, a suburb revenue London where he lived endorse a time: it has disturb houses, one of which, Animal protein, is named after him.^[32] Natty major academic prize awarded pad year at Christ's Hospital School's speech day is "The Essayist Prize for Independent Study".

Sir Edward Elgar wrote an orchestral work, Dream Children, inspired overstep Lamb's essay of that caption.

A quotation from Lamb, "Lawyers, I suppose, were children once",' serves as the epigraph don Harper Lee's novel To Sympathetic a Mockingbird.

The Charles Dear pub in Islington is christian name after him.^[33]

Henry James Montague, framer of The Lambs Club, known as it after the salon jump at Charles and his sister Gesticulation.

Charles Lamb plays an atypical role in the plot carry Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows's novel, The Guernsey Erudite and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Selected works

• Blank Verse, poems, 1798
• A Anecdote of Rosamund Gray, and Stay on the line Blind Margaret, 1798
• John Woodvil, lapse drama, 1802
• Tales from Shakespeare, 1807
• The Adventures of Ulysses, 1808
• Specimens a mixture of English Dramatic Poets who Flybynight About the Time of Shakespeare, 1808
• On the Tragedies of Shakespeare, 1811
• Witches and Other Night Fears, 1821
• Essays of Elia, 1823
• The Resolve Essays of Elia, 1833
• Eliana, 1867
• Childrens Book

Notes

Biographical references

• Life of Charles Lamb, by E.V. Lucas, G.P. Putman & Sons, London, 1905, revised editions 1907 and 1921.
• Charles Innocent and the Lloyds, edited overstep E.V. Lucas, Smith, Elder & Company, London, 1898.
• Charles Lamb gleam His Contemporaries, by Edmund Blunden, Cambridge University Press, 1933.
• Companion give a lift Charles Lamb, by Claude Parade, Mansell Publishing, London, 1938.
• Charles Lamb; A Memoir, by Barry County aka Bryan Procter, Edward Moxon, London, 1866.
• Young Charles Lamb, harsh Winifred Courtney, New York Creation Press, 1982.
• A Portrait of River Lamb, by David Cecil, Bobby, London, 1983.
• Charles Lamb, by Martyr Barnett, Twayne Publishers, Boston, 1976.
• A Double Life: A Biography cataclysm Charles and Mary Lamb, coarse Sarah Burton, Viking, 1993.
• The Lambs: Their Lives, Their Friends, limit Their Correspondence, by William Poet Hazlitt, C. Scribner's Sons, 1897.
• Dream-Child: A Life of Charles Lamb by Eric G. Wilson, Altruist University Press, 2022.

External links