Scottish poet Robert Blair was born on April 17, 1699 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the eldest son
of the Rev. Robert Blair, one of the king's chaplains. He was educated at the University
of Edinburgh and in the Netherlands. In 1738, he married Isabella, daughter of
Professor William Law, with whom he had six children. His family's wealth gave
him leisure for his favorite pursuits: gardening and the study of English poets.
Blair published only three poems. One was a commemoration of his father-in-law
and another was a translation. His reputation rests entirely on his third work,
The Grave (1743), which is a poem written in blank verse on the subject
of death and the graveyard. It is much less conventional than its gloomy title
might lead one to expect. Its religious subject no doubt contributed to its
great popularity, especially in Scotland, where it gave rise to the so-called
"graveyard school" of poetry. The poem extends to 767 lines of very
various merit, in some passages rising to great sublimity, and in others
sinking to commonplace. The poem is now best known for the illustrations
created by William Blake that were published in 1808. Robert Blair died on
February 4, 1746.
Michael Thomas Barry is the author of Great Britain’s Literary Legends.
The book can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:
No comments:
Post a Comment