Sydney Thompson Dobell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) image of Sydney Thompson Dobell, was a poet | |
| Born | (1824-04-05)5 April 1824 Cranbrook, Kent, England |
| Died | 22 August 1874(1874-08-22) (aged 50) Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England |
| Occupation | Poet and critic |
| Nationality | English |
| Literary movement | Spasmodic school |
| Notable work | The Roman |
| Spouse | Emily Fordham |
Sydney Thompson Dobell (5 April 1824 – 22 August 1874) was anEnglishpoet andcritic, and a member of the so-calledSpasmodic school.
Dobell was born atCranbrook,Kent. His father, John Dobell, was a wine merchant and his mother Julietta was a daughter of Samuel Thompson (1766–1837), a London political reformer.[1] He was an older brother of the surgeonHorace Dobell.[2] The family moved toCheltenham when Dobell was twelve years old. He was educated privately, and never attended either school or university. He refers to this in some lines onCheltenham College in imitation ofChaucer, written in his eighteenth year. After a five-year engagement he married, in 1844, Emily Fordham, a lady of good family. Acquaintance withJames Stansfeld (subsequently Sir James Stansfeld) and with the Birmingham preacher-politicianGeorge Dawson fed the young enthusiast's ardour for theliberalism of the day, and later led to the foundation of the Society of the Friends of Italy.[3]
Meanwhile, Dobell wrote a number of minor poems, infused with a passionate desire for political reform.The Roman appeared in 1850, under thepen name of Sydney Yendys. Next year he travelled through Switzerland with his wife; and after his return he formed friendships withRobert Browning,Philip Bailey,George MacDonald,Emanuel Deutsch,Lord Houghton,Ruskin,Holman Hunt,Mazzini,Tennyson andCarlyle. His second long poem,Balder, appeared in 1854. The three following years were spent in Scotland.[3] Dobell also wroteThe Ballad of Keith of Ravelston andTommy's Dead.[4]
Perhaps his closest friend at this time wasAlexander Smith. Together they published, in 1855, a number ofsonnets on theCrimean War, which were followed by a volume onEngland in Time of War.[5] Although by no means a rich man he was always ready to help needy men of letters, and it was through his exertions thatDavid Gray's poems were published. In 1869 a horse, which he was riding, fell and rolled over with him. His health, which had for several years necessitated his wintering abroad, was seriously affected by this accident, and he was from this time more or less of an invalid until his death inNailsworth, Gloucestershire.[3][6]
As a poet Dobell belongs to theSpasmodic school of poetry, as it was named byProfessor Aytoun, who parodied its style inFirmilian: A Spasmodic Tragedy. The epithet, however, was first applied by Carlyle toByron. The school includesGeorge Gilfillan,Philip James Bailey,John Stanyan Bigg, Dobell,Alexander Smith, and, according to some critics,Gerald Massey. It was characterized by an under-current of discontent with the mystery of existence, by vain effort, unrewarded struggle, sceptical unrest, and an uneasy straining after the unattainable. It thus faithfully reflected a certain phase of 19th-century thought.[3]
According to theEncyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition:[7]
the productions of the school are marked by an excess ofmetaphor and a general extravagance of language. On the other hand, they exhibit freshness and originality often lacking in more conventional writings. Dobell's 1850 poem,The Roman, dedicated to the interests of political liberty in Italy, is marked bypathos, energy and passionate love of freedom, but it is overlaid with monologue, which is carried to excess inBalder, relieved though the latter is by fine descriptive passages, and by some touching songs. Dobell's suggestive, but too ornate prose writings were collected and edited with an introductory note byJohn Nichol (Thoughts on Art, Philosophy and Religion) in 1875 or 1876. The standard edition includes amemoir.
In his religious views, Dobell was aChristian of thebroad church type; and socially he was one of the most amiable and true-hearted of men.[3] Dobell also believed that religion was a personal struggle between a person and the spirituality that existed deep within their own psyche. His early interest in the cause of oppressed nationalities, shown in his friendship withKossuth, Emanuel Deutsch and others, never lessened, although his views of home politics underwent some change from the radical opinions of his youth. InGloucestershire, Dobell was well known as an advocate of social reform, and he was a pioneer in the application of the co-operative system of private enterprise.[3]
Sydney Dobell was also famous as an early breeder ofdeerhounds. One was given to him by Mr Ronald McDonald of Skye. She was supposed to be descended from the deerhounds of Cher Foreman McDonald. Later generations of his deerhounds were painted by Sydney Dobell's brother-in-law,Briton Rivière, notably inThe empty chair, which was first exhibited at the Dudley Gallery, London, in 1869. It was bought for a great deal of money by Howard Dobell, his uncle. It was owned in 1924 by Ralph Dobell, Brooklands, Cheltenham who lent it to an exhibition atCheltenham Art Gallery & Museum.[citation needed]
Among the published work of Sydney Dobell are:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dobell, Sydney Thompson".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 350.