Part 2: Cross-channel memorialisation: Edward Young in France
This two-part chapter considers the case of Edward Young (1683–1765), poet and Fellow of All Souls. Young entered All Souls in 1708 and left twenty-two years later when he secured a Church living in the College’s gift. He divided his time between Oxford and literary London, writing poetry and plays...
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| Format: | Book section |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press
2022
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| Summary: | This two-part chapter considers the case of Edward Young (1683–1765), poet and Fellow of All Souls. Young entered All Souls in 1708 and left twenty-two years later when he secured a Church living in the College’s gift. He divided his time between Oxford and literary London, writing poetry and plays with an eye to securing potential political and ecclesiastical patrons. He achieved international fame with his Night Thoughts (1742–5), a long blank-verse poem mourning three bereavements and arguing for the consolation of immortal life after death. In the second part of the chapter Catriona Seth considers the fortune of the Night Thoughts in French translation and the importance granted to the scene of Narcissa’s burial. She shows how the question of memorialisation became a hot topic in Montpellier where, possibly because of an erroneous footnote, many a literary pilgrimage was undertaken to pay respect to ‘Young’s daughter’. |
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