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George Darley

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The title ofErrors of Ecstasie(1822) by George Darley

George Darley(1795–1846) was anIrishpoet,novelist,literary critic,and author of mathematical texts. Friends with such literary luminaries asCharles Lamb,Thomas Carlyle,andJohn Clare,[1]he was considered by some to be on a level with Tennyson in “poetic possibilities” in the 1840s,[2]but in the words of famous literary criticGeorge Saintsbury“he had the marks of a talent that never did what it had it in it to do.”[3]

Early years and career[edit]

George Darley was born inDublin,to Arthur Darley and his wife Mary. The Darleys were an important Dublin family of their time, and related to the Guinnesses by marriage, Arthur's sister Mary having married Richard Guinness, whose uncleArthur Guinnessfounded theGuinness brewing company.[4]The Darleys also had a country house called Springfield in south County Dublin, nearEnniskerryinCounty Wicklow,where George spent his early years.[5][6]

George was awarded a BA in mathematics and classics fromTrinity College Dublinin 1820. Having decided to follow a literary career, in 1821 he moved to London.[7]He wrote poetry and plays in an attempt to break into literary circles, but had more luck getting published as a critic. During this period he supported himself by writing several mathematical texts for a series published byJohn Taylor (London)called Darley's Scientific Library. In later life, he fell into depression and died on 23 November 1846 in London.[7]

PlaywrightDion Boucicaultwas a nephew. His grandnephew was the Irish musician and music collectorArthur Warren Darley.

Works[edit]

Darley published his first poem,Errors of Ecstasie,in 1822. He also wrote for theLondon Magazine,under the pseudonym of John Lacy. In it appeared his storyLilian of the Vale,later reprinted in his short-story collectionThe Labours of Idleness, or, Seven Nights' Experiments(1826), published under the pseudonym "Guy Penseval." Various other books followed, includingSylvia, or The May Queen,a poem (1827).[7]

Thereafter Darley joined theAthenaeum,in which he became a severe critic. He was also a dramatist and studied old English plays, editing those ofBeaumont and Fletcherin 1840. His poem "It is not beauty I demand" was included byF. T. Palgravein the first edition of hisGolden Treasuryas an anonymous lyric of the 17th century.[7]

Darley wrote a number of songs such as "I've been Roaming", once popular, and praised bySamuel Taylor Coleridge.[8]

He was also a mathematician, and published some treatises on the subject.[7]

His works included:

  • Nepenthe
  • Sylvia; or, The May Queen
  • The Mermaidens' Vesper-Hymn
  • The Sea-Bride
  • Thomas à Beckett: A Dramatic Chronicle in Five Acts
  • A System of Popular Algebra(John Taylor, London, 1826?).
  • A System of Popular Geometry(John Taylor, London, 1826).
  • A System of Popular Trigonometry(John Taylor, London, 1827).
  • The Geometrical Companion(John Taylor, London, 1828).
  • Familiar Astronomy(John Taylor, London, 1830).

Reputation[edit]

A. E. Housmansaid of a passage from his poemNepenthe,"Admirers of the sea may call that a lampoon or a caricature, but they cannot deny that it is life-like: the man who wrote it had seen the sea, and the man who reads it sees the sea again".[9]Darley was a friend of such literary luminaries asCharles Lamb,Thomas Carlyle,John Clare,and other writers such asAllan CunninghamandMonckton Milnes.[1]Many considered him on a with level with Tennyson in “poetic possibilities” in the 1840s;[2]but, in the words of famous literary criticGeorge Saintsbury,“he had the marks of a talent that never did what it had it in it to do.”[3]

As a critic he was considered capable, but attracted some hostility with his savage treatment of authors he disliked.[10]

Arms[edit]

Coat of arms of George Darley
Notes
Confirmed by Sir Chicester Fortescue, Ulster King of Arms, 26 November 1804.[11]
Crest
A horse's head couped Argent accoutred in Armour Proper bridled Gules.
Escutcheon
Gules six fleurs-de-lis Argent three two and one within a bordure Ermine on a canton of the second a trefoil slipped Proper.
Motto
Dare

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ab"Oxford Companion to English Literature", ed. Mrgaret Drabble, (Oxford University Press, 1985,) p.254.
  2. ^abGeorge Saintsbury, "a History of Nineteenth Century Literature (1780–1895)", The Macmillan Company, New York, 1906. Ch. 2.
  3. ^abSaintsbury, ibid.
  4. ^Mary Guinness (Darley)at Geni
  5. ^The Irish Monthly, Volume 36p. 231
  6. ^Pearson, Peter (1998).Between the Mountains and the Sea. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County.p. 310, Dublin: O'Brien Press,ISBN0-86278-582-0
  7. ^abcdeCousin 1910.
  8. ^Wood 1907.
  9. ^Housman 1989,p. 292.
  10. ^"Oxford Companion to English Literature", ibid.
  11. ^"Grants and Confirmations of Arms, Vol. C".National Library of Ireland.Retrieved22 June2022.

References[edit]

Attribution:

External links[edit]

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