Robert Graves
Robert Graves | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 Wimbledon, London,England |
| Died | 7 December 1985(aged 90) Deià,Majorca,Spain |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Novelist, poet, soldier |
Robert von Ranke Graves(also known asRobert Ranke Gravesand most commonlyRobert Graves;24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985)[1]was an Englishpoet,novelist,criticandclassicist.He wrote more than 140 works. He wrote poems aboutGreek mythsandhistorical novels.Many of his novels were set inancient Romeor were about stories from Greek myths. He also wrote about Greek myths and translated them into English.[2][3]
Life
[change|change source]Graves was born inWimbledon,now part ofLondon.He was the third of five children. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves (1846–1931). He came from anIrishfamily. His mother was Amalie von Ranke (1857–1951). She came from a German family. Robert went to many schools when he was young. In 1909 he won ascholarshipto Charterhouse, a famousboarding schoolinSurrey.When theFirst World Warbegan in August 1914, Graves joined the army right away. He wrote many poems about the war. He became a good friend of another war poet,Siegfried Sassoon.Graves was very badly wounded in theBattle of the Somme.He nearly died and was sent back to a hospital in England. He also had mental problems called byshell shockfrom the bad experience of battle. His mental problems lasted for several years.[4]
In 1918 he married the artist Nancy Nicholson. He went to study atOxford Universityin 1919. At Oxford his good friend wasT. E. Lawrence.He later wrote abiographyof Lawrence calledLawrence and the Arabs.His marriage to Nancy Nicholson ended in the 1920s. He went to live with the poet Laura Riding inSpainThey lived in Deià, a small village on the island ofMajorca.Graves and Laura Riding lived in America during theSpanish Civil War.Their relationship broke down in 1938. Graves went back to England. He fell in love with Beryl Hodge (1915–2003). Graves wrote many beautiful love poems to Beryl. They moved to Spain in 1946 and lived in Deià with their children. They were married in 1950. Their house in Deià is now a museum. From 1961 to 1966 Graves was Professor of Poetry at Oxford.[4][5]
Robert Graves died at his house in Deià on 7 December 1985. He was 90 years old. He was buried in a churchyard on a hill near his house. Graves had eight children—four with his first wife Nancy and four with his second wife Beryl.[4]
Novels by Robert Graves
[change|change source]Some of his most important novels were:
- I, Claudius,1934.
- Claudius the God and his Wife Messalina,1934
- Count Belisarius,1938
- Sergeant Lamb of the Ninth,1940.
- Proceed, Sergeant Lamb,1941
- The Story of Marie Powell: Wife to Mr. Milton,1944
- The Golden Fleece,1944
- King Jesus, 1946
- Seven Days in New Crete,1949
- The Islands of Unwisdom,1949
- Homer's Daughter,1955.
References
[change|change source]- ↑"National Portrait Gallery — Person — Robert Ranke Graves".Npg.org.uk.Retrieved19 December2010.
- ↑Review ofThe White Goddess -- A Historical Grammar of Poetic MythArchived2008-04-11 at theWayback Machine.
- ↑James Tait Black Prize winners:Previous winners – fictionArchived2011-09-27 at theWayback Machine
- ↑4.04.14.2Robert Graves Foundation.BiographyArchived2017-11-03 at theWayback Machine
- ↑O'Prey, Paul (1 November 2003)."Obituary: Beryl Graves".The Guardian.
Other websites
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