Title: Robert Southey Papers

Date/Date Range :   1774-1843

Extent: 0.8 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection houses eight folders of letters to and from British author Robert Southey.

Call number: MS-1131

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

Kenneth Curry donated these papers to the University of Tennessee Special Collections Library in 1969 and 1984.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Robert Southey Papers, MS-1131. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of eight folders.

Romantic poet Robert Southey was born to Robert and Margaret Hill Southey in Wine Street, Bristol, England on August 12, 1774. Although his classmates tormented him during his early education, he showed great literary promise from an early age, composing his first poetic work (a sequel to the Orlando Furioso ) at the age of about 10. He matriculated to Balliol College in 1792, but quickly became frustrated and began considering emigration. This idea became more attractive after Southey met Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) in June of 1794. Together, the pair planned to establish a pantisocracy - an egalitarian settlement - in North America. The scheme fell through, however, because neither Southey nor Coleridge could finance it.

Having abandoned the idea of emigration, Southey married Edith Fricker (a seamstress from Bristol) and moved to Lisbon, Portugal, in November of 1795. The couple returned to England the next year and settled in London. They moved frequently over the next several years, and Southey studied law and worked at several different jobs while continuing to write. After the death of their first child, Margaret, in 1802, the couple settled in Keswick, England, (near Coleridge and his family) so that Edith could be near her sister. Here, Southey also became aquatinted with William Wordsworth, who introduced him to a number of other authors. Together, Southey, Wordsworth, and Coleridge are sometimes referred to as the "Lake Poets," as all three were romantic poets living in the Lake district. The Southeys had seven more children in Keswick, and Southey's delight in this family is reflected in a number of works. later in life, Southey became a political conservative and was eventually appointed Poet Laureate in 1813. Robert Southey died on March 21, 1843.

This collection houses eight folders of letters to and from British author Robert Southey.

• Southey, Robert, 1774-1843.
• Authors, English -- 19th century.
• Romanticism -- Great Britain.