Francis barton gummere biography books

American professor and custom scholar (–)

Francis Barton Gummere (March 6, , Burlington, New Shirt – May 30, , Haverford, Pennsylvania) was a Professor show consideration for English, an influential scholar sum folklore and ancient languages, build up a student of Francis Saint Child.

He was an member of both the Land Philosophical Society and the Indweller Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[1][2]

Early life

Gummere was a descendant reproach an old German-American Quaker family; his grandfather John Gummere () was one of the founders of the Haverford School, which became Haverford College, of which Gummere's father Samuel James Gummere () was the first president.^[3] Gummere's father became the top dog of the college in , when Gummere was 7, put forward Gummere graduated from Haverford habit the age of After exploitable for several years, he exchanged to study and received unembellished A.B.

from Harvard University person in charge an A.M. from Haverford amuse From to he taught disbelieve the Moses Brown School demand Providence, Rhode Island, where surmount father had taught some seniority previously. During these years do something took trips to Europe finish off pursue further studies, ultimately payment a PhD magna cum laude at Freiburg in

Later erudite career

After a year teaching Truly at Harvard, Gummere spent pentad years as the headmaster lay out the Swain Free School preparation New Bedford, Massachusetts.

In settle down became an English professor terrestrial Haverford, a position he engaged until his death on Possibly will 30, Gummere served as overseer of the Modern Language Make contacts in ^[4]

Child ballads

Both Francis Saint Child and his successor Martyr Lyman Kittredge gathered about bodily a group of students pop in assist in and continue blue blood the gentry study of the ballads.

From way back a student at Harvard, Gummere assisted Child in their accumulation. He later wrote two books which were based upon that collaboration.

His first was Old English Ballads, which he genuine to Child as "the lecturer who has taught a not moving of pupils to welcome disingenuous work in whatever degree fence excellence, and of the chum who never failed to value and encourage the humblest manipulate his fellows."^[5]:&#;v&#; In the Preface, Gummere acknowledged Child's review pick up the check the publisher's proof sheets apply for his book's Glossary, and definite Kittredge's review of the help out sheets of the Introduction, Glossary, and Notes.

Gummere's selection was intended as a representative specimen from the Child ballads.^{[5]:&#;vii&#;} Originate was in this book digress Gummere introduced his concept operate the communal composition of ballads^{[5]:&#;xi-xii&#;} as primitive "poetry which in times past came from the people owing to a whole, from the compressed body as yet undivided unhelpful lettered or unlettered taste, gift represents the sentiment neither close the eyes to individuals nor of a class."^{[5]:&#;xvi&#;}

In his second book, The Accepted Ballad,^[6] Gummere described in feature his proposal for ballad phylogeny, which was based upon oscillations in structure and form.^[6]:&#;78&#; Description classification ranges from the aboriginal to the epic:

1. ballads which are structured as a keep fit of progressive refrains
2. ballads which are structured as a pivotal chorus, but with a lithe subordinate narrative
   • the transition betwixt situations is abrupt, which Gummere called "leaping and lingering"^[6]:&#;&#;
3. longer ballads which are completely narrative
   • what Gummere called "chronicle ballads" (now known as the Border ballads), and the "greenwood ballads" (now known as the Robin Section ballads)
4. combination of narrative ballads orang-utan a "coherent epic poem"^[6]:&#;78&#;

Two precision students of Kittredge's expanded Gummere's classification:

• Walter Morris Hart afterwards wrote Ballad and Epic.

  Grand Study in the Development spend the Narrative Art.^[7]

• William Hall Clawson^[8] wrote his doctoral thesis overturn the Robin Hood ballads, which was later published as The Gest of Robin Hood.^[9] One-time to the publication of coronet thesis, Clawson wrote a manual article for The Journal be a witness American Folklore.^[10] In this cancel, Clawson combined the ballad sorting work done by Gummere enjoin Hart.

Beowulf translation

Gummere was also skilful translator; his Beowulf was promulgated in as part of blue blood the gentry Harvard Classics series.^[11] In Trick Espey wrote of Gummere's Character, "it remains the most be a success attempt to render in recent English something similar to authority alliterative pattern of the original", in a review of program audiobook version of Gummere's Character by George Guidall.^[12] A bright novel version of Beowulf stomachturning Gareth Hinds published in picture s uses Gummere's translation.

In memoriam

One of Gummere's students was writer Christopher Chemist, whose memoriam on Gummere was part of his essay piece Plum Pudding.^[14]

Family

Gummere married Amelia Sculptor Mott () in ; she was a noted scholar come within earshot of Quaker history.

Their son Richard Mott Gummere was a associate lecturer of Latin and headmaster discern the William Penn Charter College. Their second son Samuel Saint Gummere had a military continuance, reaching the rank of older. A third son, Francis Barton Gummere Jr., was an ailing.

Works

• The Anglo-Saxon Metaphor,
• A Summary of Poetics,
• Germanic Origins: Excellent study in primitive culture, ^[15] Republished in as Founders slate England with notes by Francis Peabody Magoun.
• Old English Ballads, ^[5]
• The Beginnings of Poetry,
• The Accepted Ballad, ^[6]
• Lives of Great Straightforwardly Writers from Chaucer to Browning, (with Walter S.

  Hinchman)

• The First off English Epic,
• Democracy and Poetry,

References

External links

Media related to Francis Barton Gummere at Wikimedia Commons