Selected Poems

by George Crabbe

Rooted in the Suffolk landscape of his youth, the poetry of George Crabbe is some of the most distinctive and original of the early nineteenth century, exploring ordinary, often harsh working lives in realistic, subtle language. This selection contains the best of Crabbe's poetry from throughout his career, including 'Peter Grimes' from The Borough, the powerful 'Sir Eustace Grey', the complete Tales of 1812 and the remarkable late work 'The Family of Love'. Depicting people struggling against the undertow of the past and against their own frailties, these are works of great generosity and human sympathy. This Penguin Classics volume is edited with an introduction and notes by Gavin Edwards. George Crabbe was born in 1754 in Suffolk. The son of a collector of salt-duties, he spent a period of apprenticeship and unsuccessful practice as an apothecary and surgeon before moving to London to make his way as a writer. Struggling with destitution, he was befriended by Edmund Burke, who helped him first to get his work published and then to embark on a career in the church. His religious career culminated in his appointment as Rector of Trowbridge in Wiltshire, where he died in 1832. Gavin Edwards is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of South Wales. He is the author of George Crabbe's Poetry on Border Land (1990) and Narrative Order 1789-1819: Life and Story in an Age of Revolution (2005).

Genres: Poetry, Classics

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1834

About the author

George Crabbe was an English poet, surgeon, and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people.

In the 1770s, Crabbe began his career as a doctor's apprentice, later becoming a surgeon. In 1780, he travelled to London to make a living as a poet. After encountering serious financial difficulty and being unable to have his work published, he wrote to the statesman and author Edmund Burke for assistance. Burke was impressed enough by Crabbe's poems to promise to help him in any way he could. The two became close friends and Burke helped Crabbe greatly both in his literary career and in building a role within the church.

Burke introduced Crabbe to the literary and artistic society of London, including Sir Joshua Reynolds and Samuel Johnson, who read The Village before its publication and made some minor changes. Burke secured Crabbe the important position of Chaplain to the Duke of Rutland. Crabbe served as a clergyman in various capacities for the rest of his life, with Burke's continued help in securing these positions. He developed friendships with many of the great literary men of his day, including Sir Walter Scott, whom he visited in Edinburgh, and William Wordsworth and some of his fellow Lake Poets, who frequently visited Crabbe as his guests.

Lord Byron described him as "nature's sternest painter, yet the best." Crabbe's poetry was predominantly in the form of heroic couplets, and has been described as unsentimental in its depiction of provincial life and society. The modern critic Frank Whitehead wrote that "Crabbe, in his verse tales in particular, is an important—indeed, a major—poet whose work has been and still is seriously undervalued." Crabbe's works include The Village (1783), Poems (1807), The Borough (1810), and his poetry collections Tales (1812) and Tales of the Hall (1819).

Reviews

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Selections from the poetry of George Crabbe by C. Day Lewis.

I found these selections to be a bit like a sewing machine treadle, rhythm-wise. Otherwise the themes are interesting and the narrative flow engaging.