Memoria de los poetas de los lagos

by Thomas de Quincey, Jordi Doce Chambrelan (Editor)

Memorias de los poetas de los lagos conforma un singular apartado dentro de la prolífica producción de Thomas de Quincey (Manchester, 1785-Edimburgo, 1859), que tomada en su conjunto es una de las grandes autobiografías de la tradición inglesa.
En este volumen, que hubo de esperar a principios del siglo XX para ver la luz en forma autónoma, se reúnen los ensayos que De Quincey dedicó a comentar la vida y obra de tres figuras clave del romanticismo inglés: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth y Robert Southey, de quienes fue admirador, discípulo, amigo y vecino hasta que las circunstancias le obligaron a instalarse en Edimburgo, lejos de Grasmere y la región de los Lagos que había sido su hogar durante cerca de quince años. Estos artículos, publicados en los años que siguieron a la muerte de S. T. Coleridge, en 1834, provocaron un escándalo literario y la cólera de los protagonistas supervivientes por la franqueza de su autor.
"Un hombre que da semejante ejemplo es a mis ojos una plaga para la sociedad", diría Wordsworth, quien no perdonó jamás a su antiguo discípulo.
Escritas cuando ya el movimiento romántico había alcanzado su apogeo y Wordsworth reinaba como patriarca de las letras inglesas, estas memorias episódicas aúnan biografía, autobiografía, crítica literaria, topografía, sociología y cotilleo en una prosa brillante y traviesa que constituye uno de los logros mayores de De Quincey, como bien saben los incontables lectores de Confesiones de un inglés comedor de opio y Del asesinato considerado como una de las bellas artes.
Este volumen es también el retrato (y el relato) de una obsesión, la de su autor por William Wordsworth, cuya poesía descubrió en la primera juventud y a la que siempre guardó devoción. De Quincey relata en estas páginas su difícil trato con el poeta, cuyo egotismo y exasperante altivez le produjeron una honda decepción, y en el camino deja una de las biografías más vívidas, feroces y entretenidas del autor de EL PRELUDIO.

Genres: Nonfiction, Poetry, Biography, Romanticism, Memoir, Classics, Literary Criticism

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1834

About the author

Thomas de Quincey was an English author and intellectual, best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821).
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_d...

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a 3.5* read. Some real nuggets of insight, some self-indulgent rambling, and a fair amount of bias and literary revenge. Some beautiful descriptions of the lakes as well. A lot of shifting required to find the gold though. Quite tedious in parts.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great treat for fans of de Quincey and his literary entourage: Southey, Coleridge, Grasmere and above all Wordworth. At some point all readers succumb to the guilty pleasure of wanting to hear gossip about their favourite readers and pretending that they are among the charmed inner circle of the author's friends who are doing the gossiping. In this way the book offers the same pleasures as Hemingway's Moveable Feast or Simone de Beauvoir's Mandarins.

[Grace (alatteofliterature) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry but a good overview of the famous lake poets and the area in which they lived.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas De Quincey is that slightly mad relative you like having come to tea. His essays on the Lake Poets, Coleridge, Southey and Wordsworth are informative without being fawning. He is able to establish a distance from the leading lights and yet maintain an intimacy which comes across in a thousand small details.

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but the writing style is too long and winding. De Quincey often strays, and there are innumerable notes and footnotes. The first 200 pages are a general biographical sketch rather than his first-hand interactions. I did visit Dove Cottage in Grasmere and have been to other places he mentions, like Penrith Keswick, etc.

There is a funny quote from Southey about Wordsworth; he says, "To introduce Wordsworth into one's library is like letting a bear into a Tulip Garden." Quincey gives examples of how WW would rip apart pages or books while reading. Coleridge was much better and used to leave behind thoughtful comments beside the margin, unlike WW. According to Quincey, Coleridge, and Southey are more intelligent than WW. Southey was apparently more reserved and mostly talked about his books, dealing less with life (I like him ), while WW was animated and colorful.

Quincey criticizes Coleridge for delving into the Political economy, but I feel Coleridge was pretty good. For instance, in one case, Coleridge said that taxation is like moisture coming out of the ground, momentarily bad for nearby vegetation but better as a whole when it comes down as rain. In another case, Coleridge criticizes another economist who states that vine-dresser add nothing to the economy unless they earn a surplus. Coleridge states we should also take into non-monetary value, including personal satisfaction, and not judge solely based on money and productivity. This is a very modern approach, much like Michael Sandel. I would love to read Coleridge's essays.

Near the end Quincey talks about other lesser know lake poets like Charles Lloyd, Elizabeth Smith, etc. Quincey's relationship with WW soured near the end. The book also has his first letter, as a Cambridge student, to WW.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read no more than a quarter of these pages, maybe not a sixth! I was interested primarily in the writers as people, not as thinkers, and I certainly didn’t care much for descriptions of scenery or overdone praise of the poems.

[Amanda mcguire]

Dnf p.16

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn't impress me as much as DeQuincy's "Confessions of an English Opium Eater" but that's probably b/c I had so little interest in the subject of the poets.

[Kbrooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth it if only for de Quincey's hilarious disquisition on Wordsworth's legs.