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Jack Arthur Walter Bennett (28 February 1911 – 29 January 1981) was a
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
–born literary scholar.


Early life and education

Jack Arthur Walter Bennett was born at
Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand whose name honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland. It is south of the Central Business District (CBD). Mt Eden Road winds its way around the side of Mount Eden Domain and continues to weave b ...
,
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
, New Zealand, the eldest son of Ernest Bennett, a foreman for a shoe manufacturer, where he was a " shoe clicker and pattern cutter", and Alexandra, née Corrall, both born in Leicester, England. The Bennetts lived in a "suburban bungalow" called "Rocky Nook". Bennett attended Mount Albert Grammar School in
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. He notably wrote the Mount Albert Grammar School hymn, which is sung at school assemblies to this day. Bennett studied at the
University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
, where he is described by biographer
James McNeish Sir James Henry Peter McNeish (23 October 1931 – 11 November 2016) was a New Zealand novelist, playwright and biographer. Biography McNeish attended Auckland Grammar School and graduated from Auckland University College with a degree in lan ...
as "poor and deserving" before going on to Merton College, Oxford, where, still indigent, he survived on a diet of
Cornish pasties A pasty () is a British baked pastry, a traditional variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, South West England, but has spread all over the British Isles. It is made by placing an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegetab ...
.


Career

In McNeish's book ''Dance of the Peacocks'', he is noted as a member of what was to be described in British academe as the Oxford "New Zealand Mafia", McNeish, James (2003). ''Dance of the Peacocks: New Zealanders in Exile in the Time of Hitler and Mao Tse-tung''. Random House New Zealand. p. 356-364 a loose-knit group of extraordinarily gifted young men from New Zealand who studied at Oxford University, many as Rhodes Scholars, before the Second World War. The link between them was to endure for the rest of their lives. The group included
John Mulgan John Alan Edward Mulgan (31 December 1911 – 26 April 1945) was a New Zealand writer, journalist and editor, and the elder son of journalist and writer Alan Mulgan. His influence on New Zealand literature and identity grew in the years afte ...
,
Dan Davin Daniel Marcus Davin (1 September 1913 – 28 September 1990), generally known as Dan Davin, was an author who wrote about New Zealand, although for most of his career he lived in Oxford, England, working for Oxford University Press. The themes o ...
, James Munro Bertram,
Desmond Patrick Costello Desmond Patrick Costello (31 January 1912 – 23 February 1964) was a New Zealand-born linguist, soldier, diplomat and university lecturer and professor who has been accused of being a KGB agent. Early life Costello was born in Auckland, the second ...
,
Charles Brasch Charles Orwell Brasch (27 July 1909 – 20 May 1973) was a New Zealand poet, literary editor and arts patron. He was the founding editor of the literary journal ''Landfall'', and through his 20 years of editing the journal, had a significant im ...
, Norman Davis and
Ian Milner Ian Frank George Milner (6 June 1911 – 31 May 1991) was a New Zealand Rhodes Scholar at New College, Oxford who had attended Waitaki Boys' High School. He was then a political scientist, a civil servant with the Australian Department of External ...
. McNeish describes Bennett as "at an angle, separated by the exuberance of his scholarship, his saintliness, and his forgetfulness ... he considered himself lucky to have received the Scholarship o Oxford since he forgot to include any testimonials with his application". McNeish also mentions Bennett's work with the British Information Service in America during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
: asked to help out for a few weeks, he remained for the duration, returning to Oxford in 1943 and at the end of the war. He became best known as a scholar of
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
literature. He was editor of the journal '' Medium Aevum'' from 1957 to 1981, having earlier assisted his predecessor, Charles Talbut Onions, and was a colleague of
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
at Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1964 he succeeded Lewis as Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1976. His most substantial work was the volume ''Middle English Literature'' for the Oxford History of English Literature series, which was completed after his death by Douglas Gray and published in 1986. Other works include ''The Parlement of Foules: An Interpretation'' (1957); ''Chaucer's Book of Fame: An Exposition of "The House of Fame"'' (1960); and ''Chaucer at Oxford and at Cambridge'' (1974). Bennett also edited several volumes, including ''The Knight's Tale'' by Chaucer, ''Early Middle English Verse and Prose'' (1966, with G. V. Smithers), and the collection ''Essays on Malory'' (1963). He was one of the
Inklings The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who pr ...
, an informal literary group that included two of the most important writers of the twentieth century,
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
and
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
, the authors of ''
The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, tele ...
'' and ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
'' respectively. He is buried at the Ascension Parish Burial Ground in Cambridge with his wife, Gwyneth (1916–1980).


Notes


References

* *


Further reading

*Piero Boitani & Anna Torti, eds. (1983) ''Literature in Fourteenth-Century England: The J. A. W. Bennett Memorial Lectures, Perugia, 1981–1982''. Tübingen: Narr; Cambridge: Brewer. *P. L. Heyworth, ed. (1981). ''Medieval Studies for J. A. W. Bennett: Aetatis Suae LXX''. Oxford: Clarendon Press.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jack Arthur Walter 1911 births 1981 deaths Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences University of Auckland alumni Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom Professors of Medieval and Renaissance English (Cambridge)