Juvenilia are literary,
musical or artistic works produced by authors during their youth. Written juvenilia, if published at all, usually appears as a retrospective publication, some time after the author has become well known for later works.
The term was first recorded in 1622 in
George Wither
George Wither (11 June 1588 O.S. (21 June 1588 NS) – 2 May 1667 O.S. (12 May 1667 NS)) was a prolific English poet, pamphleteer, satirist and writer of hymns. Wither's long life spanned one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of En ...
's poetry collection ''Ivvenilia''. Later, other notable poets, such as
John Dryden and
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
, came to use the term for collections of their early poetry.
The stories and poems which novelist Jane Austen wrote before the age of eighteen are called her ''Juvenilia''.
Exceptions to retrospective publication include
Leigh Hunt's collection
''Juvenilia'', first published when he was still in his teens; and
Lord Byron's publication of ''Fugitive Pieces'' when the author was only 17 years old, and his subsequent publication of ''Hours of Idleness'' at the age of 18. In these early pieces, Byron explores many of the themes that would shape his later works.
References
Literary terminology
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