Robert Pollok (19 October 1798 – 15 September 1827) was a Scottish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

best known for his work, ''

The Course of Time ''The Course of Time'' is a ten-book poem in blank verse, first published in 1827. It was the last published and most famous work of Scottish poet Robert Pollok. The first edition of the poem sold 12,000 copies, and by its fourth edition it had ...

'', published in the year of his death.

Biography

Pollok was born at North Moorhouse Farm, Loganswell,

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

, Scotland (now

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of ...

). Sources differ on the exact year of his birth, some giving 1789, some 1798,Robert Pollok, 1798–1827
''Gazetteer for Scotland''. and some 1799.
''Significant Scots''. He studied at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

for the

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of the

United Secession Church The United Secession Church (or properly the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. The First Secession from the established Church of Scotland had been in 1732, and the resultant "Associate Pre ...

. During this time, he

anonymously Anonymity describes situations where the acting person's identity is unknown. Some writers have argued that namelessness, though technically correct, does not capture what is more centrally at stake in contexts of anonymity. The important idea he ...

published three poems: ''Helen of the Glen'', ''The Persecuted Family'', and ''Ralph Gemmell''. After Pollok's death, these would be published together under his name as ''Tales of the Covenanters''. In 1827, shortly before leaving the university, Pollok published what was to be his final and most famous work, ''The Course of Time'', a ten-book poem in

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and P ...

. By its fourth edition, ''The Course of Time'' had sold 78,000 copies and was popular as far away as

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. Later that year, suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, Pollok was advised by his doctors to travel to Italy. He left Scotland with this intention, but his health worsened rapidly, and he died at

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

(now a part of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

), England on 15 September. He was buried in the nearby churchyard of St Nicholas, Millbrook. When the church was demolished, his memorial

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

was removed and now stands in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, Millbrook. Another

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

to Pollok stands south of

Newton Mearns Newton Mearns ( sco, The Mearns; gd, Baile Ùr na Maoirne ) is a suburban town and the largest settlement in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a populat ...

, at his birthplace of Loganswell, Scotland, at the junction of the Glasgow/Ayr Road and the old Mearns Road. It was unveiled on 24 September 1900, and bears the inscription "Robert Pollok, Author of 'The Course of Time' / Born 1798 Died 1827 / He soared untrodden heights and seemed at home".

References

*David Pollok, ''The Life Of Robert Pollok: Author Of "The Course Of Time.'' Blackwood, 1843

External links

Video footage of the Robert Pollok Centenary Monument
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollok, Robert 1798 births 1827 deaths 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis People from Renfrewshire Tuberculosis deaths in England 19th-century Scottish poets