William Haygarth (1784–1825) was an English poet, writer and artist.

Life

He was the elder son of

John Haygarth John Haygarth FRS FRSE (1740 – 10 June 1827) was an important 18th-century British physician who discovered new ways to prevent the spread of fever among patients and reduce the mortality rate of smallpox. Life Haygarth was born to William ...

, and was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he matriculated in 1801. He graduated B.A. in 1804 and M.A. in 1808. He travelled in Greece from August 1810 to January 1811, supported by a fellowship from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, starting in the north-west, and journeying to Athens. While there he joined

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

's circle. Haygarth bought property at Holly Hill,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1818, and married Frances Parry the following year. By 1824 he was seen to be suffering from consumption, and was treated as an invalid. He died on 25 September 1825; a memorial tablet to him was placed in Epsom church.

Works

''Greece, a Poem'', the work for which Haygarth is known, was mostly written in Athens. He worked on it at Lambridge House, his parental home near

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

, in 1813; and it was published in 1814. One of its themes is the valuing of artistic achievement over power. Haygarth's strong philhellene reaction to

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

has been characterised as making it a " Tintern Abbey" for the Ottoman Empire. The main theme, the regeneration of Greece, was already a literary commonplace, to be followed shortly in Byron's ''

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage ''Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'' is a long narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. The poem was published between 1812 and 1818. Dedicated to " Ianthe", it describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary young man, who is dis ...

'', which eclipsed its rivals; the reason being, it has been argued, because he knew better the rhetoric to give the British audience, not because he knew more about Greece. Haygarth also wrote articles for the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River ...

'' and the '' British Critic''. For the ''Quarterly'', he reviewed the ancient Roman history of William John Bankes, and the ancient Greek counterpart of William Mitford. He found fault with Mitford's history, as far as the writing went; Mitford and his anti-democratic views went down well with the ''Quarterly's'' Tory readership. Against the odds, given his moderate liberal politics, Haygarth was in with a chance of becoming its editor for much of 1823, as the publisher John Murray and outgoing editor

William Gifford William Gifford (April 1756 – 31 December 1826) was an English critic, editor and poet, famous as a satirist and controversialist. Life Gifford was born in Ashburton, Devon, to Edward Gifford and Elizabeth Cain. His father, a glazier and ...

frustrated each other's plans for the succession. Murray wanted to break up the monolithic Toryism of the ''Quarterly'', while Gifford insisted on a Canningite (liberal conservative), one of

John Taylor Coleridge Sir John Taylor Coleridge (9 July 1790 – 11 February 1876) was an English judge, the second son of Captain James Coleridge and nephew of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Life He was born at Tiverton, Devon, and was educated as a Colleger (K ...

and William Nassau Senior. After an impasse, Murray agreed to Coleridge, who was in post only briefly, leaving Haygarth, already ailing, with a sense of grievance, to break off the relationship. A substantial collection of Haygarth's paintings went to the Gennadius Library, purchased at auction in 1886.

Family

William and Frances Haygarth had the following children: *Francis, born 1820 * Henry William, cleric and writer, born 1821 *Twin girls who died young, born 1823. Arthur, known as a cricketer, was born in 1826.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haygarth, William 1784 births 1825 deaths 19th-century English poets People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English watercolourists English male poets 19th-century English male writers