Raymond Macdonald Alden
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Raymond Macdonald Alden (1873 – September 27, 1924) was an American scholar and educator.


Biography

Born in New Hartford, N. Y., his parents were the writer Isabella Macdonald Alden and Reverend Gustavus Rossenberg Alden. He studied at
Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...
in
Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was fo ...
, and at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, from which he graduated in 1894 with a Ph.D. He took post-graduate studies there at Penn and at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. In 1894–95 he was instructor in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
at Columbian (now George Washington) University; in 1896–97 assistant in English at Harvard; and in 1898–99 senior fellow in English at the University of Pennsylvania. He was chosen to fill the position of assistant professor of English literature and
rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
at Leland Stanford, Jr., University in 1899, then became associate professor there in 1909. He accepted the
chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
of English at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
in 1911. He edited several plays of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and other
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
dramatists A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
and in 1910 an edition of Thoreau's ''
Walden ''Walden'' (; first published in 1854 as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part ...
''. Alden also became known as a contributor to educational journals and short stories to magazines. In 1905, his story "In the Promised Land" won a $1,000 prize for third place in a '' Collier's Weekly'' contest. In 1913 he edited an edition of Shakespeare's '' Sonnets'' and ''
A Lover's Complaint "A Lover's Complaint" is a narrative poem written by William Shakespeare, and published as part of the 1609 quarto of '' Shakespeare's Sonnets''. It was published by Thomas Thorpe. "A Lover’s Complaint" is an example of the female-voiced com ...
''. Raymond Macdonald Alden died in Philadelphia on September 27, 1924.


Selected works

* ''The Rise of Formal Satire in England'' (1899) * ''The Art of Debate'' (1900) * ''On Seeing an Elizabethan Play'' (1903); also cataloged under the title of the featured play, ''The Trve Historie of the Knyght of the Bvrning Pestle'', * ''Consolatio'' (1903) * ''The Knights of the Silver Shield'', illustrated by Katharine Hayward Greenland (1906); illus. W. R. Lohse (1923) * ''The Great Walled Country'' (1906) * ''An Introduction to Poetry '' (1909) * ''Why the Chimes Rang'' (1909) * ''A Palace Made by Music'' (1910) * '' Tennyson, How to Know him'' (1917) * ''Critical Essays of the Early Nineteenth Century'' (1921) * ''Shakespeare'' (1922) * ''The Boy Who Found the King: A Tournament of Stories'', illus. W. R. Lohse (1922); reissued as ''Once There Was a King: A Tournament of Stories'', illus. Evelyn Copelman (1946) ''Why the Chimes Rang'' is the story of a grand old church with beautiful chimes which mysteriously ring out every
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
whenever someone places an especially pleasing gift on the altar as an offering, and how a miracle occurs after the chimes have fallen silent for years. The story is a sort of variation on the Jongleur de Notre Dame and
Little Drummer Boy "The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family, the song was further popularized by a 19 ...
themes. ''The Knights of the Silver Shield'', is included in Olive Beaupre Miller's ''Book House for Children'' anthology of children's literature. It is a story about how sometimes the resistance of temptation and the simple act of gate-keeping can be an act of valor to rival all others. "A Tournament of Stories" is the subtitle of Alden's last children's book. Its frame story features a kingdom whose Chief Story-Teller has recently died. Nine story-tellers finally vie for the position by telling one story each to Prince John, Princess Jane, and a jury of children.


References

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External links

* * *
Guide to the Raymond Macdonald Alden Papers
at Online Archive of California (oac.cdlib.org) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alden, Raymond Macdonald American biographers American male biographers American male essayists Harvard University alumni Rollins College alumni Harvard University faculty Columbian College of Arts and Sciences faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty Stanford University Department of English faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni 1873 births 1924 deaths