George Stuart Gordon
Encyclopedia
George Stuart Gordon was a British
literary scholar.
Gordon was educated at Glasgow University, Oriel College, Oxford (First Class in Classical Moderations
1904 and in Literae Humaniores
1906, Stanhope Prize 1905).
He was a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford
from 1907 to 1915.
He was Professor of English Literature at Leeds University. Later he was Merton Professor of English Literature at Oxford
, 1922–1928,http://home.earthlink.net/~dbratman/profs.html President of Magdalen College, Oxford
, Professor of Poetry there, and Vice-Chancellor (1938–1941). He was one of the Kolbitars, J. R. R. Tolkien
's group of readers of Icelandic sagas.http://www.planet-tolkien.com/modules/tolkien/biography.php
He famously argued that English Literature was capable of having a widespread and positive influence. In his inaugural lecture for his Merton professorship he agued that "England is sick, and … English literature must save it. The Churches (as I understand) having failed, and social remedies being slow, English literature has now a triple function: still, I suppose, to delight and instruct us, but also, and above all, to save our souls and heal the State".
His son George Gordon was a noted physiologist.http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/325/7370/972/d/DC1
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
literary scholar.
Gordon was educated at Glasgow University, Oriel College, Oxford (First Class in Classical Moderations
Honour Moderations
Honour Moderations are a first set of examinations at Oxford University in England during the first part of the degree course for some courses ....
1904 and in Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores is the name given to an undergraduate course focused on Classics at Oxford and some other universities.The Latin name means literally "more humane letters", but is perhaps better rendered as "Advanced Studies", since humaniores has the sense of "more refined" or "more learned",...
1906, Stanhope Prize 1905).
He was a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
from 1907 to 1915.
He was Professor of English Literature at Leeds University. Later he was Merton Professor of English Literature at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, 1922–1928,http://home.earthlink.net/~dbratman/profs.html President of Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, Professor of Poetry there, and Vice-Chancellor (1938–1941). He was one of the Kolbitars, J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's group of readers of Icelandic sagas.http://www.planet-tolkien.com/modules/tolkien/biography.php
He famously argued that English Literature was capable of having a widespread and positive influence. In his inaugural lecture for his Merton professorship he agued that "England is sick, and … English literature must save it. The Churches (as I understand) having failed, and social remedies being slow, English literature has now a triple function: still, I suppose, to delight and instruct us, but also, and above all, to save our souls and heal the State".
His son George Gordon was a noted physiologist.http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/325/7370/972/d/DC1
Works
- Henry PeachamHenry PeachamHenry Peacham is the name shared by two English Renaissance writers who were father and son.The elder Henry Peacham was an English curate, best known for his treatise on rhetoric titled The Garden of Eloquence first published in 1577....
's The Compleat Gentleman (1906) editor - English Literature and the Classics (1912) editor, contribution on TheophrastusTheophrastusTheophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
- Mons and the Retreat (1917)
- Medium Aevum and the Middle Age (1925) Society for Pure English Tract 19
- Richard II (Shakespeare) (1925) editor
- On writing and writers, Walter Alexander Raleigh (1926) editor
- Companionable Books (1927)
- Shakespeare's English (1928) Society for Pure English Tract 29
- Anglo-American Literary Relations (1942)
- The Letters of G. S. Gordon, 1902-1942 (1943)
- Shakespearian Comedy and other studies (1945)
- The Discipline of Letters (1946)
- Robert BridgesRobert BridgesRobert Seymour Bridges, OM, was a British poet, and poet laureate from 1913 to 1930.-Personal and professional life:...
(1946) Rede LectureRede LectureThe Sir Robert Rede's Lecturer is an annual appointment to give a public lecture, the Sir Robert Rede's Lecture at the University of Cambridge. It is named for Sir Robert Rede, who was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the sixteenth century.-Initial series:The initial series of lectures ranges... - More Companionable Books (1947)
- The Lives of Authors (1950)