Harold Clarke Goddard
Encyclopedia
Harold Clarke Goddard was a professor in the English Department of Swarthmore College
.
Born in 1878 in Worcester, Massachusetts
he attended Amherst College
, graduating in 1900. He then taught mathematics there for two years. An interest in literature led him to Columbia University
, where he received a PhD. in English and Comparative Literature in 1909. He taught at Northwestern University
from 1904 to 1909. From 1909 to his retirement in 1946, he was head of the English Department at Swarthmore College. He died in 1950. Although often believed to be a Quaker, Goddard was never a full member.
He was married to Fanny Whiting Goddard (a native of Worcester as well), and they had two daughters, Eleanor Goddard Worthen and Margaret Goddard Holt. The entire family was involved in teaching:
Harold Bloom
, a professor of humanities at Yale University
, wrote this:
The Meaning of Shakespeare
is the only book of Dr. Goddard's that is currently in print. Though it was originally published as a single hardback volume in 1951, The Meaning of Shakespeare
is now published in two paperback volumes. Volume 1 contains this line which is characteristic of the book: "The greatest poetry has always depicted the world as a little citadel of nobility threatened by an immense barbarism, a flickering candle surrounded by infinite night."
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
.
Born in 1878 in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
he attended Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, graduating in 1900. He then taught mathematics there for two years. An interest in literature led him to Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where he received a PhD. in English and Comparative Literature in 1909. He taught at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
from 1904 to 1909. From 1909 to his retirement in 1946, he was head of the English Department at Swarthmore College. He died in 1950. Although often believed to be a Quaker, Goddard was never a full member.
He was married to Fanny Whiting Goddard (a native of Worcester as well), and they had two daughters, Eleanor Goddard Worthen and Margaret Goddard Holt. The entire family was involved in teaching:
Dr. Goddard's peculiar genius lay in the fact that, whatever the book he laid before us, it presently became apparent that we were in fact studying and expanding all our range of possible understanding. Through the medium of literature he taught philosophy, psychology, and always the pursuit of meaning and the zest for life that great art is. The whole Goddard family joined in this. It is correct to refer to a seminar with "the Goddards." The family had an exciting symphonic quality which brought alive the search for meaning and beauty which we were learning to impose upon ourselves. The same art spirit ran through Eleanor's music, Margaret's painting and Mrs. Goddard's blue delphinium.
Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom is an American writer and literary critic, and is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. He is known for his defense of 19th-century Romantic poets, his unique and controversial theories of poetic influence, and his prodigious literary output, particularly for a literary...
, a professor of humanities at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, wrote this:
Harold Goddard's The Meaning of ShakespeareThe Meaning of ShakespeareThe Meaning of Shakespeare was written by Harold Clarke Goddard. Generally, one chapter is devoted to each of thirty-seven plays, ranging from 3 pages for The Comedy of Errors to over 50 for Henry V. Three additional chapters treat larger themes. After the book was finished and had been...
is a work fully in the tradition of Samuel JohnsonSamuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, William HazlittWilliam HazlittWilliam Hazlitt was an English writer, remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, and as a grammarian and philosopher. He is now considered one of the great critics and essayists of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. Yet his work is...
, and A.C. Bradley. This superb commentary upon all of Shakespeare's plays has been an inspiration for me for half a century, and I never tire of recommending it passionately to my own students.
The Meaning of Shakespeare
The Meaning of Shakespeare
The Meaning of Shakespeare was written by Harold Clarke Goddard. Generally, one chapter is devoted to each of thirty-seven plays, ranging from 3 pages for The Comedy of Errors to over 50 for Henry V. Three additional chapters treat larger themes. After the book was finished and had been...
is the only book of Dr. Goddard's that is currently in print. Though it was originally published as a single hardback volume in 1951, The Meaning of Shakespeare
The Meaning of Shakespeare
The Meaning of Shakespeare was written by Harold Clarke Goddard. Generally, one chapter is devoted to each of thirty-seven plays, ranging from 3 pages for The Comedy of Errors to over 50 for Henry V. Three additional chapters treat larger themes. After the book was finished and had been...
is now published in two paperback volumes. Volume 1 contains this line which is characteristic of the book: "The greatest poetry has always depicted the world as a little citadel of nobility threatened by an immense barbarism, a flickering candle surrounded by infinite night."