Archibald Strong
Encyclopedia
Archibald Thomas Strong was an Australia
n scholar and poet.
, Melbourne
, the son of Professor Herbert Strong
, professor of classics at the University of Melbourne
, and his wife Helen Campbell, née Edmiston.
Strong and his family moved to Liverpool
, England
in 1883 when Prof. Herbert Strong became professor of Latin at University College, Liverpool.
Archibald was educated at Sedbergh School
and University College, Liverpool where he graduated B.A. in 1896 with first-class honours in classics. Strong then went to Magdalen College, Oxford
, however a long illness prevented any possibility of a first in "Greats". Strong graduated in Literae Humaniores
(1900) and spent several months at the University of Marburg, Germany
, before returning to read law with F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
, then a rising barrister, afterwards to become Lord Chancellor
of England. Strong became a member of the Middle Temple
, but ill-health caused him in 1901 to return to Australia seeking a warmer climate.
newspaper and in 1911 republished some of his earlier writings for this journal under the title of Peradventure, A Book of Essays in Literary Criticism. Strong was appointed lecturer in English at the University of Melbourne
in 1912, and brought out a volume of translations, The Ballads of Theodore de Banville (1913), followed by Sonnets of the Empire (1915). When Professor Robert Wallace
enlisted due to World War I
in 1916, Strong became acting-professor of English for three years. He was passionately patriotic and, having been rejected for active service, did much war work in addition to carrying on the English school. Some of his work was in the nature of propaganda; a collection of his articles, Australia and the War (1916) and The Story of the Anzacs, published anonymously at his own expense in aid of patriotic funds, appeared in 1917. From 1919 to 1922 he acted as Chief Film Censor for the Commonwealth government. A small volume of verse, Poems, appeared in 1918. In 1920 he became associate professor in English language and literature, and in the following year the Clarendon Press published his A Short History of English Literature, and Three Studies in Shelley and an Essay on Nature in Wordsworth and Meredith. In 1922 Strong was appointed the first Jury professor of English language and literature at the University of Adelaide
.
Strong was ready for his new task, as in addition to his knowledge of the work of his own school he was an excellent classical scholar, familiar with French and German literature, and with some knowledge of Italian and Spanish in the originals. At Adelaide he became a valuable member of the staff, fully convinced of the importance of the humanities in university life. He visited Europe in 1925 and represented South Australia
at a world conference on adult education held at Vancouver
in 1929. Strong published his translation of Beowulf
into English rhyming verse in 1925.
Strong played both cricket
and football at Liverpool University; he was also interested in boxing
. Strong was one of the promoters of the original Melbourne repertory theatre and became president of the similar organization at Adelaide. Strong was a good lecturer in English, never losing his enthusiasm for his subject and communicating it to his students. Strong's Short History of English Literature is an excellent piece of work within the limits of its 200,000 words, sound and interesting. His verse is technically excellent, often no more than strongly felt rhetorical verse, but at times rising into poetry. Strong's translations from Théodore de Banville
and Beowulf were both successful.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n scholar and poet.
Early life
Strong was born at South YarraSouth Yarra, Victoria
South Yarra is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Stonnington and Melbourne...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, the son of Professor Herbert Strong
Herbert Strong
Herbert Augustus Strong was an Australian scholar, professor of comparative philology and logic at the University of Melbourne.-Early life:Strong was born at Clyst St Mary near Exeter, England the thirdson of Rev...
, professor of classics at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, and his wife Helen Campbell, née Edmiston.
Strong and his family moved to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1883 when Prof. Herbert Strong became professor of Latin at University College, Liverpool.
Archibald was educated at Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is known for sporting sides, such as its Rugby Union 1st XV.-Background:...
and University College, Liverpool where he graduated B.A. in 1896 with first-class honours in classics. Strong then went to 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...
, however a long illness prevented any possibility of a first in "Greats". Strong graduated 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",...
(1900) and spent several months at the University of Marburg, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, before returning to read law with F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead GCSI, PC, KC , best known to history as F. E. Smith , was a British Conservative statesman and lawyer of the early 20th century. He was a skilled orator, noted for his staunch opposition to Irish nationalism, his wit, pugnacious views, and hard living...
, then a rising barrister, afterwards to become Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
of England. Strong became a member of the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
, but ill-health caused him in 1901 to return to Australia seeking a warmer climate.
Literary career
Settling again in Melbourne, Strong did some tutoring and lecturing, and published a volume of verse, Sonnets and Songs (1905). In 1910 Strong was president of the Literature Society of Melbourne and his presidential address, 'Nature in Meredith and Wordsworth', was printed as a pamphlet in that year. Strong was a long-term literary critic for the HeraldHerald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
newspaper and in 1911 republished some of his earlier writings for this journal under the title of Peradventure, A Book of Essays in Literary Criticism. Strong was appointed lecturer in English at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
in 1912, and brought out a volume of translations, The Ballads of Theodore de Banville (1913), followed by Sonnets of the Empire (1915). When Professor Robert Wallace
Robert Wallace
Robert Wallace was a Scottish politician. He was an electoral franchise reformer and agitator for postal service reform.He was elected to the Westminster Parliament as the member for Greenock in 1832, sitting for that constituency until 1845.Robert Wallace was the founder of the campaign for cheap...
enlisted due to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1916, Strong became acting-professor of English for three years. He was passionately patriotic and, having been rejected for active service, did much war work in addition to carrying on the English school. Some of his work was in the nature of propaganda; a collection of his articles, Australia and the War (1916) and The Story of the Anzacs, published anonymously at his own expense in aid of patriotic funds, appeared in 1917. From 1919 to 1922 he acted as Chief Film Censor for the Commonwealth government. A small volume of verse, Poems, appeared in 1918. In 1920 he became associate professor in English language and literature, and in the following year the Clarendon Press published his A Short History of English Literature, and Three Studies in Shelley and an Essay on Nature in Wordsworth and Meredith. In 1922 Strong was appointed the first Jury professor of English language and literature at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
.
Strong was ready for his new task, as in addition to his knowledge of the work of his own school he was an excellent classical scholar, familiar with French and German literature, and with some knowledge of Italian and Spanish in the originals. At Adelaide he became a valuable member of the staff, fully convinced of the importance of the humanities in university life. He visited Europe in 1925 and represented South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
at a world conference on adult education held at Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
in 1929. Strong published his translation of Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
into English rhyming verse in 1925.
Late life and legacy
Strong died after a short illness on 2 September 1930. In 1932 Four Studies by him, edited with a memoir by Robert Cecil Bald and with a portrait frontispiece, was published in a limited edition at Adelaide. Strong never married; he was knighted in 1925.Strong played both cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and football at Liverpool University; he was also interested in boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. Strong was one of the promoters of the original Melbourne repertory theatre and became president of the similar organization at Adelaide. Strong was a good lecturer in English, never losing his enthusiasm for his subject and communicating it to his students. Strong's Short History of English Literature is an excellent piece of work within the limits of its 200,000 words, sound and interesting. His verse is technically excellent, often no more than strongly felt rhetorical verse, but at times rising into poetry. Strong's translations from Théodore de Banville
Théodore de Banville
Théodore Faullain de Banville was a French poet and writer.-Biography:Banville was born in Moulins in Allier, Auvergne, the son of a captain in the French navy. His boyhood, by his own account, was cheerlessly passed at a lycée in Paris; he was not harshly treated, but took no part in the...
and Beowulf were both successful.
External links
- Four studies / by Sir Archibald Strong ; edited with a memoir by R.C. Bald at the National Library of Australia