Edmund Kerchever Chambers
Encyclopedia
Sir Edmund Kerchever Chambers (1866–1954) was an English
literary critic and Shakespearean scholar. His four-volume history of Elizabethan theater, published in 1923, remains a standard resource for scholars of the period's drama.
Chambers was born in West Ilsley
, Berkshire
; his father was a curate
and his mother was the daughter of a Victorian
theologian. He was educated at Marlborough College
before matriculating at Corpus Christi College, Oxford
. He won a number of prizes, including the chancellor's prize in English for an essay on literary forgery
. He took a job with the national education department and married Eleanor Bowman in 1893.
In the newly created Board of Education, Chambers worked principally to oversee adult and continuing education. He rose to second secretary, but the work for which he is remembered took place outside the office, at least before he retired from the Board in 1926. He was the first president of the Malone Society
, serving from 1906 to 1939. He edited collections of verse for Oxford University Press. He produced a work on King Arthur
and a privately printed collection of poems.
However, his great work, begun even before he left Oxford and which he pursued for three decades, was a great examination of the history and conditions of English theater in the medieval and Renaissance periods. This study, which Chambers (in the preface to Elizabethan Stage) called prolegomena to a "little book on Shakespeare," was published in three bursts. The Medieval Stage, issued in 1903, offered a comprehensive survey of medieval theater, covering not only the fairly well known interludes but also the then-obscure folk drama, minstrelsy
, and liturgical drama. The Elizabethan Stage followed after two decades. The work, though it contained less original discovery than its predecessor, remains among the most useful depictions of the material conditions of English Renaissance theatre
. W. W. Greg described it as "one of those books which perhaps no living person is in a position to criticise adequately." It remains in use today. In 1930 came at last the two-volume work on Shakespeare, which collected and analyzed the extant evidence of Shakespeare's work and life.
In his retirement, Chambers produced works on Coleridge
and Matthew Arnold
. After moving to Eynsham
, Oxfordshire
, he returned to medieval history, producing a volume in the Oxford history and a local study of Eynsham. He died in 1954.
Chambers was appointed Companion in the Order of the Bath
in 1912, KBE
in 1925. In 1924, he was elected fellow of the British Academy
and his biography Samuel Taylor Coleridge was awarded the 1938 James Tait Black Memorial Prize
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
literary critic and Shakespearean scholar. His four-volume history of Elizabethan theater, published in 1923, remains a standard resource for scholars of the period's drama.
Chambers was born in West Ilsley
West Ilsley
West Ilsley is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England.-Location and amenities:It is situated in the West Berkshire district north of the town of Newbury on the Berkshire Downs. There is also an East Ilsley approximately a mile southeast of the village.West Ilsley has a public house, The...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
; his father was a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
and his mother was the daughter of a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
theologian. He was educated at Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
before matriculating at Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
. He won a number of prizes, including the chancellor's prize in English for an essay on literary forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
. He took a job with the national education department and married Eleanor Bowman in 1893.
In the newly created Board of Education, Chambers worked principally to oversee adult and continuing education. He rose to second secretary, but the work for which he is remembered took place outside the office, at least before he retired from the Board in 1926. He was the first president of the Malone Society
Malone Society
The Malone Society is a British-based scholarly society devoted to the study of sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century drama. It publishes editions of plays from manuscript, facsimile editions of printed and manuscript plays of the period, and editions of original documents relating to English...
, serving from 1906 to 1939. He edited collections of verse for Oxford University Press. He produced a work on King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and a privately printed collection of poems.
However, his great work, begun even before he left Oxford and which he pursued for three decades, was a great examination of the history and conditions of English theater in the medieval and Renaissance periods. This study, which Chambers (in the preface to Elizabethan Stage) called prolegomena to a "little book on Shakespeare," was published in three bursts. The Medieval Stage, issued in 1903, offered a comprehensive survey of medieval theater, covering not only the fairly well known interludes but also the then-obscure folk drama, minstrelsy
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
, and liturgical drama. The Elizabethan Stage followed after two decades. The work, though it contained less original discovery than its predecessor, remains among the most useful depictions of the material conditions of English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
. W. W. Greg described it as "one of those books which perhaps no living person is in a position to criticise adequately." It remains in use today. In 1930 came at last the two-volume work on Shakespeare, which collected and analyzed the extant evidence of Shakespeare's work and life.
In his retirement, Chambers produced works on Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
and Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
. After moving to Eynsham
Eynsham
Eynsham is a village and civil parish about east of Witney in Oxfordshire, England.-History:Eynsham grew up near the historically important ford of Swinford on the River Thames flood plain...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, he returned to medieval history, producing a volume in the Oxford history and a local study of Eynsham. He died in 1954.
Chambers was appointed Companion in the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1912, KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1925. In 1924, he was elected fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
and his biography Samuel Taylor Coleridge was awarded the 1938 James Tait Black Memorial Prize
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
.
Works
- Poems of John Donne (1896, editor)
- The Tragedy of Coriolanus (1898, editor)
- The Mediaeval Stage (2 volumes, 1903)
- Early English Lyrics (1907, editor)
- Carmina Argentea (1918, poems)
- The Elizabethan Stage (4 volumes, 1923)
- Shakespeare: A Survey (1925)
- Arthur of Britain (1927)
- William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems (2 volumes; 1930)
- The Oxford Book of Sixteenth Century Verse (1932, editor)
- The English Folk-play (1933)
- Sir Henry Lee (1936)
- Eynsham Under the Monks (1936)
- Sir Thomas Wyatt and Some Collected Studies (1937)
- S. T. Coleridge (1938)
- Shakespearean Gleanings (1941)
- English Literature at the Close of the Middle Ages (1945)
- Matthew Arnold (1947).
See also
- Joseph Quincy AdamsJoseph Quincy AdamsJoseph Quincy Adams, Jr. was a prominent Shakespeare scholar and the first director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C....
- G. E. BentleyGerald Eades BentleyGerald Eades Bentley was an American academic and literary scholar, best remembered for his The Jacobean and Caroline Stage, published by Oxford University Press in seven volumes between 1941 and 1968...
- R. W. ChambersRaymond Wilson ChambersRaymond Wilson Chambers was a British literary scholar, author, and academic; throughout his career he was associated with University College London .-Life:...
- Andrew GurrAndrew GurrAndrew John Gurr is a contemporary literary scholar who specializes in William Shakespeare and English Renaissance theatre.-Life and work:...
- Alfred HarbageAlfred HarbageAlfred Bennett Harbage was an influential Shakespeare scholar of the mid-20th century. He was born in Philadelphia and received his undergraduate degree and doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. He lectured on Shakespeare both there and at Columbia before becoming a professor at Harvard...
- Clifford LeechClifford LeechClifford Leech was a prolifically published British-born professor of English at University College at the University of Toronto 1963-74...
- Kenneth MuirKenneth Muir (scholar)Kenneth Arthur Muir was a twentieth-century literary scholar and author, prominent in the fields of Shakespeare studies and English Renaissance theatre...
- T. M. ParrottThomas Marc ParrottThomas Marc Parrott was a prominent twentieth-century American literary scholar, long a member of the faculty of Princeton University in New Jersey....
- Alfred W. PollardAlfred W. PollardAlfred William Pollard was an English bibliographer, widely credited for bringing a higher level of scholarly rigor to the study of Shakespearean texts....
- Samuel SchoenbaumSamuel SchoenbaumSamuel Schoenbaum was a leading 20th century Shakespearean biographer and scholar.Born in New York, Schoenbaum taught at Northwestern University from 1953 to 1975, serving for the last four years of this period as the Frank Bliss Snyder Professor of English Literature. He later taught at the City...
- E. M. Thompson
- Charles William WallaceCharles William WallaceCharles William Wallace was an American scholar and researcher, famed for his discoveries in the field of English Renaissance theatre.Wallace was born in Hopkins, Missouri to Thomas Dickay Wallace and Olive McEwen...
- John Dover Wilson