William Morris was born in Walthamstow, London, in 1834, during a period of urban expansion and industrialisation that was to see the destruction of large areas of Epping forest that stood to the East of his birthplace. In later life, he was to campaign against the felling of the forest hornbeams, and the influence of the rural countryside remained prominent throughout his literary and artistic work. Morris was distinctly against the mass produced commercialism of his age, and yet, with some irony, he was the product of trade and ran a firm specializing in domestic and ecclesiastical art and decoration. Despite referring to himself as a “Poet”, Morris was a versatile and incredibly productive man, who had a lasting impact on a variety

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First published 08 January 2001 ; revised 24 September 2006

Citation: Boenig, Robert, and Richard Pearson. "William Morris". The Literary Encyclopedia. 8 January 2001.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3210, accessed 9 February 2010.]