Coventry Patmore was considered one of the great poets of the Victorian Age by his contemporaries. Today, he is best known for his series of poems entitled
The Angel in the House, which nineteenth-century readers applauded as works about a man’s love for his wife, but which have received criticism in recent decades for setting unrealistic standards for women.
He was born Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore on July 23, 1836 (Eron 2004) in Woodford, Essex (Freeman 1923, 221). He was steeped in literary culture from an early age because his father, Peter George Patmore, was the editor of the New Monthly Magazine and socialized with many famous writers of the day (Flanders 2003, xxiii). Peter Patmore took his son’s schooling seriously. As Eron has noted, “Patmore senior took charge of his
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Citation: Shirley, Taten. "Coventry Patmore". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 July 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3500, accessed 20 April 2024.]
