Robert Pollok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Pollok (c. 1798—15 September 1827) was a Scottish poet best known for The Course of Time, published the year of his death.
Pollok was born in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Sources differ on the exact year of his birth, some giving 1789,[1] some 1798,[2][3] and some 1799.[4][5] He studied at the University of Glasgow for the ministry of the United Secession Church. During this time, he anonymously published three poems: Helen of the Glen, The Persecuted Family, and Ralph Gemmell.[6] After Pollok's death, these would be published together under his name as Tales of the Covenanters.
In 1827, shortly before leaving the University, Pollok published what was to be his final and most famous work: The Course of Time, a ten-book poem in blank verse. By its fourth edition, The Course of Time had sold 78,000 copies and was popular as far away as North America.[2]
Later that year, suffering from tuberculosis, Pollok was advised by his doctors to travel to Italy. He left Scotland with this intention, but his health worsened rapidly, and he died at Shirley (at that time near, and now a part of Southampton) on the 15th of September.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ John William Cousin, A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, Biography of Pollok, Robert (1789-1827)
- ^ a b Gazetteer for Scotland, Robert Pollok, 1798-1827
- ^ Classic Encyclopaedia, Robert Pollok (1798-1827)
- ^ a b Significant Scots: Robert Pollok, 1799-1827
- ^ Robert Pollok (1799-1827)
- ^ Philip Schaff, The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Pollok, Robert
