Pater, Walter Horatio

Pater, Walter Horatio
(1839-1894)
   Essayist and critic, s. of Richard G.P., of American birth and Dutch extraction, a benevolent physician, b. at Shadwell, and ed. at the King's School, Canterbury, and at Queen's Coll., Oxf., after leaving which he made various tours in Germany and Italy where, especially in the latter, his nature, keenly sensitive to every form of beauty, received indelible impressions. In 1864 he was elected a Fellow of Brasenose, and in its ancient and austere precincts found his principal home. As a tutor, though conscientious, he was not eminently successful; nevertheless his lectures, on which he bestowed much pains, had a fit audience, and powerfully influenced a few select souls. He resigned his tutorship in 1880, partly because he found himself not entirely in his element, and partly because literature was becoming the predominant interest in his life. In 1885 he went to London, where he remained for 8 years, continuing, however, to reside at Brasenose during term. The reputation as a writer which he had gained made him welcome in whatever intellectual circles he found himself. Leaving London in 1893 he settled in a house in St. Giles, Oxf. In the spring of 1894 he went to Glasgow to receive the honorary degree of LL.D., a distinction which he valued. In the summer he had an attack of rheumatic fever, followed by pleurisy. From these he had apparently recovered, but he succumbed to an attack of heart-failure which immediately supervened. Thus ended prematurely in its 55th year a life as bare of outward events as it was rich in literary fruit and influence.
   P. is one of the greatest modern masters of style, and one of the subtlest and most penetrating of critics. Though not a philosopher in the technical sense, he deeply pondered the subjects with which philosophy sets itself to deal; but art was the dominating influence in his intellectual life, and it was said of him that "he was a philosopher who had gone to Italy by mistake instead of to Germany." He may also be called the prophet of the modern æsthetic school. His attitude to Christianity, though deeply sceptical, was not unsympathetic. As a boy he came under the influence of Keble, and at one time thought of taking orders, but his gradual change of view led him to relinquish the idea. Among his works may be mentioned an article on Coleridge, and others on Winckelmann, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, etc., which were coll. and pub. as Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873); Appreciations (1889) contained his great essays on Æsthetic Poetry and Style, various Shakespearian studies and papers on Lamb and Sir T. Browne; Imaginary Portraits, and Greek Studies (1894); Plato and Platonism (1893). His masterpiece, however, is Marius the Epicurean (1885), a philosophical romance of the time of Marcus Aurelius. The style of P. is characterised by a subdued richness, and complicated, but perfect structure of sentences. In character he was gentle, refined, and retiring, with a remarkable suavity of manner and dislike of controversy.

Short biographical dictionary of English literature . . 2011.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pater,Walter Horatio — Pa·ter (pāʹtər), Walter Horatio. 1839 1894. British writer remembered for his volumes of criticism, including Appreciations (1889). * * * …   Universalium

  • Pater, Walter (Horatio) — born Aug. 4, 1839, Shadwell, London, Eng. died July 30, 1894, Oxford, Oxfordshire English critic, essayist, and humanist. Elected a fellow at the University of Oxford in 1864, Pater made his reputation as a scholar and aesthete with essays… …   Universalium

  • Pater, Walter (Horatio) — (4 ago. 1839 Shadwell, Londres, Inglaterra–30 jul. 1894, Oxford, Oxfordshire). Crítico, ensayista y humanista inglés. Fue elegido para un puesto académico en la Universidad de Oxford en 1864 y adquirió su reputación como erudito y esteta gracias… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • PATER, WALTER HORATIO —    an English prose writer, specially studious of word, phrase, and style, born in London; studied at Oxford, and became a Fellow of Brasenose College; lived chiefly in London; wrote studies in the History of the Renaissance, Marcus the Epicurean …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Walter Horatio Pater — Dieser Artikel oder Abschnitt bedarf einer Überarbeitung. Näheres ist auf der Diskussionsseite angegeben. Hilf mit, ihn zu verbessern, und entferne anschließend diese Markierung. Walter Horatio Pater (* 4. August 1839 in Shadwell; † 30. Juli 1894 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Walter Pater — Walter Horatio Pater (* 4. August 1839 in Shadwell; † 30. Juli 1894 in Oxford) war ein englischer Essayist und Kritiker. Leben Walter Pater wurde als zweiter Sohn des Arztes Richard Glode Pater in Shadwel …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Walter Pater — Walter Horatio Pater (Shadwell, Inglaterra, 4 de agosto de 1839 Oxford, 30 de julio de 1894), escritor e historiador del arte inglés. Hijo de un médico que murió cuando Walter era aún un niño, se trasladó a Enfield. Fue alumno y profesor… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Walter — Walter, Bruno Walter, John * * * (as used in expressions) Adams, Walter S(ydney) Alvarez, Luis W(alter) Bagehot, Walter Walter Lanier Barber Beaton, Sir Cecil (Walter Hardy) Benjamin, Walter Brattain, Walter H(ouser) Richard Walter Jenkins, Jr.… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Walter Pater — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Pater. Walter Pater Walter Horatio Pater, né le 4 août 1839 à Stepney et mort le 30 juillet 1894 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Horatio — /heuh ray shee oh , haw , hoh /, n. a male given name. * * * (as used in expressions) Alger Horatio Jr. Gates Horatio Humphrey Hubert Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson Viscount Pater Walter Horatio Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Horatio Walpole… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”