Ebenezer Jones
Ebenezer Jones was an English poet born on January 20, 1820, in Canonbury Square, London. Influenced by a strict Calvinist upbringing and his experiences at a boarding school, he developed a passion for poetry that was initially stifled by the constraints of his education. After working as a clerk and accountant, Jones began reading forbidden poets like Percy Bysshe Shelley and Thomas Carlyle, which led to his dismissal from his job when he requested time off to read. This pivotal moment allowed him to focus on his poetry, culminating in the publication of his first volume, "Studies of Sensation and Event," in 1843, which addressed themes of love, nature, and social justice. Despite facing harsh criticism that discouraged him, Jones continued to write throughout his life, marrying Caroline Atherstone and having a son before their separation. His poetry, though largely overlooked during his lifetime and only gaining recognition in the 1950s, is noted for its powerful imagery and emotional depth. He passed away from consumption on September 14, 1860, leaving behind a legacy that is still the subject of discussion among literary scholars today.
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Ebenezer Jones
Poet
- Born: January 20, 1820
- Birthplace: Canonbury Square, Islington, England
- Died: September 14, 1860
Biography
Ebenezer Jones was born in Canonbury Square, England, on January 20, 1820, the third child born to Robert Jones and Hannah Sumner. His severe Calvinist upbringing and experiences at boarding school in Highgate beginning in 1828 were two of the greatest influences on his poetic and political writings. In 1837, he began work as a clerk and accountant at a warehouse in London and began reading some of the poets he was banned from reading at school and at home. He was especially interested in the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Thomas Carlyle, so much so, in fact, that he requested time off from work to read. That request lead to his being fired, which allowed him the time to read and to begin composing his own poetry, following the ideas that Shelley and Carlyle had introduced.
Jones published his first volume of poetry in 1843.Studies of Sensation and Event: Poems addressed love and nature and protested social and political injustices. The volume was not well received, and Jones was so disheartened by the negative criticism that he destroyed the poems he had been writing for a second book. At that point he focused his attention on politics and social reform while maintaining a job as an accountant. In 1844, he married Caroline Atherstone, and the couple produced one son before they separated.
Jones never stopped writing poetry, and throughout the 1840’s and 1850’s his work occasionally was published in magazine and journals. These few poems, along with some additional poems composed in the final two years of his life, are considered his finest work. He died of consumption on September 14, 1860. Jones’s work was largely ignored until the 1950’s, and his stature as a poet is still debated. His literary contribution may perhaps be best summarized in poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s words: “His poems. . . are full of vivid disorderly power.”