Philip James Bailey
Philip James Bailey was a 19th-century English poet born on April 22, 1816, in Nottingham. He was the only son of a minor poet and a successful silk hosier, which shaped his early exposure to literature. From a young age, Bailey exhibited a passion for poetry, encouraged by his father's Romantic influences. He attended Glasgow University and later studied law in London, but ultimately, his heart remained with poetry. His most celebrated work, *Festus: A Poem*, published in 1839, received critical acclaim and remains his defining legacy, drawing inspiration from notable literary figures such as Goethe and Milton.
Despite completing his law studies and becoming a solicitor, Bailey's engagement with law was limited. His personal life included two marriages and a series of poetic works, though he faced criticism during his career, being labeled a "Spasmodic poet." Later in life, he found personal happiness after marrying Anne Sophia Carey and lived in various locations, concluding his days in Nottingham, where he passed away from influenza in 1902. While Bailey's later works did not match the acclaim of *Festus*, he was considered for the title of poet laureate following Tennyson's death, reflecting the lasting impact of his earlier contributions to literature.
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Philip James Bailey
Poet
- Born: April 22, 1816
- Birthplace: Nottingham, England
- Died: September 6, 1902
- Place of death: The Elms, Nottingham, England
Biography
Philip James Bailey was born in Nottingham, England, on April 22, 1816, the only son of Thomas Bailey, a minor poet and successful silk hosier, and his first wife, Mary (née Taylor). He began writing verse at the age of ten. His father encouraged that poetic development, particularly along Romantic lines, by asking him to memorize thousands of lines of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage and by taking him to see Lord Byron lying in state. Bailey matriculated at Glasgow University at sixteen and completed his undergraduate work there before going to Lincoln’s Inn in London in 1835 to study law. However, poetry was his first love, and at this point he began to plan an epic poem. In 1896, he moved to his father’s house in Old Basford, Nottingham, spending the next three years working on what was to become his masterpiece, Festus: A Poem, a work influenced not only by his father’s love of Romanticism but also Goethe’s Faust and John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Festus: A Poem was published in 1839 and garnered immediate critical acclaim. Though he completed his law studies, was called to the bar, and became a solicitor in 1840, Bailey’s interest in law remained minimal.
Little is known about Bailey’s first wife and marriage. He is believed to have married in the 1850’s, and the union produced a son, Philip Festus James Bailey, and a daughter, before ending in divorce. During these same years, Bailey completed two additional volumes of poetry: The Angel World, and Other Poems (1850) and The Mystic, and Other Poems (1855). The Age: A Colloquial Satire followed in 1858. This period also saw a reaction against his style of writing, epitomized and fueled by William Edmondstoune Aytoun’s satire Firmilian: Or, The Student of Badajoz—A Spasmodic Tragedy (1854). Aytoun called Bailey the father of the “Spasmodic poets.”
However negative his poetic career might have turned, his personal life took a turn for the better. By the early 1860’s, he had met the woman who was to become his second wife, Anne Sophia Carey, the daughter of a Nottingham alderman. They married in 1863, settling on the island of Jersey in 1864. The couple returned to England in 1876, living for nine years in Devonshire, during which time Bailey published Nottingham Castle (1878) and Causa Brittanica (1883). The Baileys then moved to Blackheath in 1885. Universal Hymn was published in 1868, and the couple ultimately retired to The Elms in the Ropewalk in Nottingham where Anne died in 1896 and Philip died of influenza on September 6, 1902.
Although nothing that Bailey wrote after Festus: A Poem achieved its greatness, the strength of the original poem (later revisions weakened it) was enough for him to be considered for poet laureateship when Alfred, Lord Tennyson, died. And though he did not get the laureateship, the fact that he was considered for it is an honor in itself. He was, however, given an honorary LL.D. degree from Glasgow University.