Allan Cunningham
Allan Cunningham was a Scottish poet and writer born in 1784 in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Despite facing financial difficulties that hindered his formal education, he developed a superior intellect and a passion for literature, influenced by his childhood friendship with poet Robert Burns. Cunningham began his literary career in 1807 and gained recognition for his poetry, including notable works such as "Sir Marmaduke Maxwell" and "The Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters, Sculptors, and Architects."
After relocating to London, he became involved in literary circles, befriending prominent figures like Sir Walter Scott and Thomas De Quincey. His writings, which often utilized Scottish dialect, provided valuable insights into the literary landscape of early 19th-century Britain and the cultural heritage of Scotland. Among his significant contributions are "The Life of Burns," which is regarded as his most important work, and his two-volume collection "Traditional Tales of the English and Scottish Peasantry." Cunningham's legacy endures as an influential figure in Scottish literature, remembered for both his poetry and his biographical works.
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Allan Cunningham
Poet
- Born: December 7, 1784
- Birthplace: Keir, Dumfriesshire, Scotland
- Died: October 30, 1842
Biography
Allan Cunningham was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1784 to estate employee John Cunningham and Elizabeth Harley Cunningham, the daughter of a merchant. Because the family suffered dire financial woes, Cunningham’s education was neglected; however, he learned to read the Bible and his superior intellect enabled him to school himself. Cunningham shared his childhood with his neighbor, the famous poet Robert Burns, near the river Nith at Ellisland, Scotland. At age eleven, he was apprenticed to his brother James, a stonemason. In 1811, he married servant Jean Walker. The couple had five sons and a daughter.
Cunningham began his writing career in 1807 by publishing poetry in Literary Recreations. In 1810, he published Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song. After moving to London in April, 1810, he began working for the Day, reporting parliamentary debates and contributing poems. He wrote for various publications, including the Literary Gazette, and published his second book of poems, Songs: Chiefly in the Rural Language of Scotland in 1813.
The following year he began working for well-known sculptor Francis Chantrey, answering correspondence and overseeing production until Chantrey’s death. The sculptor’s clients included prominent writers who introduced Cunningham into the literary world. He met Sir Walter Scott in 1820 and became his close friend. He also numbered among his friends, the infamous Thomas De Quincey, the author of Confessions of an Opium Eater (1886).
In 1822, Cunningham published his popular Sir Marmaduke Maxwell, A Dramatic Poem; The Mermaid of Galloway; The Legend of Richard Faulder; and Twenty Scottish Poems and a two-volume collection, Traditional Tales of the English and Scottish Peasantry. He also edited a four-volume anthology, The Songs of Scotland, Ancient and Modern in 1825 and his first romantic novel Paul Jones, appeared in 1826. His The Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1829-1833) provides essays of important eighteenth and early nineteenth century artists.
Cunningham’s works provide insight into the literary scene of 1820 Britain as well as the Scotland of Scott’s and Burns’s childhood. Cunningham, who recognized the genius in Scott, published his first biography and memoir, Some Account of the Life and Works of Sir Walter Scott in 1832. His 1834 Biographical and Critical History of the British Literature of the Last Fifty Years discusses various authors from the death of Samuel Johnson in 1784. Although the book is no longer used as a reference work, it remains of great historical interest. Scholars consider Cunningham’s The Life of Burns (1834) his most substantial literary contribution. Although his fiction remains pertinent historically, Allan Cunningham is remembered for his poetry, an in particular for his use of Scottish dialect.