Henry Hart Milman
Henry Hart Milman was an English poet, historian, and clergyman born in 1796 in London. He received his education at Eton and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he excelled in Latin and English poetry, winning the Newdigate Prize in 1812 for his poem "The Belvidere Apollo." After earning his degrees, Milman took holy orders in 1816 and became the vicar of St. Mary's Church in Reading two years later. His literary career began with the verse drama "Fazio" in 1815, which was well-received for its strong female character. He is perhaps best known for his dramatic poems, particularly "The Fall of Jerusalem," and his historical writings, including the notable "History of the Jews." Milman also edited Edward Gibbon's "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and produced translations of classical works. Despite criticisms of his poetic style, he is remembered for his scholarly contributions and his liberal, tolerant outlook. Milman passed away in 1868, leaving behind a legacy of literary and historical works.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Henry Hart Milman
Poet
- Born: February 10, 1796
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: September 24, 1868
- Place of death:
Biography
Henry Hart Milman was born in 1796 in the Westminster Borough of London. His father, Sir Francis Milman, was a physician and well-known lecturer who served as doctor to King George III; his mother was a friend of the writer Frances Trollope. Milman was educated at Eton and at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he won prizes for Latin and English poetry. His most notable award was the Newdigate Prize, which he won in 1812 for his first published poem, The Belvidere Apollo: A Prize Poem, Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, in the Year MDCCCXII.
Milman received his B. A. in 1814 and was made a fellow of Brasenose the following year. In 1815, he published Fazio, a verse drama in Renaissance style that was produced in Covent Garden. The English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley admired its rich female leading role. Milman received his M.A. degree and took holy orders in 1816, and he was made vicar of St. Mary’s Church in Reading, England, in 1818. At the same time, he revamped a romantic narrative poem based on Arthurian legend that he had begun years earlier, Samor, Lord of the Bright City: An Historic Poem. Milman’s friend, the poet Robert Southey, felt the language of this poem was overly lush, and the poem seems heavily didactic to contemporary readers.
In 1820, Milman published The Fall of Jerusalem: A Dramatic Poem, a history of the early years of Christianity that often is considered the best of his dramatic poems. In 1826, he undertook a poetic biography of Anne Boleyn, and in 1829 he published a three-volume nonfiction book, History of the Jews. In 1838, Milman edited a new edition of Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, along with Gibbon’s letters and a biography of the historian. In 1849, Milman translated works by the Roman poet Horace and several Greek plays, including Agamemnon and The Bacchae. These translations were his last significant literary works, although in 1854 he published a six-volume work, History of Latin Christianity, Including That of the Popes to Nicholas V. In 1849, Milman was named dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Milman’s poetry was limited by his lush language and by his conventional and sentimental approaches to his subjects. Typically, his work features a suffering female, a sentimental central figure who nurtures an inexpressible grief. His poetry was criticized by Shelley and Lord Byron. Nevertheless, he is remembered for his generous spirit, the liberal tolerance that marked his writings, genuine scholarship, and love of learning. He died in 1868.