James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell was a prominent American poet, critic, and political writer born on February 22, 1819, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A versatile figure in 19th-century American literature, he engaged in various careers, including editing and diplomacy, while actively participating in social and political discourse. Lowell graduated from Harvard University in 1838, and although he initially studied law, his passion for literature led him to publish his first poetry collection, *A Year's Life*, in 1841. His early works, particularly *The Vision of Sir Launfal* and *The Biglow Papers*, showcased his radical political views, especially concerning abolitionism, which were influenced by his wife, Maria White.
Throughout his life, Lowell transitioned from a radical to a more conservative stance, particularly after White's death. He held significant academic roles, including a professorship at Harvard and serving as the first editor of *The Atlantic Monthly*. Later, he became U.S. Ambassador to England from 1880 to 1885, reflecting his alignment with the Republican Party. Despite a decline in his poetic output, Lowell remained active as a lecturer and critic until his death in 1891. His legacy, while diminished in contemporary views, highlights his influential role in American literature and social thought.
Subject Terms
James Russell Lowell
Poet
- Born: February 22, 1819
- Birthplace: Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Died: August 12, 1891
- Place of death: Cambridge, Massachusetts
American poet, satirist, and critic
Biography
James Russell Lowell (LOH-uhl) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on February 22, 1819. A life-long leader of the Cambridge group of nineteenth century literary New Englanders, he managed to crowd a number of careers into his seventy-two years of life. He was a poet, a radical political writer, a conservative political writer, a satirist, an editor, a critic, a diplomat, and a teacher. In all these efforts he won the praise of his contemporaries. Today his reputation as poet and as critic has considerably diminished, indicating perhaps that much of the greatness attributed to him during his lifetime was attributable to the force of his personal qualities as a speaker and public figure and to his urbanity and wit. Even though modern re-evaluation has diminished his stature as an artist, he is still one of the most active and most versatile figures in American literature.
This versatility was demonstrated as early as his college days. As an upper-class New Englander, he naturally attended Harvard University, and there he read widely but studied indifferently. He began his career as a poet with contributions to the college magazine, Harvardiana, which he edited during his final year. He was elected class poet but was unable to deliver the class poem for the graduation exercises.
He graduated from Harvard in 1838 and devoted the next two years to the study of law. Although he received his law degree in 1840 and set up practice for a time, his primary interest was in literature, and to that he soon completely turned, publishing his first volume of poetry, A Year’s Life, in 1841 and making his first professional venture as an editor with the founding of the short-lived Pioneer in 1843.
It was in this period following his graduation from law school that his political and social radicalism came to the fore. In 1844 he married Maria White, and it has been suggested that his stands as an extreme abolitionist with Transcendental leanings were influenced more by her strong beliefs than by his own natural inclinations. The fact that, after her death in 1853, Lowell retreated to more and more conservative positions certainly lends weight to the validity of the suggestion. However much his wife influenced Lowell in these matters, the first few years of their marriage were by far the most poetically productive of his life. Of these years, 1848 was undoubtedly the greatest, for in that year he published the three works on which his diminished reputation now rests: The Vision of Sir Launfal, The Biglow Papers, and A Fable for Critics.
This period marked the height of Lowell’s career as a poet, for his production decreased as his critical and academic interests grew. He wielded his satirical pen once again during the Civil War with a second series of Biglow Papers, but these did not have the wit or the spontaneity of the originals.
The decline of his work as a poet did not mean inactivity but rather an increase of his other work. In 1855 he gave the Lowell lectures at Harvard and then succeeded Henry Wadsworth Longfellow there as Smith Professor of Modern Languages, becoming head of the Department of French, Spanish, and Belles-Lettres in 1856. He became the first editor of The Atlantic Monthly in 1857, held that post for two years, and then resigned to become editor of the North American Review. During this period he also found time to travel extensively in Europe and to marry Frances Dunlap, his daughter’s governess, three years after the death of his first wife.
Following the Civil War and his brief resurgence as a poet, he resigned as editor of the North American Review and turned his attention to problems of government and politics. A thorough conservative by that time, he espoused the Republican cause and was rewarded for his party services with the ambassadorship to England in 1880. He remained at the Court of St. James until 1885, when he was recalled by President Grover Cleveland. Lowell’s final years were spent in lecturing and in the writing of literary and social criticism, though one last volume of poetry, Heartsease and Rue, appeared in 1888, the same year as the publication of his Political Essays. Three years later, he died at Elmwood, the house of his birth.
Bibliography
Beatty, Richmond Croom. James Russell Lowell. 1942. Reprint. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1969. Beatty’s study is based on a thorough examination of Lowell’s manuscripts and heavily criticizes the poet’s political judgments at times. Includes bibliographical references.
Broaddus, Dorothy C. Genteel Rhetoric: Writing High Culture in Nineteenth-Century Boston. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1999. An analysis of the use of rhetoric by several authors, including Lowell. Broaddus delves into the creation of high culture, character, and war. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Duberman, Martin B. James Russell Lowell. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966. This well-researched biography is based mainly on manuscript materials and refers to the poetry and criticism of Lowell throughout. It provides a historian’s evaluation of Lowell’s political writings and activities. Includes thorough notes, bibliographies, and index.
Hudson, William Henry. Lowell and His Poetry. 1914. Reprint. New York: AMS Press, 1972. Focuses on the poetry, not the life. In the course of Hudson’s discussion, he quotes the full text of nine poems, which are listed in the beginning of the book. This brief study includes “The Changeling,” “The First Snowfall,” “After the Burial,” and Ode Recited at the Harvard Commemoration, July 21, 1865.
McGlinchee, Claire. James Russell Lowell. New York: Twayne, 1967. The first chapter looks at Lowell in the context of nineteenth century American literature, and the second and third chapters offer a chronological account of Lowell’s life through 1860. The following six chapters are devoted to his early poems, his criticism, details on his careers as professor, diplomat, and editor, his political verse (The Biglow Papers), and his later poetry (The Cathedral and the odes). Contains notes, annotated bibliography, and index.
Wagenknecht, Edward. James Russell Lowell: Portrait of a Many-Sided Man. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971. This book supplements Martin B. Duberman’s more definitive biography by providing a less formal character portrait. Wagenknecht’s facts are, however, authentic. Discussions of the poetic influences on Lowell and his approach to poetry make up two chapters, “Storing the Well” and “The Creative Life.” Includes notes, selective bibliography, and index.