Mark Akenside
Mark Akenside (1721-1770) was an English poet and physician known for his influential work, "The Pleasures of Imagination." Born to a family of Dissenters in Newcastle, he faced early challenges, including a leg injury that left him with a lifelong limp. After initially planning to study theology, he shifted his focus to medicine, earning degrees from both Edinburgh and Leiden Universities. Despite establishing a medical practice, Akenside struggled with patient relationships, which overshadowed his medical career, leading him to devote more time to writing.
His most notable poem, "The Pleasures of Imagination," published in 1744, explores themes of ethics, aesthetics, and psychology, drawing from philosophical traditions. The poem was well-received and established his reputation as a significant poet, influencing subsequent literary movements, including Romanticism. While Akenside's later life involved writing medical papers and serving as the physician to the queen, his poetry declined in popularity after his death from a throat infection. Akenside's legacy primarily lies in his poetic contributions and the way he emphasized the imaginative power of the individual.
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Mark Akenside
Poet
- Born: November 9, 1721
- Birthplace: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
- Died: June 23, 1770
- Place of death: England
Biography
Mark Akenside was born in 1721 to Mark Akenside, a butcher, and Mary Lumsden Akenside. The sixth of seven children, he injured his leg when he was seven as a result of an accident with a meat cleaver. He limped the rest of his life. The son of Dissenters (members of a religious group separated from the Church of England), Akenside attended Newcastle Royal Grammar School and a private academy run by a Dissenter minister. His first poem, The Virtuoso, was published anonymously in 1737.
With funds from the Dissenters Society in London, Akenside entered Edinburgh University in 1738. He planned to study theology but switched to medicine after one year. He earned a doctorate in physics from Leiden University in the Netherlands in 1744. While attending school, he continued writing poetry.
Akenside established an unsuccessful medical practice in 1744. His patients considered him arrogant, and he dedicated the majority of his energy to writing. In 1747, for reasons that are not known, his friend Jeremiah Dyson provided him with a house in London and a generous lifetime allowance. Akenside then concentrated almost exclusively on establishing his business. He earned a doctorate from Cambridge University in 1753, and six years later became chief physician at Christ’s Hospital. His cruel treatment of the charity patients, however, tarnished his reputation. In 1761, he was appointed physician to the queen and continued to write extensively on medical topics. He never married and had no children.
Akenside began writing his most famous poem, The Pleasures of Imagination, when he was seventeen years old. It was published anonymously in 1744 by Robert Dodsley. The publisher paid a remarkable {pound}120 for the poem after Alexander Pope advised him that Akenside was “no everyday writer.” The descriptive poem contains more than two thousand lines and is derived from ancient Greek and modern English philosophy. The verses call attention to the importance of the individual poet and interweave ethical, aesthetic and psychological matters. In 1746, Akenside edited and wrote for Museum, a literary magazine that ceased publication the following year. In 1754, ten years after the initial publication of The Pleasures of Imagination, Akenside heavily revised the poem and reissued it. He rewrote it again in 1757 and published it in a small private edition that does not survive. After 1761, he wrote several medical papers but little new poetry. He continued revising The Pleasures of Imagination until his death from a throat infection on June 23, 1770, at age forty-eight.
Akenside left his estate to Jeremiah Dyson. In 1772, Dyson issued a collection titled The Poems of Mark Akenside, M.D. Upon publication of The Pleasures of Imagination, Akenside gained prestige as a major poet. The poem was popular with readers of his day, and its influence can be found in the work of several of his contemporaries. Akenside emphasized the power of imagination, and this later inspired the Romantics. His medical writings are not considered scientifically significant, and his poetry is no longer popular.