Charles Lamb, short note for UP PGT English

                  Biographical Essentials

1. Charles Lamb was born on February 10, 1775.
2. His birthplace was Crown Office Row, Inner Temple, London.
3. He is a prominent figure of the 19th-century Romantic Period.
4. His father was John Lamb, who worked as a clerk for a barrister named Samuel Salt.
5. His mother’s name was Elizabeth Field.
6. Lamb was the youngest of seven children, though only three (Charles, John, and Mary) survived.
7. He was educated at Christ’s Hospital, a famous English boarding school, from 1782 to 1789.
8. At Christ’s Hospital, he met his lifelong friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge (S.T. Coleridge).
9. Lamb suffered from a speech impediment (a stammer), which prevented him from pursuing a clerical career in the church.
10. In 1791, he worked briefly as a clerk at the South Sea House.
11. On April 5, 1792, he joined the British East India Company as a clerk in the Accountant's Office.
12. He worked for the East India Company for over 30 years (three decades) before retiring.
13. Lamb often referred to himself as "Charles Lamb of India House".
14. He retired on a pension in 1825, an event he describes in his essay "The Superannuated Man".

Personal Life and Struggles

1. Lamb suffered a mental breakdown and spent six weeks in a mental asylum in 1795.
2. In September 1796, his sister Mary Lamb, in a fit of insanity, killed their mother with a kitchen knife.
3. To prevent Mary from being permanently committed to an asylum, Charles took full legal guardianship of her.
4. He remained a lifelong bachelor to dedicate his life to caring for Mary.
5. His first love was Ann Simmons, whom he frequently referred to as "Alice W--n" in his essays.
6. Ann Simmons eventually married a silversmith, leading to Lamb's unsuccessful love story.
7. In 1819, he proposed marriage to an actress named Fanny Kelly, but she rejected him.
8. Charles and Mary adopted an orphan girl named Emma Isola in their later years.

Literary Reputation and Style

1. Charles Lamb is famously known as the "Prince of English Essayists".
2. This title, "Prince of English Essayists," was bestowed upon him by Hugh Walker.
3. Unlike the objective style of Francis Bacon, Lamb’s essays are deeply personal, subjective, and autobiographical.
4. He once famously stated, "I am myself the subject of my essays".
5. His prose style is noted for its unique blend of humor and pathos.
6. He was significantly influenced by the 17th-century writer Sir Thomas Browne.
7. He used the pseudonym "Elia" for his most famous works.
8. The name "Elia" was actually the name of an Italian clerk who worked with Lamb at the South Sea House.
9. His essays first began appearing in The London Magazine in 1820.
10. The first collection, "Essays of Elia," was published in 1823.
11. The second collection, "The Last Essays of Elia," followed in 1833.

Major Works (Poetry, Drama, and Fiction)

1. Lamb began his literary career as a poet, not an essayist.
2. His first published poems appeared in Coleridge’s "Poems on Various Subjects" (1796).
3. "The Old Familiar Faces" (1798) is one of his most recognized and poignant poems.
4. "A Tale of Rosamund Gray" (1798) is a novella (short novel) inspired by his love for Ann Simmons.
5. "John Woodvil" (1802) is a poetic tragedy written in blank verse.
6. "Mr. H--" (1806) is a two-act farce and was the only play of Lamb's to be staged.
7. "Tales from Shakespeare" (1807) was a collaborative project with his sister Mary Lamb.
8. In Tales from Shakespeare, Mary wrote 14 comedies while Charles wrote 6 tragedies.
9. "The Adventures of Ulysses" (1808) is a children’s book retelling Homer’s Odyssey.
10. "Specimens of English Dramatic Poets" (1808) helped revive interest in Elizabethan drama.
11. "On the Tragedies of Shakespeare" (1811) is an important piece of literary criticism.

Key Insights into "Essays of Elia"

1. "Dream Children: A Reverie" was written shortly after the death of his brother, John Lamb.
2. In Dream Children, Lamb imagines a life with his "phantom" children, Alice and John.
3. The essay features his grandmother Mrs. Field, who was a housekeeper at a great house in Norfolk.
4. "A Bachelor’s Complaint of the Behaviour of Married People" humorously critiques the "loving" behavior of couples.
5. This essay contains the famous proverb "Love me, love my dog".
6. "Poor Relations" is often cited as one of his most witty and interesting essays.
7. He describes a poor relation as "a fly in your ointment" and "a hail in your harvest".
8. He claims that a female poor relation is the "most irrelevant thing in nature".
9. "The Convalescent" details the experience of being ill and the "monarch-like" attention one receives.
10. He compares a sick man to a king and his bed to a throne.
11. "Imperfect Sympathies" opens with a quote from Sir Thomas Browne's "Religio Medici".
12. In this essay, Lamb confesses to being a "bundle of prejudices".
13. He admits he cannot feel the same sympathy for all groups, specifically mentioning Scotsmen, Jews, and Quakers.
14. "Old China" features Elia and his sister Bridget (Mary) reminiscing about their "good old days" of poverty.
15. Bridget argues that they were happier when they were poor because they appreciated their small luxuries more.
16. "All Fools' Day" is a celebration of human folly and the tradition of April 1st.
17. In All Fools' Day, he "invites" historical figures like Empedocles and Cleombrotus to his feast of fools.
18. "New Year's Eve" suggests that every person has two birthdays: their actual birth date and New Year's Day.
19. "The Praise of Chimney-Sweepers" expresses sympathy for young "clergymen" of the chimney, calling them "innocent blacknesses".
20. "A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig" is a famous humorous account of the accidental discovery of cooked meat.
21. "Christ’s Hospital Five and Thirty Years Ago" provides a vivid account of his and Coleridge's school days.
22. "The South Sea House" was the first essay to appear under the name Elia.
23. "Grace Before Meat" discusses the hypocrisy and necessity of saying grace.
24. "Witches and Other Night Fears" explores the origins of childhood terrors.

Critical Reception and Famous Quotes

1. Robert Southey criticized the Essays of Elia as "irreligious" in the Quarterly Review.
2. Southey’s critique was titled "The Progress of Infidelity".
3. Lamb responded to Southey with a public letter titled "Elia to Southey".
4. E.V. Lucas, Lamb's major biographer, described him as "the most loveable figure in English literature".
5. William Wordsworth referred to Lamb as "the scorner of the fields" due to his deep love for London city life.
6. Wordsworth also memorialized him as "Frolic and the gentle".
7. Coleridge affectionately called him "Gentle-hearted Charles".
8. Lamb's works are frequently described as being "full of humor and pathos".
9. He is often categorized as the "Essence of the Romantic Essay".

Final Years and Legacy

1. Charles Lamb died on December 27, 1834.
2. He was 59 years old at the time of his death.
3. His place of death was Edmonton, London.
4. His death followed closely after the passing of his dear friend S.T. Coleridge in July 1834.
5. Mary Lamb survived her brother by 13 years, dying in 1847.
6. Mary is buried in the same grave as Charles in Edmonton.
7. Lamb's essays are noted for their archaic and "antique" vocabulary.
8. He is a master of the "Personal Essay" genre.
9. His "Elia" persona allowed him to blend fact and fiction seamlessly.
10. The Inner Temple, where he was born and lived, remained a recurring motif in his writing.
11. Lamb never attended university due to his stammer and family financial needs.
12. He was a great lover of old books and Elizabethan literature.
13. His essay "The Superannuated Man" is a classic reflection on the psychology of retirement.
14. "Oxford in the Vacation" reveals his love for academic environments despite not being a university graduate.
15. He often depicted his sister Mary as "Bridget Elia" and his brother John as "James Elia" in his writing.
16. "Old Benchers of the Inner Temple" provides a nostalgic look at the lawyers he knew as a child.
17. Lamb's writing is often described as "replete with humanity".
18. He wrote for the "London Magazine" alongside other greats like William Hazlitt.
19. His work "Specimens of English Dramatic Poets" is credited with re-establishing the reputation of Shakespeare's contemporaries.
20. The essay "Mrs. Battle’s Opinions on Whist" is a famous character study of a serious card player.
21. "Valentine's Day" and "All Fools' Day" show his fondness for traditional holidays.
22. Charles Lamb remains the most celebrated essayist of the Romantic era.
23. His life is seen as a triumph of devotion and courage over personal tragedy and mental illness.

 

1. SOME FACTS ABOUT CHARLES LAMB

 

1. Lamb’s elder brother John was a scholar at Christ’s Hospital.
1.  
1. At the age of 7, Lamb was sent to Christ’s Hospital.
2.  
1. He was a fellow pupil of St. College.
3.  
1. Lamb obtained a clerkship in the Account office of the East India Company.
4.  
1. Anna Simmons was his beloved.
5.  
1. He adopted a little girl named Emma Isola.
6.  
1. The death of Coleridge in 1834 affected him.
7.  
1. Leaving school at 15, he found employment in the South Sea House.
8.  
1. He used to pass his holidays at Blakesware in Hertfordshire, where his maternal grandmother Mrs. Field was housekeeper to the family of the Plumbers.
9.  
1. He fell in love with Anna Simmon but she married a pawn broker named Bartram.
10.  
1. His sister killed her mother and wounded her father.
11.  
1. Le Grice and Lloyd were his faithful friends.
12.  
1. At the end of 1795, Lamb had to spend six weeks in a private asylum.
13.  
1. In 1803, he wrote a poem on Hester Savory, a Quaker girl whom he met occasionally in his walks at Pentonville.
14.  
1. In 1820, Lamb began to write for London magazine under the name of Elia.

 

 

 

 

SOME IMPORTANT ESSAYS FROM THE PEN OF CHARLES LAMB

 

Dream Children: A Reverie

 

 

 

 

(Right Side List of Essays)

 

The Confession of a Drunkard

Wedding

The Old and the New Schoolmaster

All Fool’s Day

A Bachelor’s Complaint to the Behaviour of Married People

Night Fears

Christ’s Hospital

Christ’s Hospital: Five and Thirty Years Ago

The Old Benchers of the Inner Temple

My Relations

Poor Relations

Mackery End in Hertfordshire

Mrs. Battle’s Opinions

The South Sea House

Imperfect Sympathies

Popular Fallacies

The Death of Coleridge

On Some of the Old Actors

On the Acting of Munden

Witches and Other Night Fears

Modern Gallantry

Oxford in the Vacation

A Chapter on Ears

Captain Jackson

A Quaker’s Meeting

The New Year’s Eve

Newspapers Thirty Five Years Ago

The Son and the Brook

By Rivers and Streams

The Praise of Chimney Sweepers

A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig

Blakesmoor in H—shire

The Child Angel

Old China

Two Races of Man

Mrs. Battle’s Opinions on Whist

The Decay of Beggars in The Metropolis