Blunt, Wilfrid Scawen

▪ British poet

born Aug. 17, 1840, Petworth House, Sussex, Eng.

died Sept. 10, 1922, Newbuildings, Sussex

      English poet best known for his elegant erotic verse and his expression of anti-imperialism.

      He entered the diplomatic service in 1858 but retired on his marriage with Lady Anne Noel, Lord Byron's granddaughter, in 1869. He and his wife traveled frequently in Egypt, Asia Minor, and Arabia, and they established a famous stud for the breeding of Arabian horses.

      Blunt became known as an ardent sympathizer with Muslim aspirations, and in The Future of Islam (1882) he directed attention to the forces that produced the movements of Pan-Islamism and Mahdism. He was a violent opponent of British policy in the Sudan and supported the national party in Egypt. Ideas About India (1885) was the result of two visits to that country, which confirmed his distrust of colonialism and his enthusiasm for self-government. In 1888 he was imprisoned for two months in Galway and Kilmainham jails after a scuffle with the police at an Irish political meeting, an experience described in the sonnets of In Vinculis (1889). A strikingly handsome man, he had numerous love affairs with women in the aristocratic and cultured circles in which he moved (described in the “secret memoirs” first made public in 1972). His Sonnets and Songs by Proteus (1875; revised and enlarged 1881 and 1892) contains the best of his love poetry. Blunt published a complete edition of his poetical works in 1914 and two volumes of My Diaries (1919 and 1920).

Additional Reading

Elizabeth Longford, A Pilgrimage of Passion: The Life of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1979).

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