Record Number: 7538
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'Despite his grandmother's strictures on reading, Davies read widely. His first attraction was to the penny dreadfuls of his day, which he read in secret... The school books he read contained poems that stirred him deeply. One of the school texts he used contained long passges from "The Lady of the Lake" with a prose commentary attached. And then there was a favourite schoolboy poem starting with the resounding line: "The Soldier of the Legion lay dying in Algiers", with a refrain that the boys loved to chant at play. There were extracts from Shakespeare, the usual lyrics, and a few heavily didactic poems intended to inculcate morality in the boyish heart'.
Century:1850-1899
Date:1885
Country:Wales
Timen/a
Place:city: Newport
specific address: school
(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Child (0-17)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:3 Jul 1871
Socio-Economic Group:Clerk / tradesman / artisan / smallholder
Occupation:iron moulder's son, later poet
Religion:Christian
Country of Origin:Wales
Country of Experience:Wales
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:[from 'The Lady of the Lake']
Genre:Poetry
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Detailsextracts reproduced in school textbook
Provenanceread in situ
Source Information:
Record ID:7538
Source:Richard J. Stonesifer
Editor:n/a
Title:W.H. Davies: A Critical Biography
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:1963
Vol:n/a
Page:21
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
Richard J. Stonesifer, W.H. Davies: A Critical Biography, (London, 1963), p. 21, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=7538, accessed: 22 November 2024
Additional Comments:
None
