Person    | Male  Born 27/9/1906  Died 15/4/1984

Sir William Empson

Categories: Poetry

Poet and critic. Born near Goole, Yorkshire. Considered a great English critic, his best-known work is his first publication "Seven Types of Ambiguity" 1930. Married Hetta in 1941 and had two sons, but was probably bisexual and an alcoholic. Spent a lot of his married life away from the London home, in Sheffield where he was chair of English literature at the university. Died at home, Studio House, 1 Hampstead Hill Gardens. (Did you notice how we managed not to mention the beard?)

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Sir William Empson

Commemorated ati

Sir William Empson

Unveiled by Sir Williams’ son, Jake Empson. At no 71 Empson lived in the the...

Read More

Sir William Empson & Lady Hetta Empson

We think this was unveiled in Oct 2015.

Read More

Other Subjects

Sir Henry Newbolt

Sir Henry Newbolt

Poet. Also: lawyer, novelist, playwright and magazine editor. Born Staffordshire. Famous for one poem: 'Vitai Lampada'. Written in 1897 this oh-so-British plea for war to be played in the same spir...

Person, Poetry

2 memorials
George Meredith

George Meredith

Novelist and poet. Born at 73 High Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire. As a writer of novels and poems, his income was uncertain and he supplemented it as a publisher's reader. In this capacity he befri...

Person, Literature, Poetry

2 memorials
Brian Catling

Brian Catling

Poet, sculptor and performance artist.  Born London.

Person, Poetry, Sculpture, Theatre

1 memorial
Iolo Morganwg

Iolo Morganwg

Born Edward Williams in Glamorgan. Founder member of the Unitarian movement in Wales, an anti-slavery campaigner, and political radical who called himself "The Bard of Liberty". As a stonemason he ...

Person, Poetry, Race Issues, Wales

1 memorial
Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti

Poet in the Pre-Raphaelite style.  Sister to Dante; family details are given there. Born at 38 Charlotte Street.  Engaged three times but never married; at least two of them were rejected due to 'r...

Person, Poetry, Seriously Famous

1 memorial