The Poet of Eyam Rediscovering Richard Furness

Abstract

Most scholars interested in literature are aware of the greater English Romantic poets. Names like William Wordsworth and Anna Seward would sound familiar to many researchers. However, some great poets ended up in obscurity. Richard Furness is one of those poets. Although he is from the same village as Seward, he is the much lesser known poet from Eyam. This place, like the county of Derbyshire to which it belongs, has a peculiar spirit which may have influenced the works of several literary geniuses, such as Jane Austen, Anna Seward and Erasmus Darwin. This thesis will focus on how this “genius loci” determines Furness' poetry and, since he is placed in the context of several Romantic writers, will show that Furness is a Romantic poet who deserves more scholarly attention.