Inspirational Quotations by Algernon Charles Swinburne (English Poet)

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) was an English lyric poet, dramatist, and critic. He was infamous for his passionate attacks on Victorian morality—he wrote verses on sex, sadomasochism, and vampires. His critical work helped stimulate appreciation of older Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists such as the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily, Anne) and of William Blake.

Born in London to aristocracy, Swinburne socialized with the Pre-Raphaelites, including the poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Swinburne attained fame with Atalanta in Calydon (1865,) a poetic drama based on Greek tragedy. His other works include Poems and Ballads (1866,) A Song of Italy (1867,) and Tristram of Lyonesse (1882.)

Swinburne was also well known for his outrageous personality—exceptionally overdramatic, he liked to slide down banisters unclothed. He would also skip around a room, screeching his poetry at the top of his lungs or yelling blasphemous things to God.

For many years, Swinburne was stuck to a cycle of excess, breakdown, and revival. From 1878, Swinburne lived in near seclusion after his literary agent forcibly removed him from his unhealthy lifestyle and weaned him from alcohol and his decadent friends. Swinburne wrote 23 volumes of poetry, prose, and drama during these years.

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