Gardner, Helen Louise (1908–1986)
Gardner, Helen Louise (1908–1986)
British literary critic and scholar. Born Helen Louise Gardner, Feb 13, 1908, in London, England; died June 4, 1986, in Oxford; dau. of Charles Henry Gardner and Helen Mary Roadnight Cockman Gardner; St. Hilda's College, Oxford, BA, 1929, MA (1935).
One of most important 20th-century critics, wrote works on English poetry, religion and literature, and poetic interpretation; was a fellow of St. Hilda's (1942–66) and later honorary fellow of Lady Margaret Hall and St. Hilda's; invited to US and delivered lectures including Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard (1979–80); writings include The Art of T.S. Eliot (1949), The Business of Criticism (1959), King Lear (1967), Religion and Literature (1971), The Waste Land (1972), In Defence of the Imagination (1982), The Metaphysical Poets (1985), and The Noble Moor (1990); member of Royal Academy, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Royal Society of Literature.