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?)
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...
Other Subjects
John Masefield
Poet. Born Herefordshire. Orphaned early he was sent to sea, aged 13, to train as an officer and seems to have spent a lot of time reading and writing. Aged 17 he jumped ship in New York where he c...
1 memorial
John Milton
Poet, essayist, playwright, historian, and diplomat. Born in the house called The Spread Eagle in Bread Street, Cheapside. Left London to study in Cambridge but found all the dull debates in Latin ...
14 memorials
Robert Burns
Born Alloway, Ayrshire. Wrote in the Scots language, and also in a Scots dialect which is accessible to English speakers. Also collected traditional songs. Scots the world over celebrate his birth ...
1 memorial
Vivian Forbes
Painter and poet. Born London. Served in the Royal Fusiliers in WW1. Had a close relationship with Glyn Philpot and on Philpot's death, Forbes committed suicide, the day after the funeral. The pi...
1 memorial
Rossiter W. Raymond
Born Rossiter Worthington Raymond, an American mining engineer, legal scholar and author, amongst other skills. Best known for the last few lines of his poem 'Death is only a horizon'. However the ...
1 memorial