Meredith - George Meredith

English novelist and poet. Born in Portsmouth to a tailor's son. Educated in Germany in his youth, he aspired to be a lawyer, but later turned to literature. He married an older widow, the daughter of novelist Peacock, but their relationship did not go well, and his wife eventually eloped with a younger man. He published his first collection of poems in 1851, and in 1855, a fantastic story, The Shaving of Shagpat. It attracted some attention, but was not accepted by the general readership, and he therefore made a living in hardship. In 1859, he gained widespread recognition with his novel The Ordeal of Richard Fiberel, and later established himself as a writer with works such as The Egoist (1879) and Diana at the Crossroads (1885). He also wrote critical essays such as On Comedy (lecture 1877, published 1897), and contributed to discovering unknown new writers as an advisor to publishers, becoming a leading figure in the British literary world in his later years. However, because his works are difficult to understand, he never gained many readers throughout his life. However, Natsume Soseki loved Meredith's works, which are difficult to read even for people in his home country, and made them a part of his life. You can clearly see the influence of Natsume Soseki in his works such as "Gubijinso" and "Kusakura".

[Shigeru Koike]

"On Comedy, translated by Tokuzo Sagara (Iwanami Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの小説家、詩人。ポーツマスで仕立屋の子として生まれる。青年時代ドイツで教育を受け、のち法律家を志したが文学の世界に転向した。小説家ピーコックの娘で年上の未亡人と結婚したが、夫婦仲はうまくいかず、やがて妻は若い男と駆け落ちした。1851年に最初の詩集を、55年には奇想天外な物語『シャグパットの毛剃(けぞ)り』を発表、一部からは注目されたが、一般読者からは認められず、したがって生活は苦しかった。59年、小説『リチャード・フィベレルの試練』で広く認められ、その後『エゴイスト』（1879）、『十字路のダイアナ』（1885）などにより作家の地位は確立、『喜劇論』（1877講演、1897刊）などの評論も書き、また出版社の顧問として無名の新人発掘に貢献するなど、晩年はイギリス文壇の大御所的地位についた。しかし彼の作品は難解であるために、終生多数の読者を得ることはなかった。ところが本国人でも読みにくいメレディスを愛読し、それを完全にわが血肉としたのが夏目漱石(そうせき)で、『虞美人草(ぐびじんそう)』『草枕(くさまくら)』などの作品に、はっきりとその影響を読み取ることができる。

［小池　滋］

『相良徳三訳『喜劇論』（岩波文庫）』

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