SWINBURNE, ALGERNON CHARLES English poet and critic, was born in London on April 5, 1837. He was the son of Admiral Charles Henry Swinburne (of an old Northumbrian family) and of Lady Jane Henrietta, a daughter of George, 3rd earl of Ashburnham. His childhood was spent on the Northumberland estate of his grandfather, Sir John Edward Swinburne, Bart., and at his father's place, East Dene, in the Isle of Wight. Of the two, the influences of the island are, per haps naturally, the stronger in his poetry; and many of his most beautiful pieces were actually written at the Orchard, an exquisite spot by Niton Bay, where he was a constant visitor.
After five years at Eton, Swinburne went to Balliol college, Oxford, in 1857. Jowett was his firm friend after he left Oxford, and Swinburne visited him repeatedly at the seaside and in the country. He left Oxford in 186o, and in the same year published the two dramas, The Queen Mother and Rosamond, a wonderful performance for so young a poet, fuller of dramatic energy than most of his later plays, and rich in harmonies of blank verse.
After spending some time with the Bell Scotts at Newcastle, Swinburne came to London, and began the intimate friendship with D. G. Rossetti which was to last for the next ten years. In 1861 he was introduced to Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton, q.v.), who took an interest in his work and invited him to Fryston.
There Swinburne created an unforgettable impression in the brilliant circle which gathered there, by his wide and varied acquaintance with ancient and modern literature and his astonish ing memory. In 1862 he met Meredith, and a review of one of Victor Hugo's books resulted in correspondence. In the autumn of that year he lived with Meredith and the Rossettis at 16 Cheyne Walk. Swinburne showed symptoms of something approaching epilepsy, and it was thought better that he should be with friends. In 1864 he made a tour in France and Italy. At Florence he met Mrs. Gaskell and Landor. For Landor he had a great admiration, but their meetings were few and short. On his return to London he took lodgings in Dorset Street, where he made his home for many years.
In 1865 appeared the lyrical tragedy of Atalanta in Calydon, followed by Chastelard, and the famous Poems and Ballads in 1866. The Poems and Ballads were vehemently attacked, but Dolores and Faustine were on everyone's lips: as a poet of the time has said, "We all went about chanting to one another these new, astonishing melodies." By the close of his 3oth year, in spite of hostility and detraction, Swinburne had placed himself in the highest rank of contemporary poets, and had even estab lished himself as leader of a choir of singers to whom he was at once master and prophet.
Meanwhile, his life was disturbed by domestic sorrow. A favourite sister died at East Dene, and was buried in the church yard of Bonchurch. Her loss overwhelmed Admiral Swinburne with grief. and he could no longer tolerate the house that was so full of tender memories. So the family moved to Holmwood, in the Thames Valley, near Reading. Swinburne entered on a course of gaiety in London which seriously affected his health and alarmed his friends. At the same time he saw much of the Pre Raphaelite movement, and for the next few years he was in volved in a rush of fresh emotions and rapidly changing loyalties.