George Crabbe

Born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, on December 24, 1754, he first trained in medicine and worked as a surgeon before turning more fully toward literature. After a difficult start in London, he found support from Edmund Burke, a turning point that helped launch his writing career.

He later became an Anglican clergyman, and both his ministry and his coastal upbringing shaped the world of his poems. He is especially remembered for realistic verse narratives that described village life, poverty, work, and social pressures with unusual detail.

Among his best-known works are The Village, The Borough, and Tales in Verse. He died on February 3, 1832, in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, but his reputation has lasted because his poems paid serious attention to lives that earlier poets often overlooked.