George Crabbe

1754-1832. English poet. Born at Aldeburgh in Suffolk, much of his poetry (e.g., The Borough) is set in this area. He was successively rector of Muston (Leicestershire) and Trowbridge (Wiltshire). His first major poem, The Village (1783), is an exposure of social conditions in a small seaside community. The Parish Register (1807) is a series of character sketches based on his experience at Muston and elsewhere. The Borough (1810), Tales (1812), and Tales of the Hall (1819) are virtually short stories in verse. There is a strong underlying moral comment in his skillful analyses of character and action, and this is found also in his sermons (1850).

See Life by his son (1834), and L. Haddakin, The Poetry of Crabbe (1955).