David Herbert Lawrence
Biography
D. H. Lawrence (born David Herbert Richards Lawrence) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic, and painter. Born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, in 1885, he was the son of a coal miner and a former schoolteacher, a background that heavily influenced his early works and his exploration of class and social convention. He attended Nottingham University College, becoming a teacher. His controversial early life and relationships, particularly with Frieda Weekley (née von Richthofen), a married German baroness, led to their elopement and eventual marriage. This scandalous affair and their nomadic lifestyle, often termed his "savage pilgrimage," deeply shaped his themes of sexuality, industrial alienation, and the search for natural fulfillment. Lawrence’s work, including "Sons and Lovers," "The Rainbow," and "Women in Love," often faced censorship due to its explicit portrayal of sexual desire and emotional intensity. He died in Vence, France, in 1930, after struggling with tuberculosis for many years.
Selected Thoughts
«The only rule is, do what you really want to do.»
«Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically. The cataclysm has happened, we are among the ruins, we start to build up new little habitats, to have new little hopes. It is rather hard work: there is now no smooth road into the future: but we go round, or scramble over the obstacles. We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.»
«For what is a man, what is a woman, what is a human being, but a creature that goes from one to the next and says: 'I am here, I am here, I am here'?»
Writing Style
Lawrence's writing style is characterized by its intense lyricism, psychological depth, and passionate exploration of human relationships and sexuality. He often employed vivid, sensory descriptions of nature and the human body, blending realism with a symbolic, almost mystical quality. His prose is rich with emotional intensity, using stream-of-consciousness techniques and internal monologues to delve into characters' subconscious desires and conflicts. He frequently abandoned traditional narrative structures to focus on the emotional and spiritual states of his characters, often using repetitive phrasing for emphasis and rhythm.