Coventry Patmore (1823 - 1896)

Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (23 July 1823 – 26 November 1896) was an English poet and critic best known for The Angel in the House, his narrative poem about an ideal happy marriage. In 1853 he republished Tamerton Church Tower, the more successful of his pieces from Poems of 1844, adding several new poems which showed distinct advance, both in conception and treatment; and in the following year (1854) the first part of his best known poem, The Angel in the House appeared. The Angel in the House is a long narrative and lyric poem, with four sections composed over a period of years: The Betrothed and The Espousals (1856) which eulogize his first wife; followed by Faithful For Ever (1860); and The Victories of Love (1862). The four works were published together in 1863 and have come to symbolise the Victorian feminine ideal – which was not necessarily the ideal amongst feminists of the period. In X-Men: Season 1 Episode 1 Patmore's poem "Farewell", from the collection "The Unknown Eros", is paraphrased by the character Beast, "The faint heart averted many feet and many a tear, in our opposed path to persevere." The character also follows the quote with, "A minor poet for a minor obstacle."