Great-grandson of the Welsh poet Lewis Morris, Sir Lewis Morris was esteemed by middle-class Victorian readers as one of the outstanding poets of his age. At the time of his death, he was considered the chief literary figure of Wales; his most famous book, The Epic of Hades, went through forty-five editions in his lifetime. But public acceptance is not always an indication of literary quality, for the buying public desired sentimentality, optimism, and simplistic versification, characteristics which permeated Morris's verse. Although he was strongly influenced by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, his technically perfect verses were often uninspired, sometimes to the point of mediocrity, and totally lacked Tennysonian spark.

Morris was born in Carmarthen, Wales, January 1833, the son of Lewis Morris, a solicitor, and Sophia Hughes Morris. He attended Queen Elizabeth's grammar school, Carmarthen, and Cowbridge and Sherborne schools. In 1856 he completed his B.A. at Jesus College, Oxford...