British Literature Survey
Reference Pages: Physical Disability Group

John Keble and the Tractarian Movement
by Rachael Debnam

John Keble was not only a popular poet during the Victorian era, but a founder and supporter, along with John Henry Newman, Edward Pusey, and others, of the Tractarian Movement, also called the Oxford Movement. His sermon “National Apostasy,” or the Assize sermon, was the original catalyst behind the movement.

Keble’s first major work of poetry, The Christian Year, was first published anonymously, but with growing popularity, the author became known. There were 158 editions published and over 375,000 copies sold in Britain by 1873 (John Keble 1). Due to his success he was made a professor of poetry at Oxford. Keble’s hope in publishing The Christian Year was to inspire Christians to see God in their everyday lives, not as a spirit present only in the church.

His book of poetry reflects the religious ideals behind the Tractarian Movement, so named for the series of publications, Tracts for the Times, written between 1833 and 1841 (Keble, John 1). The Tractarian Movement started as a result of what Keble and others saw as a decay of the importance of church, not just within society, but also within the Anglican Church itself. The Movement stressed the Church as the body of Christ and the underlying catholic nature of the Church. Keble and his peers advocated a separation of Church and State in order to create a religion entirely focused on God, without interference of the government.

Works Cited

Blair, Kirstie. John Keble In Context. London: Anthem Press, 2004.

Griffin, John R. John Keble: Saint of Anglicanism. United States: Mercer University Press, 1987.

Henery, Charles R. A Speaking Life: The Legacy of John Keble. Leominster: Cromwell Press, 1995.
John Keble. January 16, 2006. Wikipedia. January 30, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki /John_Keble.

Keble, John. 2000. The Anglican Library. February 1, 2006. http://www.anglicanlibrary.org /keble/index.htm.

Martin, Brian W. John Keble: Priest, Professor and Poet. London: Croom Helm Ltd., 1976.
Schlossber, Herbert. April 4, 2004. Ethics and Public Policy Center, National University of Singapore. January 30, 2005. http://www.victorianweb.org/religion/herb7.html.

Paul Marchbanks
marchban@email.unc.edu