English poet and novelist, born in London, 9 July 1775. He was educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford. During the school vacations he visited France and Germany to acquire language skills, and in Germany he met with Goethe and Wieland. He absorbed knowledge as to German “horror-romanticism” and adopted it in English Literature earnestly. In 1796 he published his first Gothic novel, The Monk, influenced by German literature. This novel of incest and murder made him famous, and he was called “Monk” Lewis.

In 1801 he published two sets of poems, Tales of Wonder and Tales of Terror. They include some translations of German works such as Goethe’s “Fisher,” some ballads translated from runes, English traditional ballads, and some poems by Scott, Southey, Leyden, and other poets. These works spread the boom of Gothic horror, and influenced Romantic poets such as Coleridge, Byron and Shelley.

Lewis’s Gothic ballad “Alonzo the Brave and Fair Imogine”, inserted in his novel The Monk and also in Tales of Wonder, adopted a familiar technique of incorporeal revenant in the traditional ballad, but the badly decayed body of his ghost is different from the traditional ghost, and shows his originality in his grotesque description. (M. I.)

1. Alonzo the Brave and Fair Imogine

2. Bill Jones, a Tale of Wonder

3. The Bleeding Nun

4. Bothwell’s Bonny Jane

5. The Cloud-King

6. Couteous King Jamie

7. Crazy Jane

8. Durandarte and Belerma

9. Elver’s Hoh

10. The Erl King’s Daughter

11. The Fire King
    

12. The Fisherman

13. The Gay Gold Ring

14. Giles Jollup the Grave, and Brown Sally Green

15. The Gipsy’s Song

16. The Grim White Woman

17. King Hacho’s Death Song

18. Osric the Lion

19. The Princess and the Slave

20. The Sailor’s Tale

21. Sir Agilthorn

22. Sir Guy, the Seeker

23. Sir Hengist

24. The Soldier’s Grave

25. The Sword of Angantyr

26. The Water-King