James Montgomery may be the most representative poet of the British Romantic period. In form, style, and subject matter his poetry reflects the concerns of the age more completely than does that of any of his contemporaries. By an interesting paradox he is today one of the least-read poets of the time and yet one of the most familiar. His long epic and narrative poems, once very popular, are read today almost solely by scholars interested in his possible influence on his greater contemporaries Byron, Shelley, and Keats. Yet anyone who attends a Christian church encounters Montgomery's poetry regularly, for several dozen of his hymn texts are in common use in both Protestant and Catholic worship.

Whatever his readership, there is no doubt of the admirable qualities of Montgomery's character. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, of Irish parents, John and Mary Blackley Montgomery, who were members of...