Clough, Arthur Hugh (1819–1861)

English poet. Much of his work is marked by a melancholy scepticism that reflects his struggle with his religious doubt. The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich (1848) is a witty and entertaining poem in which he presented advanced views on contemporary issues.

In 1849 he wrote ‘Amours de voyage’, a poem in the form of letters; ‘Dipsychus’, a satire, followed in 1850. His lyric ‘Say not the struggle nought availeth’ was published posthumously in Poems (1862).

Clough was born in Liverpool and studied at Oxford. At this time Oxford was in the throes of fierce theological controversy, and Clough fell for a time under the influence of John Newman's High Church principles; this was followed by a period of scepticism, and in 1848 he felt it necessary to resign his post (lecturers at that time had to be ordained). He was principal of University Hall, London, 1849–52, and in 1856 was appointed secretary to a commission for examining scientific military schools in Europe.

Clough's conceits look back to the metaphysical poets, while his honesty, experimentation with style, and his use of modern imagery (such as railways and telegraphy) are precursors of the work of T S Eliot.