G. Wilson Knight
English literary critic and academic (1897–1985)
George Richard Wilson Knight (1897–1985) was an English literary critic and academic, known particularly for his interpretation of mythic content in literature, and The Wheel of Fire, a collection of essays on Shakespeare's plays. He was also an actor and theatrical director, and considered an outstanding lecturer.
Early life and education
Knight was educated at Dean Close School, Dulwich College and, after serving as a dispatch rider in World War I in Iraq, India and Persia, he went up to St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he read English. He graduated with second-class honours. After Oxford, he went into teaching. From 1923 to 1931 he taught at Hawtreys, Westgate-on-Sea and at Dean Close School, Cheltenham.
The classical scholar William Francis Jackson Knight (1895–1964), of whom he wrote a biography, was his brother.
Academic career
Knight's first academic post was at Trinity College, Toronto in 1931. He taught at Stowe School from 1941 to 1946. In 1946 he became a Reader in English Literature at the University of Leeds.
The public source identifies “G. Wilson Knight” as english literary critic and academic (1897–1985). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wilson, Knight and English.
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Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5512569. VIAF identifies the subject as 46779689. The Library of Congress control number is n79091196. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1897, 1985, 1923 and 1931.
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This entry incorporates text from “G. Wilson Knight” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.