If one were to briefly examine the life of Stephen Spender, one would think that he was a strange, perhaps even troubled, man. However, if you look deeply into his life, you will see beyond the strangeness. Stephen was indeed a unique man who lived a complicated life that created his uniqueness, as demonstrated in his poetry. While most people tend to avoid unintentional controversy, Stephen Spender wrote many poems that most of us would consider controversial. His goal, however, was not to spark controversy but to defend the rights of all and the right of each person to express ourselves freely. Spender was born on February 28, 1909 in London, England. Her parents' names were Edward Harold Spender and Violet Hilda Schuster. Stephen Spender's mother came from a wealthy Jewish family. Spender's father was a supporter of the liberal cause and strongly believed in idealism. His father provided the family with a comfortable lifestyle and did not believe in wasting money. Stephen Spender spent most of his childhood in Hampstead and Norfolk. Stephen had a sister and two brothers. (Encyclopedia Britannica) Stephen Spender's mother died when he was twelve years old. His father died when Stephen was seventeen. Hilda Schuster, Stephens' grandmother, raised him. She influenced him to set high goals and understand why he wanted to become a poet. Stephen Spender attended Oxford University. He spent a lot of time there with other poets. WH Auden was a very near and dear friend of Stephen's. Spender was married twice. He married Natasha Litvin in 1936 and his second wife in 1941. Stephen had two children. The boy's name was Mathew and the girl's name was Lizzie. Stephen died on July 16, 1995 of heart failure....... middle of paper...... photos we would avoid. Stephen Spender should be held in high esteem for tackling such topics and teaching us the need to question our ideas and reason. Stephen Spender was greatly influenced by his grandmother, who raised the buzz after his mother's death and led him in the right direction towards success in life. Work cited by Sir Stephen Spender. Encyclopedia Britannica. April 7, 2014. www.britannica.comStephen Harold Spender. Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.comApril 7, 2014Spender, Stephen. The World Book: Encyclopedia. Chicago, London, Rome: Field Educational Enterprise, 1971 Spender, Stephen. The Language of Literature, "What I Expected" Arthur N. Applebee et al.Evanston, IL 60204, 2006Spender, Stephen. World in the world. The Autobiography of Stephen Spender, BerkeleyUniversity of California, 1966