The biography traces the poet's early life from birth through childhood and schooling, detailing his parents' noble but modest origins, family circumstances, and the household atmosphere that shaped him. It describes his father's practical, patriotic character and agrarian career, his mother's domestic piety, care and folk‑medicine skills, siblings and tutors, the family's moves and economic efforts, early reading and schooling at local institutions, and the growth of literary interests and early versifying up to his adolescent years.