In 1871, aged 15, Deakin passed the matriculation exam for the University of Melbourne. He formed an ambition to become a barrister, and began attending evening classes the following year. He could not afford to study full-time, working during the day as a schoolteacher and private tutor. At the time, the Victorian Bar did not require a complete university degree for admission, only passing grades in relevant legal subjects. Deakin was consequently admitted to the bar in September 1877, aged 21, without ever graduating from university. According to his biographer John La Nauze, his legal studies were "the least important part of his education" during his time at university. He was a frequent speaker in the Melbourne University Debating Society, where he was mentored by Charles Henry Pearson, and was also involved in the Eclectic Society. He spent much of his spare time reading, "from Chaucer to the great writers of his own time". For some time Deakin was "more interested in dreams of being a dramatist, a poet or a philosopher" rather than a lawyer. He wrote numerous works of blank verse and narrative poetry, and in 1875 published "Quentin Massys", a drama in five acts.