Curating and presenting timeless fragments of poetry, celebrating the rich literary and cultural heritage of England and Britain. Ad maiorem Dei gloriam.📚
JRR Tolkien, visionary 20th-century English writer, here focuses on perseverance in the fight to vanquish evil and restore moral rule - a prophecy to bring hope in dark times.
Sir John Betjeman, a prominent English poet of the 20th century, captures the rugged beauty of the Cornish coastline in his evocative poem ‘Cornish Cliffs’.
Edward Thomas, an early 20th-century poet of Welsh descent who lived in England, captures the melancholic ambience of rain in the British countryside in his poem 'It Rains'.
Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) was a formidable Anglo-French writer, orator, and historian. In his poem ‘June’, he captures the freshness of an English summer morning.
Sir Henry Wotton, an English diplomat and writer from the Renaissance era, reflects on the tranquillity of spring in his poem ‘On a Bank as I Sat A-Fishing’.
Dorothy L Sayers was a renowned early 20th-century English crime novelist, theological thinker, and playwright. Her poem ‘The English War’ explores the powerful relief that comes when one resolves to defend England and the valour necessary to make this resolution.
William Wordsworth, a leading Romantic poet, reflects on the solace he finds in his homeland of England in his poem ‘I Travelled among Unknown Men’.
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William Wordsworth, a leading Romantic poet, reflects on the solace he finds in his homeland of England in his poem ‘I Travelled among Unknown Men’.
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#poetry
#WilliamWordsworth
Alfred Lord Tennyson translates the anonymous poem ‘The Battle of Brunanburh’ from Anglo-Saxon, depicting a historic 10th-century battle for English national identity led by King Athelstan.
In ‘Home Thoughts, from the Sea’, Victorian poet Robert Browning expresses a sailor's love of his cherished homeland of England, showing a deep gratitude and praising God for his country.
Rudyard Kipling, the renowned English author and poet, wrote his poem ‘The Anvil’ about the Norman Conquest in 1066, depicting the forging of a unified England from fragmented kingdoms.
In his poem ‘Bredon Hill’, English poet AE Housman (1859-1936) poignantly depicts love and loss against the scenic backdrop of Bredon Hill in Worcestershire.
Within his epic poem ‘Paradise Lost’, John Milton, a 17th-century English poet, imagines Satan finding solace in defiance; here, the Devil himself speaks, advising resilience.
Andrew Boorde, a 16th-century English physician and writer, humorously portrays in verse the eccentricities of Englishmen in his work ‘The Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge’.
William Cowper, an English poet of the 18th century, commemorates the valiant spirit of our British warrior and national heroine, Queen Boudica, in his stirring poem ‘Boadicea’.
Walter Savage Landor, a Victorian poet associated with the Romantic movement, writes about the sweet joy of carefree insect visitors in his poem 'The Dragon-fly'.
William Makepeace Thackeray, 19th century English novelist, reflects on the sentimental value of a simple object in his poem ‘The Cane-Bottom’d Chair’.
In ‘The Buzzards’, Martin Armstrong, an English poet and novelist of the early 20th century, admires the majestic flight and timeless presence of these graceful creatures.
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Thomas Lovell Beddoes, an English poet and playwright of the 19th century who passionately believed in the human soul, wrote the haunting poem 'Dream-Pedlary'.
Thomas Heywood, a prolific English playwright and poet of the Elizabethan era, celebrates dawn in his poem ‘Matin Song’.
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Matthew Arnold was a 19th-century English poet and cultural critic. His poem ‘Dover Beach’ captures a sense of loss and yearning for faith in a changing world.
AE Housman, a classical scholar and English poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, captures the poignant nostalgia for the home, land, and loved ones of youth in his poem ‘The farms of home lie lost in even’.
This anonymous 15th-century poem captures the essence of an English summer morning in the greenwood. The term ‘shawes’ refers to groves of trees, ‘sheyne’ means bright, and the ‘foulys’ are the birds.
Elizabethan playwright and poet Thomas Dekker’s poem ‘Lullaby’ or ‘Cradle Song’ helped to inspire the Beatles’ ‘Golden Slumbers’. ‘Wantons’ here means carefree infants.
In his poem 'The People's Anthem’, Ebenezer Elliott, the 19th-century English poet, calls for unity and solidarity among working people against oppression and exploitation by the wealthy elite.
John Fletcher, a 17th-century English playwright and poet, suggests that just as picked violets cannot be revived by rain, we should not dwell on sorrow, but rally and embrace the unknown future, since joy itself can be fleeting.
Samuel Butler, 17th-century English poet and satirist, in his poem ‘Hudibras’, highlights the corrupting power of financial incentives on religious, political, and philosophical beliefs and principles.
Francis Brett Young (1884-1954) was an English novelist and poet. His book ‘The Island’ is an epic presented in verse chronicling the history of England. These lines are from his dedication, to Jessica.
Layamon, a 12th-century English poet and priest, is known for his work ‘Brut’, which recounts a mythical history of Britain. He describes England as the enchanted and beautiful land of Albion.
Sacheverell Sitwell, a notable 20th-century English writer, penned the poem ‘Kingcups’, which celebrates the radiant beauty of marsh marigolds found in a shady wood.
In the 16th century, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, expressed his furious outrage with the lawless capital in his fiery poem 'A Satire on London’, condemning the city and its inhabitants for their corruption and moral decay.
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840-1922) was a distinguished English writer. His collection of romantic poems, 'The Love Sonnets of Proteus’, features settings inspired by his birthplace of Sussex.
Alice Meynell (1847-1922) was a writer known for her lyrical poetry and prose. Her poem ‘The Rainy Summer’ reflects on the melancholy and serene beauty of a summer marred by relentless rain.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a prominent Victorian poet. In these lines from her poem ‘Aurora Leigh’, she captures a moment of deep joy as life's essential goodness is affirmed through a spiritual connection with English nature.
William Dunbar, a celebrated Scottish poet of the late Middle Ages, pays homage to the bustling metropolis of London, eloquently capturing its vibrant energy and cultural significance.
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Lord Byron, a renowned figure in English Romantic poetry, reflects on mortality and the passage of time in his poem ‘Lines Written Beneath an Elm in the Churchyard of Harrow’.
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