The history of English poetry stretches from the middle of the 7th century to the present day. Over this period, English poets have written some of the most enduring poems in European culture, and the language and its poetry have spread around the globe. POETS day is a term used by workers in England and Australia, to jocularly refer to Friday as the last day of the Work week. The culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures Consequently, the term English poetry is unavoidably ambiguous. It can mean poetry written in England, or poetry written in the English language. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

The earliest surviving poetry from the area currently known as England was likely transmitted orally and then written down in versions that do not now survive; thus, dating the earliest poetry remains difficult and often controversial. The earliest surviving manuscripts date from the 10th century. Poetry written in Latin, Brythonic (a predecessor language of Welsh) and Old Irish survives which may date as early as the 6th century. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages or British languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family the other being Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language, or rather the Goidelic languages, for which extensive written texts are possessed The earliest surviving poetry written in Anglo-Saxon, the most direct predecessor of modern English, may have been composed as early as the seventh century.

With the growth of trade and the British Empire, the English language had been widely used outside England. Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both Trade is also called Commerce. In the twenty-first century, only a small percentage of the world's native English speakers live in England, and there is also a vast population of non-native speakers of English who are capable of writing poetry in the language. A number of major national poetries, including the American, Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and Indian poetry have emerged and developed. The poetry of the United States arose first during its beginnings as the constitutionally unified Thirteen colonies (although before this a strong Australian literature began soon after the settlement of the country by Europeans Common themes include indigenous and settler identity alienation exile and relationship New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Canadian poetry is Poetry written in Canada, by Canadians There are three distinct branches of Canadian poetry French-Canadian poetry (mostly written Indian English Literature (IEL refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co-native language could be one Since 1922, Irish poetry has also been increasingly viewed as a separate area of study.

This article focuses on poetry written in English by poets born or spending a significant part of their lives in England. However, given the nature of the subject, this guideline has been applied with common sense, and reference is made to poetry in other languages or poets who are not primarily English where appropriate.

Contents 1 The earliest English poetry 2 The Anglo-Norman period and the Later Middle Ages 3 The Renaissance in England 3.1 Early Renaissance poetry 3.2 The Elizabethans 3.2.1 Elizabethan Song 3.2.2 Courtly poetry 3.2.3 Elizabethan verse drama 3.2.4 Classicism 3.3 Jacobean and Caroline poetry 3.3.1 The Metaphysical poets 3.3.2 The Cavalier poets 4 The Restoration and 18th century 4.1 Satire 4.2 18th century classicism 4.3 Women poets in the 18th century 4.4 The late 18th century 5 The Romantic movement 6 Victorian poetry 6.1 High Victorian poetry 6.2 Pre-Raphaelites, arts and crafts, Aestheticism, and the "Yellow" 1890s 6.3 Comic verse 7 The 20th century 7.1 The first three decades 7.1.1 The Georgian poets and World War I 7.1.2 Modernism 7.2 The Thirties 7.3 The Forties 7.4 The Fifties 7.5 The 1960s and 1970s 8 English poetry now 9 Notes 10 References 11 See also 12 External links

The earliest English poetry

Main article: Old English poetry

The earliest known English poem is a hymn on the creation; Bede attributes this to Cædmon (fl. Anglo-Saxon literature (or Old English literature) encompasses Literature written in Anglo-Saxon (Old English during the 600-year Anglo-Saxon Beowulf is an Old English Heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between Bede (ˈbiːd (also Saint Bede, the Venerable Bede, or (from Latin Beda (beda (c Cædmon (ˈkædmɒn is the earliest English poet whose name is known 658–680), who was, according to legend, an illiterate herdsman who produced extemporaneous poetry at a monastery at Whitby. Whitby is a historic town and Civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire on the north-east coast of England. ^[1] This is generally taken as marking the beginning of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Anglo-Saxon literature (or Old English literature) encompasses Literature written in Anglo-Saxon (Old English during the 600-year Anglo-Saxon

Much of the poetry of the period is difficult to date, or even to arrange chronologically; for example, estimates for the date of the great epic Beowulf range from AD 608 right through to AD 1000, and there has never been anything even approaching a consensus. Beowulf is an Old English Heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between ^[2] It is possible to identify certain key moments, however. The Dream of the Rood was written before circa AD 700, when excerpts were carved in runes on the Ruthwell Cross. The Dream of the Rood is one of the earliest Christian Poems in the corpus of Anglo-Saxon literature and an intriguing example of the genre of The Ruthwell Cross is an important Anglo-Saxon Cross, also known as a Preaching cross, dating back to the eighth century when Ruthwell ^[3] Some poems on historical events, such as The Battle of Brunanburh (937) and the Battle of Maldon (991), appear to have been composed shortly after the events in question, and can be dated reasonably precisely in consequence. The Battle of Brunanburh was a West Saxon victory in 937 by the army of Athelstan, King of England, and his brother Edmund, The Battle of Maldon took place on 10 August 991 near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex England, during the reign of

By and large, however, Anglo-Saxon poetry is categorised by the manuscripts in which it survives, rather than its date of composition. The most important manuscripts are the four great poetical codices of the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, known as the Caedmon manuscript, the Vercelli Book, the Exeter Book, and the Beowulf manuscript. MS Junius 11 ( Caedmon or Junius manuscript is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices. The Vercelli Book ( Vercelli, Cathedral Library MS CXVII is one of the oldest of the four Old English Poetic Codices. The Exeter Book, Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501 also known as the Codex Exoniensis, is a tenth century Book or Codex which is an Anthology Cotton Vitellius A xv is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices.

While the poetry that has survived is limited in volume, it is wide in breadth. Beowulf is the only heroic epic to have survived in its entirety, but fragments of others such as Waldere and the Finnsburg Fragment show that it was not unique in its time. Waldere or Waldhere is the conventional title given to two Old English fragments from a lost Epic poem, discovered in 1860 by E The Finnesburg Fragment is a fragment of an Old English poem of the type called a leoð, or " lay. Other genres include much religious verse, from devotional works to biblical paraphrase; elegies such as The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Ruin (often taken to be a description of the ruins of Bath); and numerous proverbs, riddles, and charms. The Wanderer is an Old English poem from the 10th century, preserved in the Exeter Book. The Seafarer is an Old English poem recorded in the Exeter Book, one of the four surviving manuscripts of Old English poetry. The Ruin is an 8th century Old English poem from the Exeter Book by an unknown author Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. A riddle is a Statement or Question having a double or veiled meaning put forth as a Puzzle to be solved

With one notable exception (Rhyming Poem), Anglo-Saxon poetry depends on alliterative verse for its structure and any rhyme included is merely ornamental. The Rhyming Poem is one of the Poems found in the Exeter Book, a tenth century book of Anglo-Saxon poetry In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses Alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry as opposed to In Music, ornaments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to carry the overall line of the melody (or harmony but serve instead to decorate or "ornament"

The Anglo-Norman period and the Later Middle Ages

See also: Anglo-Norman literature

With the Norman conquest of England, beginning in 1111 the Anglo-Saxon language rapidly diminished as a written literary language. Anglo-Norman literature is Literature composed in the Anglo-Norman language developed during the period 1066–1204 when the Duchy of Normandy and The new aristocracy spoke French, and this became the standard language of courts, parliament, and polite society. As the invaders integrated, their language and literature mingled with that of the natives: the French dialect of the upper classes became Anglo-Norman, and Anglo-Saxon underwent a gradual transition into Middle English. The Anglo-Norman language is a term traditionally used to refer to the variety of French used in England and to some extent elsewhere in the British Isles following the Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of

While Anglo-Norman or Latin was preferred for high culture, English literature by no means died out, and a number of important works illustrate the development of the language. Around the turn of the thirteenth century, Layamon wrote his Brut, based on Wace's twelfth century Anglo-Norman epic of the same name; Layamon's language is recognisably Middle English, though his prosody shows a strong Anglo-Saxon influence remaining. Other transitional works were preserved as popular entertainment, including a variety of romances and lyrics. As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative Middle English Lyric is a Genre of English Literature, popular in the 14th Century that is characterized by its brevity and emotional expression With time, the English language regained prestige, and in 1362 it replaced French and Latin in Parliament and courts of law. TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those

It was with the fourteenth century that major works of English literature began once again to appear; these include the so-called Pearl Poet's Pearl, Patience, Cleanness, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Langland's political and religious allegory Piers Plowman; Gower's Confessio Amantis; and, of course, the works of Chaucer, the most highly regarded English poet of the Middle Ages, who was seen by his contemporaries as a successor to the great tradition of Virgil and Dante. The " Pearl Poet " or the " Gawain Poet " is the name given to the author of Pearl, an alliterative poem written in Middle Pearl is a Middle English alliterative Poem written in the late 14th century. Patience is a Middle English alliterative Poem written in the late 14th century. Cleanness is a Middle English alliterative Poem written in the late 14th century. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century William Langland (ca 1332 - ca 1386 is the conjectured Author of the 14th-century English Dream-vision Piers Plowman. Piers Plowman (written ca 1360 &ndash 1399) or Visio Willelmi de Petro Ploughman ( William's Vision of Piers Plowman) is the title John Gower (c 1330 – October 1408 was an English Poet, a contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. Geoffrey Chaucer (c 1343 – 25 October 1400? was an English author poet Philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and Diplomat. Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or

The reputation of Chaucer's successors in the 15th century has suffered in comparison with him, though Lydgate and Skelton are widely studied. John Lydgate of Bury (c 1370 – c 1451 was a Monk and Poet, born in Lidgate Suffolk, England. John Skelton, also known as John Shelton (c 1460 &ndash June 21, 1529) English Poet, was born at Diss in Norfolk However, the century really belongs to a group of remarkable Scottish writers. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The rise of Scottish poetry began with the writing of The Kingis Quair by James I of Scotland. James I ( December 10, 1394 &ndash February 21, 1437) was nominal King of Scots from April 4, 1406, and The main poets of this Scottish group were Robert Henryson, William Dunbar and Gavin Douglas. Robert Henryson was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c This article is about the Scottish poet for other people of this name see William Dunbar (disambiguation. Gavin Douglas (c 1474 &ndash September 1522 was a Scottish Bishop, Makar and Translator. Henryson and Douglas introduced a note of almost savage satire, which may have owed something to the Gaelic bards, while Douglas' version of Virgil's Aeneid is one of the early monuments of Renaissance literary humanism in English. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Etymology The word is a Loanword from descendant languages of Proto-Celtic *bardos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gwerh2

The Renaissance in England

The Renaissance was slow in coming to England, with the generally accepted start date being around 1509. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere It is also generally accepted that the English Renaissance extended until the Restoration in 1660. However, a number of factors had prepared the way for the introduction of the new learning long before this start date. A number of medieval poets had, as already noted, shown an interest in the ideas of Aristotle and the writings of European Renaissance precursors such as Dante.

The introduction of movable-block printing by Caxton in 1474 provided the means for the more rapid dissemination of new or recently rediscovered writers and thinkers. Caxton also printed the works of Chaucer and Gower and these books helped establish the idea of a native poetic tradition that was linked to its European counterparts. In addition, the writings of English humanists like Thomas More and Thomas Elyot helped bring the ideas and attitudes associated with the new learning to an English audience. Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535 from 1935 Saint Thomas More, was an English Lawyer, author and statesman who in his lifetime gained Sir Thomas Elyot (c 1490 &ndash March 26, 1546) was an English Diplomat and scholar

Three other factors in the establishment of the English Renaissance were the Reformation, Counter Reformation, and the opening of the era of English naval power and overseas exploration and expansion. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time The establishment of the Church of England in 1535 accelerated the process of questioning the Catholic world-view that had previously dominated intellectual and artistic life. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican At the same time, long-distance sea voyages helped provide the stimulus and information that underpinned a new understanding of the nature of the universe which resulted in the theories of Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler. Johannes Kepler (ˈkɛplɚ ( December 27 1571 &ndash November 15 1630) was a German Mathematician, Astronomer

Early Renaissance poetry

With a small number of exceptions, the early years of the 16th century are not particularly notable. The Douglas Aeneid was completed in 1513 and John Skelton wrote poems that were transitional between the late Medieval and Renaissance styles. John Skelton, also known as John Shelton (c 1460 &ndash June 21, 1529) English Poet, was born at Diss in Norfolk The new king, Henry VIII, was something of a poet himself. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of The most significant English poet of this period was Thomas Wyatt, who was among the first poets to write sonnets in English. Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503 &ndash October 11, 1542) was a 16th century English lyrical Poet. The sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in Lyric poetry from Europe.

The Elizabethans

The Elizabethan period (1558 to 1603) in poetry is characterized by a number of frequently overlapping developments. Romance and reality The Victorian era and the early twentieth century idealised the Elizabethan era The introduction and adaptation of themes, models and verse forms from other European traditions and classical literature, the Elizabethan song tradition, the emergence of a courtly poetry often centred around the figure of the monarch and the growth of a verse-based drama are among the most important of these developments.

Elizabethan Song

A wide range of Elizabethan poets wrote songs, including Nicholas Grimald, Thomas Nashe and Robert Southwell. Nicholas Grimald (or Grimoald) (1519-1562 English Poet, was born in Huntingdonshire, the son probably of Giovanni Baptista Grimaldi who had For the diplomat see Robert Southwell (diplomat Saint Robert Southwell (c There are also a large number of extant anonymous songs from the period. Perhaps the greatest of all the songwriters was Thomas Campion. Thomas Campion, (sometimes Campian) (12 February 1567 &ndash 1 March 1620 was an English Composer, poet and Physician. Campion is also notable because of his experiments with metres based on counting syllables rather than stresses. In Poetry, the meter or metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. These quantitative metres were based on classical models and should be viewed as part of the wider Renaissance revival of Greek and Roman artistic methods.

The songs were generally printed either in miscellanies or anthologies such as Richard Tottel's 1557 Songs and Sonnets or in songbooks that included printed music to enable performance. Richard Tottel (d1594 was an English Publisher. His shop was located at Temple Bar on Fleet Street in London, and his original These performances formed an integral part of both public and private entertainment. By the end of the 16th century, a new generation of composers, including John Dowland, William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Weelkes and Thomas Morley were helping to bring the art of Elizabethan song to an extremely high musical level. John Dowland (1563 &ndash buried February 20, 1626) was an English Composer, singer and Lutenist He is best known today for his William Byrd (c 1540 &ndash 4 July 1623 was an English Composer of the Renaissance. Orlando Gibbons ( baptised 25 December 1583 &ndash 5 June 1625) was an English Composer and Organist Thomas Weelkes (baptised 25 October 1576 &ndash buried 1 December 1623 was an English Composer and organist. Thomas Morley (1557 or 1558 &ndash October 1602 was an English Composer, theorist, editor and organist of the Renaissance, and the

Courtly poetry

With the consolidation of Elizabeth's power, a genuine court sympathetic to poetry and the arts in general emerged. This encouraged the emergence of a poetry aimed at, and often set in, an idealised version of the courtly world.

Among the best known examples of this are Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, which is effectively an extended hymn of praise to the queen, and Philip Sidney's Arcadia. Edmund Spenser (c 1552 &ndash 13 January, 1599) was an important English Poet and Poet Laureate best known for The The Faerie Queene is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser, published first in three books in 1590 and later in six books in 1596 Sir Philip Sidney ( November 30, 1554 &ndash October 17, 1586) became one of the Elizabethan Age's most prominent figures The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia, also known simply as The Arcadia is by far Sir Philip Sidney 's most ambitious work This courtly trend can also be seen in Spenser's Shepheardes Calender. This poem marks the introduction into an English context of the classical pastoral, a mode of poetry that assumes an aristocratic audience with a certain kind of attitude to the land and peasants. Pastoral, as an adjective refers to the lifestyle of Shepherds and Pastoralists moving livestock around larger areas of land according to seasons and availability The explorations of love found in the sonnets of William Shakespeare and the poetry of Walter Raleigh and others also implies a courtly audience. The sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in Lyric poetry from Europe. William Shakespeare ( baptised Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh (c 1552 – 29 October 1618 was a famed English writer Poet, Soldier, Courtier and Explorer

Elizabethan verse drama

Elizabethan verse drama is widely considered to be one of the major achievements of literature in English, and its most famous exponent, William Shakespeare, is revered as the greatest poet in the language. William Shakespeare ( baptised This drama, which served both as courtly masque and popular entertainment, deals with all the major themes of contemporary literature and life.

There are plays on European, classical, and religious themes reflecting the importance of humanism and the Reformation. Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos There are also a number of plays dealing with English history that may be read as part of an effort to strengthen the British national myth and as artistic underpinnings for Elizabeth's resistance to the Spanish and other foreign threats. The history of England is similar to the history of Britain until the arrival of the Saxons See also National mysticism A national myth is an inspiring narrative or Anecdote about a nation's past Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. A number of the comic works for the stage also use bucolic themes connected with the pastoral genre. Pastoral, as an adjective refers to the lifestyle of Shepherds and Pastoralists moving livestock around larger areas of land according to seasons and availability

In addition to Shakespeare, other notable dramatists of the period include Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton, Thomas Dekker and Ben Jonson. Thomas Middleton (1580 &ndash 1627 was an English Jacobean playwright and Poet. Thomas Dekker is the name of Thomas Dekker (writer (1572&ndash1632 Elizabethan poet and dramatist Thomas Dekker (actor (born 1987 Benjamin Jonson ( c 11 June 1572 &ndash 6 August 1637) was an English Renaissance Dramatist

Classicism

Gavin Douglas' Aeneid, Thomas Campion's metrical experiments, and Spenser's Shepheardes Calender and plays like Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra are all examples of the influence of classicism on Elizabethan poetry. Antony and Cleopatra is a Tragedy by William Shakespeare. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623 It remained common for poets of the period to write on themes from classical mythology; Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis and the Christopher Marlowe/George Chapman Hero and Leander are examples of this kind of work. George Chapman (c 1559 &ndash May 12 1634) was an English Dramatist, Translator, and Poet.

Translations of classical poetry also became more widespread, with the versions of Ovid's Metamorphoses by Arthur Golding (1565–7) and George Sandys (1626), and Chapman's translations of Homer's Iliad (1611) and Odyssey (c. Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including Arthur Golding (c 1536 &ndash c 1605 was an English Translator. George Sandys ( March 2, 1578 &ndash March 1644 English traveller colonist and Poet, the seventh and youngest son of Edwin Sandys Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the 1615), among the outstanding examples.

Jacobean and Caroline poetry

English Renaissance poetry after the Elizabethan poetry can be seen as belonging to one of three strains; the Metaphysical poets, the Cavalier poets and the school of Spenser. The metaphysical poets were a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them Cavalier poets is a broad description of a school of English Poets of the 17th century who came from the classes that supported King Charles I during the English However, the boundaries between these three groups are not always clear and an individual poet could write in more than one manner.

The Metaphysical poets

The early 17th century saw the emergence of this group of poets who wrote in a witty, complicated style. The most famous of the Metaphysicals is probably John Donne. The metaphysical poets were a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them John Donne (pronounced like done, dʌn 1572 – 31 March 1631 was a Jacobean poet preacher and a major representative of the Metaphysical poets Others include George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Andrew Marvell and Richard Crashaw. George Herbert ( April 3, 1593 &ndash March 1, 1633) was a Welsh Poet, Orator and a Priest. Henry Vaughan ( April 17, 1622 − April 28, 1695) was a Welsh Metaphysical poet and a Doctor Andrew Marvell ( 31 March 1621 &ndash 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, and the son of a Church of Richard Crashaw (c 1613 - 25 August 1649) English Poet, styled "the divine" was part of the Seventeenth-century John Milton in his Comus falls into this group. John Milton ( 9 December, 1608 – 8 November, 1674) was an English Poet, Prose Polemicist and The Metaphysical poets went out of favour in the 18th century but began to be read again in the Victorian era. Donne's reputation was finally fully restored by the approbation of T. S. Eliot in the early 20th century. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic.

The Cavalier poets

The Cavalier poets wrote in a lighter, more elegant and artificial style than the Metaphysical poets. Cavalier poets is a broad description of a school of English Poets of the 17th century who came from the classes that supported King Charles I during the English Leading members of the group include Ben Jonson, Richard Lovelace, Robert Herrick, Edmund Waller, Thomas Carew and John Denham. Benjamin Jonson ( c 11 June 1572 &ndash 6 August 1637) was an English Renaissance Dramatist Richard Lovelace (1618–1657 was an English poet in the seventeenth century Robert Herrick (baptized August 24 1591 &ndashburied 15 October 1674) was a 17th century English Poet. Early life Edmund Waller was the eldest son of Robert Waller of Coleshill, Herts, and Anne Hampden his wife thus he was first cousin to John Hampden Thomas Carew (pronounced like "Carey" (1595 – March 22, 1640) was an English Poet. Sir John Denham ( 1615 - 10 March 1669) Poet, son of the Chief Baron of Exchequer in Ireland, was born in Dublin, and educated The Cavalier poets can be seen as the forerunners of the major poets of the Augustan era, who admired them greatly. Augustan poetry is the poetry that flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus as Emperor of Rome, most notably including the works of Virgil, Horace

The Restoration and 18th century

It is perhaps ironic that Paradise Lost, a story of fallen pride, was the first major poem to appear in England after the Restoration. The court of Charles II had, in its years in France, learned a worldliness and sophistication that marked it as distinctively different from the monarchies that preceded the Republic. Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Even if Charles had wanted to reassert the divine right of kingship, the Protestantism and taste for power of the intervening years would have rendered it impossible.

Satire

It is hardly surprising that the world of fashion and scepticism that emerged encouraged the art of satire. In ordinary usage skepticism or scepticism ( Greek 'σκέπτομαι' skeptomai, to look about to consider see also spelling differences Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human All the major poets of the period, Samuel Butler, John Dryden, Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson, and the Irish poet Jonathan Swift, wrote satirical verse. Samuel Butler ( 8 February, 1612 &ndash 25 September, 1680) was a poet and satirist John Dryden (– was an influential English poet Literary critic, Translator and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744 is generally regarded as the greatest English Poet of the eighteenth century best known for his Satirical Samuel Johnson (often referred to as Dr Johnson) (18 September Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 What is perhaps more surprising is that their satire was often written in defence of public order and the established church and government. However, writers such as Pope used their gift for satire to create scathing works responding to their detractors or to criticise what they saw as social atrocities perpetrated by the government. Pope's "The Dunciad" is a satirical slaying of two of his literary adversaries (Lewis Theobald, and Colley Cibber in a later version), expressing the view that British society was falling apart morally, culturally, and intellectually.

18th century classicism

The 18th century is sometimes called the Augustan age, and contemporary admiration for the classical world extended to the poetry of the time. Augustan poetry is the poetry that flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus as Emperor of Rome, most notably including the works of Virgil, Horace Not only did the poets aim for a polished high style in emulation of the Roman ideal, they also translated and imitated Greek and Latin verse. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Dryden translated all the known works of Virgil, and Pope produced versions of the two Homeric epics. Horace and Juvenal were also widely translated and imitated, Horace most famously by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester and Juvenal by Samuel Johnson's Vanity of Human Wishes. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, ( Venosa, December 8, 65 BC - Rome, November 27, 8 BC known in the English-speaking world as Horace The For other people of this name see John Rochester. John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester ( April 1, 1647 &ndash July 26 479

Women poets in the 18th century

A number of women poets of note emerged during the period of the Restoration, including Aphra Behn, Margaret Cavendish, Mary Chudleigh, Anne Finch, Anne Killigrew, and Katherine Philips. See Margaret Cavendish (1661-1717 for the later Duchess of Newcastle of this name Lady Mary Chudleigh (August 1656 Devon &ndash 1710 was part of an intellectual circle that included Mary Astell, Elizabeth Thomas, Judith Drake Anne Finch (née Kingsmill) Countess of Winchilsea (April 1661 in Sydmonton, Hampshire &ndash 5 August 1720 in Anne Killigrew (1660—1685 was an English Poet. Born in London, Killigrew is perhaps best known as the subject of a famous elegy by the poet Katherine Philips ( 1 January 1631 – 22 June 1664) was an Anglo-Welsh Poet. Nevertheless, print publication by women poets was still relatively scarce when compared to that of men, though manuscript evidence indicates that many more women poets were practicing than was previously thought. Disapproval of feminine "forwardness," however, kept many out of print in the early part of the period, and even as the century progressed women authors still felt the need to justify their incursions into the public sphere by claiming economic necessity or the pressure of friends. Women writers were increasingly active in all genres throughout the eighteenth century, and by the 1790s women's poetry was flourishing. Notable poets later in the period include Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Joanna Baillie, Susanna Blamire, Felicia Hemans, Mary Leapor, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Hannah More, and Mary Robinson. Anna Laetitia Barbauld (bɑrˈbɔld by herself possibly, as in French ( Née Aikin (20 June 1743 – 9 March 1825 was a prominent eighteenth-century English Joanna Baillie ( September 11, 1762 &ndash February 23, 1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist Susanna Blamire (1747 - 1794 Poetess, was of good Cumberland family and received the sobriquet of The Muse of Cumberland Felicia Hemans ( September 25, 1793 - May 16 1835) was an English poet Mary Leapor The Lady Mary Wortley Montagu ( 26 May 1689 &ndash 21 August 1762) was an English aristocrat and writer Hannah More ( February 2, 1745 – September 7, 1833) was an English religious writer and philanthropist Mary Robinson, née Darby ( 27 November 1757 - 26 December 1800) the English Poet and novelist was also known In the past decades there has been substantial scholarly and critical work done on women poets of the long eighteenth century: first, to reclaim them and make them available in contemporary editions in print or online, and second, to assess them and position them within a literary tradition.

The late 18th century

Towards the end of the 18th century, poetry began to move away from the strict Augustan ideals and a new emphasis on sentiment and the feelings of the poet. This trend can perhaps be most clearly seen in the handling of nature, with a move away from poems about formal gardens and landscapes by urban poets and towards poems about nature as lived in. The leading exponents of this new trend include Thomas Gray, George Crabbe, Christopher Smart and Robert Burns as well as the Irish poet Oliver Goldsmith. Thomas Gray ( December 26, 1716 – July 30, 1771) was an English Poet, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge George Crabbe ( 24 December 1754 - 3 February 1832) was an English Poet and naturalist. Christopher Smart (11 April 1722 &ndash 21 May 1771 otherwise known as "Kit Smart" "Kitty Smart" and "Jack Smart" was an English poet Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796 (also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1730 or 1728 &ndash 4 April 1774 was an Anglo-Irish writer poet and Physician known for his Novel The Vicar These poets can be seen as paving the way for the Romantic movement. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the

The Romantic movement

The last quarter of the 18th century was a time of social and political turbulence, with revolutions in the United States, France, Ireland and elsewhere. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world In Great Britain, movement for social change and a more inclusive sharing of power was also growing. The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a State in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1800 This was the backdrop against which the Romantic movement in English poetry emerged.

The main poets of this movement were William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Keats. William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827 was an English poet, painter, and Printmaker. Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( 21 October 1772 &ndash 25 July 1834) was an English Poet, Critic and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4 1792 – July 8 1822 ˈpɝːsɪ ˈbɪʃ ˈʃɛlɪ was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among The birth of English Romanticism is often dated to the publication in 1798 of Wordsworth and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads. However, Blake had been publishing since the early 1780s. However, much of the focus on Blake only came about during the last century when Northrop Frye discussed his work in his book "The Anatomy of Criticism. "

In poetry, the Romantic movement emphasised the creative expression of the individual and the need to find and formulate new forms of expression. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the The Romantics, with the partial exception of Byron, rejected the poetic ideals of the eighteenth century, and each of them returned to Milton for inspiration, though each drew something different from Milton. They also put a good deal of stress on their own originality. To the Romantics, the moment of creation was the most important in poetic expression and could not be repeated once it passed. Because of this new emphasis, poems that were not complete were nonetheless included in a poet's body of work (such as Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" and "Christabel").

Additionally, the Romantic movement marked a shift in the use of language. Attempting to express the "language of the common man", Wordsworth and his fellow Romantic poets focused on employing poetic language for a wider audience, countering the mimetic, tightly constrained Neo-Classic poems (although it's important to note that the poet wrote first and foremost for his own creative, expression). In Shelley's "Defense of Poetry", he contends that poets are the "creators of language" and that the poet's job is to refresh language for their society.

The Romantics were not the only poets of note at this time. In the work of John Clare the late Augustan voice is blended with a peasant's first-hand knowledge to produce arguably some of the finest nature poetry in the English language. John Clare ( 13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English Poet, in his time commonly known as "the Northamptonshire Another contemporary poet who does not fit into the Romantic group was Walter Savage Landor. Walter Savage Landor ( 30 January 1775 – 17 September 1864) was an English Writer and Poet. Landor was a classicist whose poetry forms a link between the Augustans and Robert Browning, who much admired it. Robert Browning (7 May 1812 - 12 December 1889 was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of Dramatic verse, especially Dramatic monologues made him one of

Victorian poetry

The Victorian era was a period of great political, social and economic change. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities The Empire recovered from the loss of the American colonies and entered a period of rapid expansion. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492 although there was at least one earlier colonization effort This expansion, combined with increasing industrialisation and mechanisation, led to a prolonged period of economic growth. The Reform Act 1832 was the beginning of a process that would eventually lead to universal suffrage. The Representation of the People Act 1832, commonly known as the Reform Act 1832, was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system Universal suffrage (also universal adult suffrage, general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to

High Victorian poetry

The major High Victorian poets were Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Matthew Arnold and Gerard Manley Hopkins. Alfred Tennyson 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892 was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular English poets Robert Browning (7 May 1812 - 12 December 1889 was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of Dramatic verse, especially Dramatic monologues made him one of Elizabeth Barrett Browning ( March 6, 1806 &ndash June 29, 1861) was one of the most respected Poets of the Victorian era Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 &ndash 15 April 1888 was an English Poet, and Cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools Gerard Manley Hopkins ( 28 July 1844 – 8 June, 1889) was an English Poet, Roman Catholic convert and Tennyson was, to some degree, the Spenser of the new age and his Idylls of the Kings can be read as a Victorian version of The Faerie Queen, that is as a poem that sets out to provide a mythic foundation to the idea of empire.

The Brownings spent much of their time out of England and explored European models and matter in much of their poetry. Robert Browning's great innovation was the dramatic monologue, which he used to its full extent in his long novel in verse, The Ring and the Book. Verse drama is any Drama written as verse to be spoken another possible general term is poetic drama. Elizabeth Barrett Browning is perhaps best remembered for Sonnets from the Portuguese but her long poem Aurora Leigh is one of the classics of 19th century feminist literature. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate

Matthew Arnold was much influenced by Wordsworth, though his poem Dover Beach is often considered a precursor of the modernist revolution. Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1930 in the tradition of Modernist literature; the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors including the Hopkins wrote in relative obscurity and his work was not published until after his death. His unusual style (involving what he called "sprung rhythm" and heavy reliance on rhyme and alliteration) had a considerable influence on many of the poets of the 1940s.

Pre-Raphaelites, arts and crafts, Aestheticism, and the "Yellow" 1890s

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a mid-19th century arts movement dedicated to the reform of what they considered the sloppy Mannerist painting of the day. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (also known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters Poets, and critics founded in 1848 by Mannerism is a period of European art which emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. Although primarily concerned with the visual arts, two members, the brother and sister Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Rossetti, were also poets of some ability. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882 was an English poet Illustrator, painter and Translator. Christina Georgina Rossetti ( December 5, 1830 &ndash December 29, 1894) was an English Poet, who wrote a variety of romantic devotional Their poetry shares many of the concerns of the painters; an interest in Medieval models, an almost obsessive attention to visual detail and an occasional tendency to lapse into whimsy.

Dante Rossetti worked with, and had some influence on, the leading Arts and crafts painter and poet William Morris. Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's own hands and skill William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated Morris shared the Pre-Raphaelite interest in the poetry of the European Middle Ages, to the point of producing some illuminated manuscript volumes of his work.

Towards the end of the century, English poets began to take an interest in French symbolism and Victorian poetry entered a decadent fin-de-siecle phase. "Symbolic" redirects here For other uses see Symbolism (disambiguation and Symbolic (disambiguation. Two groups of poets emerged, the Yellow Book poets who adhered to the tenets of Aestheticism, including Algernon Charles Swinburne, Oscar Wilde and Arthur Symons and the Rhymer's Club group that included Ernest Dowson, Lionel Johnson and William Butler Yeats. The Yellow Book, published in London from 1894 to 1897 by Elkin Mathews and John Lane, later by John Lane alone and This article is about aestheticism a term with a root meaning of sensuous Not to be confused with the religious practice of Asceticism: an abstinence from the sensual Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909 was a Victorian era English poet Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900 was an Irish Playwright, Novelist, poet and Author of Arthur William Symons ( 28 February 1865 &ndash 22 January 1945) was a British Poet, Critic and Magazine editor The Rhymers' Club was a group of London -based poets founded in 1890 by W Ernest Christopher Dowson ( 2 August 1867 &ndash 23 February 1900) born in Lee London, was an English Poet Lionel Pigot Johnson ( 15 March 1867 - 4 October 1902) was an English poet essayist and critic

Comic verse

Comic verse abounded in the Victorian era. Magazines such as Punch magazine and Fun magazine teemed with humorous invention^[4] and were aimed at a well-educated readership. Punch was a British weekly Magazine of Humour and Satire published from 1841 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2002 Fun was a Victorian weekly Magazine, first published on September 21 1861. ^[5] The most famous collection of Victorian comic verse is the Bab Ballads. The Bab Ballads are a collection of light verse by W S Gilbert, illustrated with his own comic drawings ^[6]

The 20th century

The first three decades

The Victorian era continued into the early years of the 20th century and two figures emerged as the leading representative of the poetry of the old era to act as a bridge into the new. These were Yeats and Thomas Hardy. Thomas Hardy OM (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928 was an English novelist Short story writer and poet of the naturalist movement though he saw Yeats, although not a modernist, was to learn a lot from the new poetic movements that sprang up around him and adapted his writing to the new circumstances. Hardy was, in terms of technique at least, a more traditional figure and was to be a reference point for various anti-modernist reactions, especially from the 1950s onwards.

The Georgian poets and World War I

The Georgian poets were the first major grouping of the post-Victorian era. The Georgian poets were by the strictest definition those whose works appeared in a series of five anthologies named Georgian Poetry, published by Harold Their work appeared in a series of five anthologies called Georgian Poetry which were published by Harold Monro and edited by Edward Marsh. Harold Edward Monro ( March 14, 1879 - March 16, 1932) was a British Poet, the proprietor of the Poetry Bookshop in Sir Edward Howard Marsh ( November 18, 1872 – January 13, 1953) born to Professor Howard Marsh of Downing College Cambridge was a British The poets featured included Edmund Blunden, Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves, D. H. Lawrence, Walter de la Mare and Siegfried Sassoon. Edmund Charles Blunden, MC ( November 1, 1896 - January 20, 1974) was an English poet author and critic Rupert Chawner Brooke (middle name sometimes given as Chaucer) was an English Poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World Robert Graves (24 July 1895 &ndash 7 December 1985 was an English Poet, Translator and Novelist. David Herbert Richards Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930 was an English writer of the 20th century whose prolific and diverse output included Novels short Walter John de la Mare (surname pronounced /ˈdɛləˌmeə(ɹ/ OM CH ( 25 April 1873 &ndash 22 June 1956) was an Siegfried Loraine Sassoon, CBE MC ( 8 September 1886 &ndash 1 September 1967) was an English poet and Author Their poetry represented something of a reaction to the decadence of the 1890s and tended towards the sentimental.

Brooke and Sassoon were to go on to win reputations as war poets and Lawrence quickly distanced himself from the group and was associated with the modernist movement. Other notable poets who wrote about the war include Isaac Rosenberg, Edward Thomas, Wilfred Owen, May Cannan and, from the home front, Hardy and Rudyard Kipling. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Isaac Rosenberg ( November 25, 1890 - April 1, 1918) was an English poet of the First World War who was considered Edward Thomas may be Edward Thomas (poet (1878-1917 fallen English wartime-volunteer soldier Edward Thomas (soldier (fl Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 &ndash 4 November 1918 was an English Poet and Soldier, regarded by many as one of the leading May Wedderburn Cannan (1893&ndash1973 was a British Poet who was active in World War I. Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936 was an English Author and poet Although many of these poets wrote socially-aware criticism of the war, most remained technically conservative and traditionalist.

Modernism

The early decades of the 20th century saw the United States begin to overtake the United Kingdom as the major economic power. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located In the world of poetry, this period also saw American writers at the forefront of avant-garde practices. Among the foremost of these poets were Gertrude Stein, T. S. Eliot, H.D. and Ezra Pound, each of whom spent an important part of their writing lives in England, France and Italy. Gertrude Stein ( February 3, 1874 &ndash July 27, 1946) was an American Writer who spent most of her life in France Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. HD (September 10 1886 – September 27 1961 born Hilda Doolittle, was an American poet, Novelist and Memoirist She is best known Ezra Weston Loomis Pound ( Hailey, Idaho Territory, United States October 30 1885 – Venice, Italy November 1 1972 was an American Expatriate

Pound's involvement with the Imagists marked the beginning of a revolution in the way poetry was written. Imagism was a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favored precision of Imagery, and clear sharp language English poets involved with this group included D. H. Lawrence, Richard Aldington, T. E. Hulme, F. S. Flint, E. E. Cummings, Ford Madox Ford, Allen Upward and John Cournos. David Herbert Richards Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930 was an English writer of the 20th century whose prolific and diverse output included Novels short Richard Aldington (born Edward Godfree Aldington July 8 1892 &ndash July 27 1962 was an English writer and poet. Thomas Ernest Hulme ( 16 September 1883 &ndash 28 September 1917) was an English writer who during his informal tenure from 1909 as critic Frank Stuart Flint ( December 19, 1885 - February 28, 1960) was an English Poet and Translator who was a prominent Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14 1894 &ndash September 3 1962 popularly known as E Ford Madox Ford ( December 17, 1873 &ndash June 26, 1939) was an English Novelist, Poet, Critic Allen Upward (1863 - 1926 was a Poet, Lawyer, Politician and Teacher. John Cournos (1881 - 1966 was an American writer from a Russian Jewish background his family emigrated when he was aged Eliot, particularly after the publication of The Waste Land, became a major figure and influence on other English poets.

In addition to these poets, other English modernists began to emerge. These included the London-Welsh poet and painter David Jones, whose first book, In Parenthesis, was one of the very few experimental poems to come out of World War I, the Scot Hugh MacDiarmid, Mina Loy and Basil Bunting. David Jones CH ( 1 November 1895 – 28 October 1974) was both an artist and one of the most important first generation British Hugh MacDiarmid is the pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve (Crìsdean Mac a' Ghreidhir (11 August 1892 Langholm - 9 September 1978 Edinburgh Mina Loy ( December 27, 1882 - September 25, 1966) was an Artist, Poet, Playwright, Novelist, Basil Cheesman Bunting ( 3 March 1900 – 17 April 1985) was a British modernist poet

The Thirties

The poets who began to emerge in the 1930s had two things in common; they had all been born too late to have any real experience of the pre-World War I world and they grew up in a period of social, economic and political turmoil. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Perhaps as a consequence of these facts, themes of community, social (in)justice and war seem to dominate the poetry of the decade.

The poetic landscape of the decade was dominated by four poets; W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender, Cecil Day-Lewis and Louis MacNeice, although the last of these belongs at least as much to the history of Irish poetry. Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973 ˈwɪstən ˈhjuː ˈɔːdən who signed his works W Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE, ( 28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English Poet, Novelist Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis) CBE ( 27 April 1904 &ndash 22 May 1972) was an Irish -born Poet Frederick Louis MacNeice ( September 12 These poets were all, in their early days at least, politically active on the Left. Although they admired Eliot, they also represented a move away from the technical innovations of their modernist predecessors. A number of other, less enduring, poets also worked in the same vein. One of these was Michael Roberts, whose New Country anthology both introduced the group to a wider audience and gave them their name. Michael Roberts may refer to Michael Roberts (writer (1902&ndash1948 British poet writer critic and broadcaster Michael Roberts (historian

The 1930s also saw the emergence of a home-grown English surrealist poetry whose main exponents were David Gascoyne, Hugh Sykes Davies, George Barker, and Philip O'Connor. Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members David Gascoyne ( October 10, 1916 - November 25, 2001) was a British poet associated with Hugh Sykes Davies (1909-1984 was an English Poet, Novelist and Communist who was one of a small group of 1930s British Surrealists George Granville Barker ( 26 February 1913 &ndash 27 October 1991) was an English Poet and Author. Philip O'Connor (1916-1998 was a British writer and Surrealist Poet, who also painted These poets turned to French models rather than either the New Country poets or English-language modernism, and their work was to prove of importance to later English experimental poets as it broadened the scope of the English avant-garde tradition.

John Betjeman and Stevie Smith, who were two of the most significant poets of this period, stood outside all schools and groups. Sir John Betjeman, CBE ( 28 August 1906 &ndash 19 May 1984 was an English poet writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who Stevie Smith ( September 20, 1902 – March 7, 1971) was a British Poet and Novelist Life Born Betjeman was a quietly ironic poet of Middle England with a fine command of a wide range of verse techniques. A verse is generally considered to be a single line in a metrical composition e Smith was an entirely unclassifiable one-off voice.

The Forties

The 1940s opened with the United Kingdom at war and a new generation of war poets emerged in response. These included Keith Douglas, Alun Lewis, Henry Reed and F. T. Prince. Keith Castellain Douglas ( January 24, 1920 - June 9, 1944) was an English Poet. Alun Lewis ( July 1, 1915 - March 5, 1944) was a Poet of the Anglo-Welsh school Henry Reed can mean Henry Reed (1914-1986 British poet Henry Reed (1806-1880 British merchant and philanthropist Henry Frank Templeton Prince ( September 13 1912 – August 7 2003) was a British poet and academic known generally for the 1942 poem Soldiers As with the poets of the First World War, the work of these writers can be seen as something of an interlude in the history of 20th century poetry. Technically, many of these war poets owed something to the 1930s poets, but their work grew out of the particular circumstances in which they found themselves living and fighting.

The main movement in post-war 1940s poetry was the New Romantic group that included Dylan Thomas, George Barker, W. S. Graham, Kathleen Raine, Henry Treece and J. F. Hendry. Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953 was a Welsh poet who wrote exclusively in English George Granville Barker ( 26 February 1913 &ndash 27 October 1991) was an English Poet and Author. William Sydney Graham ( November 19 1918 - January 9 1986) was a Scottish poet who is often associated with Dylan Thomas Kathleen Jessie Raine ( June 14 1908 – July 6 2003) was a British poet critic and Independent scholar writing in particular Henry Treece ( December 22 1911 – June 10, 1966) was a British Poet and writer who worked also as a teacher and editor James Findlay Hendry ( 12 September 1912 – 17 December 1986) was a Scottish Poet known also as an editor and writer These writers saw themselves as in revolt against the classicism of the New Country poets. They turned to such models as Gerard Manley Hopkins, Arthur Rimbaud and Hart Crane and the word play of James Joyce. Gerard Manley Hopkins ( 28 July 1844 – 8 June, 1889) was an English Poet, Roman Catholic convert and "Rimbaud" redirects here For other uses see Rimbaud (disambiguation Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (ræm'boʊ or in French aʁtyʁ Harold Hart Crane ( July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American Poet. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the Thomas, in particular, helped Anglo-Welsh poetry to emerge as a recognisable force. Anglo-Welsh poetry is a subset of Anglo-Welsh literature. The poetry written in English by those familiar with the Welsh language tends to be distinctive

Other significant poets to emerge in the 1940s include Lawrence Durrell, Bernard Spencer, Roy Fuller, Norman Nicholson, Vernon Watkins, R. S. Thomas and Norman McCaig. Lawrence George Durrell ( February 27, 1912 &ndash November 7, 1990) was an expatriate British Novelist, Poet, Charles Bernard Spencer (1909 – 1963 was an English poet He was born in Madras, India and educated at Marlborough College and Corpus Christi Roy Broadbent Fuller ( 11 February 1912 – 27 September 1991) was an English writer known mostly as a Poet. Norman Cornthwaite Nicholson OBE, ( January 8 1914 – May 30 1987) was an English poet known for his association with the Cumberland Vernon Watkins ( June 27, 1906 &mdash October 8, 1967) was a Welsh poet and a painter Ronald Stuart Thomas (29 March 1913 – 25 September 2000 (published as R Norman MacCaig (14 November 1910 – 23 January 1996 was a Scottish poet These last four poets represent a trend towards regionalism and poets writing about their native areas; Watkins and Thomas in Wales, Nicholson in Cumberland and MacCaig in Scotland. Cumberland is one of the 39 Historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 (excluding Carlisle from 1915 and now forms part of Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain.

The Fifties

The 1950s were dominated by three groups of poets, The Movement, The Group and a number of poets that gathered around the label Extremist Art. This article is about a specific literary movement - for other literary movements see List of literary movements The Movement was a term

The Movement poets as a group came to public notice in Robert Conquest's 1955 anthology New Lines. Dr George Robert Ackworth Conquest (born July 15 1917) British Historian, became a well known writer and researcher on the Soviet Union Events The Group, a British poetry movement starts meeting in London with gatherings taking place once a week on Friday evenings at first The core of the group consisted of Philip Larkin, Elizabeth Jennings, D. J. Enright, Kingsley Amis, Thom Gunn and Donald Davie. Philip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985 was an English Poet, Novelist and Jazz This article is about the English poet See Lizzie Jennings for the American civil rights figure of the same name Dennis Joseph Enright ( March 11 1920 – December 31 2002) was a British academic poet novelist and critic and general Man of letters Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE ( April 16, 1922 &ndash October 22, 1995) was an English Novelist, Thom Gunn ( 29 August 1929 - 25 April 2004) was an Anglo-American poet Donald Alfred Davie ( July 17, 1922 – September 18, 1995) was an English Movement poet and literary critic They were identified with a hostility to modernism and internationalism, and looked to Hardy as a model. However, both Davie and Gunn later moved away from this position.

As befits their name, the Group were much more formally a group of poets, meeting for weekly discussions under the chairmanship of Philip Hobsbaum and Edward Lucie-Smith. The Group was an informal group of poets who met in London from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s Philip Dennis Hobsbaum ( 29 June 1932 &ndash 28 June 2005) was a British teacher Poet and critic John Edward McKenzie Lucie-Smith (born 27 February 1933) is a British writer poet art critic curator and author of exhibition catalogues Other Group poets included Martin Bell, Peter Porter, Peter Redgrove, George MacBeth and David Wevill. Martin Bell, OBE, (born 31 August, 1938) is a British UNICEF Ambassador a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician Peter Neville Frederick Porter (born 16 February 1929) is an Australian born British Poet. Peter William Redgrove ( 1932 - 2003) was a prolific and widely respected British poet who also wrote works with his second wife Penelope Shuttle on George Mann MacBeth ( 19 January 1932 &ndash 16 February 1992) was a Scottish poet and novelist David Wevill (born 1935 Japan) is a Canadian poet He returned to his native Canada before the outbreak of World War II. Hobsbaum spent some time teaching in Belfast, where he was a formative influence on the emerging Northern Ireland poets including Seamus Heaney. Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland.

The term Extremist Art was first used by the poet A. Alvarez to describe the work of the American poet Sylvia Plath. Al Alvarez (born London, August 5 1929 is an English Poet, writer and Critic who publishes under the name A Sylvia Plath (October 27 1932 &ndash February 11 1963 was an American Poet, Novelist and Short story Writer. Other poets associated with this group included Plath's one-time husband Ted Hughes, Francis Berry and Jon Silkin. Edward James Hughes OM ( 17 August 1930 &ndash 28 October 1998) was an English Poet and children's Francis Berry ( March 23 1915 - October 10 2006) was a British academic poet critic and translator Jon Silkin (1930 - 1997 was a British poet Early life He was born in London, in a Jewish immigrant family and named after Jon Forsyte in The These poets are sometimes compared with the Expressionist German school. Expressionism is the tendency of an artist to distort reality for an Emotional effect it is a subjective art form

A number of young poets working in what might be termed a modernist vein also started publishing during this decade. These included Charles Tomlinson, Gael Turnbull, Roy Fisher and Bob Cobbing. Alfred Charles Tomlinson, CBE (born 8 January 1927) is a major British poet and translator and also an academic and artist Gael Turnbull ( 7 April 1928 - 2 July 2004) was a Scottish Poet who was an important precursor of the British Poetry Roy Fisher (born 1930 is a British Poet and Jazz pianist He was one of the first British writers to absorb the poetics of William Carlos Williams Bob Cobbing ( 30 July 1920 - 29 September 2002) was a British sound, visual, concrete and These poets can now be seen as forerunners of some of the major developments during the following two decades.

The 1960s and 1970s

In the early part of the 1960s, the centre of gravity of mainstream poetry moved to Ireland, with the emergence of Seamus Heaney, Tom Paulin, Paul Muldoon and others. Thomas Neilson Paulin (born January 25, 1949 in Leeds, England) is a Northern Irish Poet Paul Muldoon (born 20 June 1951 is a writer academic and educator as well as Pulitzer Prize -winning poet from County Armagh, Northern Ireland In England, the most cohesive groupings can, in retrospect, be seen to cluster around what might loosely be called the modernist tradition and draw on American as well as indigenous models.

The British Poetry Revival was a wide-reaching collection of groupings and subgroupings that embraces performance, sound and concrete poetry as well as the legacy of Pound, Jones, MacDiarmid, Loy and Bunting, the Objectivist poets, the Beats and the Black Mountain poets, among others. The British Poetry Revival is the general name given to a loose poetic movement in Britain that took place in the 1960s and 1970s Performance poetry is Poetry that is specifically composed for or during performance before an audience Sound poetry is a form of literary or Musical composition in which the Phonetic aspects of Human speech are foregrounded at the expense of more conventional Concrete poetry, pattern poetry or shape poetry is Poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect The Objectivist poets were a loose-knit group of second-generation Modernists who emerged in the 1930s The Black Mountain poets, sometimes called projectivist poets, were a group of mid 20th century American avant-garde or Postmodern poets centered Leading poets associated with this movement include J. H. Prynne, Eric Mottram, Tom Raworth, Denise Riley and Lee Harwood. Jeremy Halvard Prynne ( June 24, 1936 —) is a British Poet closely associated with the British Poetry Revival. Eric Mottram (1924 – January 16, 1995) was a teacher critic editor and poet who was one of the central Tom Raworth (Thomas Moore Raworth (born 1938) is a London-born Poet and visual artist who has published over 40 books of poetry Denise Riley (born 1948 in Carlisle, England) is Professor of Literature with Philosophy a philosophical linguist, critical theorist Lee Harwood (born 1939 is a Poet associated with the British Poetry Revival.

The Mersey Beat poets were Adrian Henri, Brian Patten and Roger McGough. (The Liverpool Poets refers to a number of influential 1960s poets from Liverpool, England, heavily influenced by 1950s Beat poetry. Adrian Henri ( 10 April 1932 Brian Patten (born 7 February 1946, Liverpool, Lancashire, England) is an English Poet. Roger Joseph McGough CBE (born 9 November 1937) is a well-known English Performance poet. Their work was a self-conscious attempt at creating an English equivalent to the Beats. Many of their poems were written in protest against the established social order and, particularly, the threat of nuclear war. Although not actually a Mersey Beat poet, Adrian Mitchell is often associated with the group in critical discussion. Adrian Mitchell (born 24 October 1932, Haywards Heath, West Sussex) is an English Poet and Dramatist. Contemporary poet Steve Turner has also been compared with them. Steve Turner (born 1949 is an English Music Journalist, Biographer and Poet.

English poetry now

The last three decades of the 20th century saw a number of short-lived poetic groupings such as the Martians, along with a general trend towards what has been termed 'Poeclectics'^[7], namely an intensification within individual poets' oeuvres of "all kinds of style, subject, voice, register and form". For poetry dealing with Martians or other extraterrestrials see Aliens in Poetry Martian poetry was a movement in British poetry in the There was also a growth in interest in women's writing and in poetry from England's ethnic groupings, especially the West Indian community. Poets who emerged include Carol Ann Duffy, Andrew Motion, Craig Raine, Wendy Cope, James Fenton, Blake Morrison, Liz Lochhead, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Benjamin Zephaniah. Carol Ann Duffy (born December 23, 1955) is a British Poet, Playwright and Freelance Writer born in Andrew Motion, FRSL, (born 26 October 1952) is an English Poet, Novelist and Biographer, who is the Craig Raine (born 3 December 1944) is an English poet and critic born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. Wendy Cope (born on 21 July, 1945 in Erith) is an award-winning contemporary English Poet. James Fenton (born April 25, 1949, Lincoln England) has been at various times a Journalist, Poet, literary critic Philip Blake Morrison (born 8 October 1950) is a British Poet and Author who has published in a wide range of Fiction and Liz Lochhead (born December 26, 1947) is a Scottish poet and dramatist originally from Newarthill in North Lanarkshire. Linton Kwesi Johnson (aka LKJ (born 24 August 1952, Chapelton, Jamaica) is a British based dub poet. Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958, Coleshill Birmingham, England is a British Rastafarian writer and dub poet Combined with this was a growth in performance poetry fuelled by the Poetry Slam movement. A poetry slam is a competition at which poets read or recite original work (or more rarely that of others

A new generation of innovative poets has also sprung up in the wake of the Revival grouping. Further activity focussed around poets in Bloodaxe Books The New Poetry including Simon Armitage, Kathleen Jamie, Glyn Maxwell, Selima Hill, Maggie Hannan, and Michael Hofmann. The New Poetry was a Poetry anthology edited by Al Alvarez, published in 1962 and in a revised edition in 1966 Simon Armitage (born in Huddersfield on May 26, 1963) is a British Poet, playwright and novelist Kathleen Jamie (born May 13, 1962) is a Scottish Poet, raised in Currie Edinburgh. Glyn Maxwell (born in 1962 is a British poet Early life Maxwell's parents are Welsh (his mother acted in the premiere of Dylan Thomas 's Under Milk Michael Hofmann (born 1957 Freiburg, West Germany) is a German-born poet who writes in English and a translator of texts from German The New Generation movement flowered in the 1990s and early twenty first century producing poets such as Don Paterson, Julia Copus, John Stammers, Jacob Polley, David Morley and Alice Oswald. " New Generation " is the third and final single off the album Dog Man Star by Suede, released on January 30 1995 on Nude Don Paterson, OBE, FRSL (born 1963 is a Scottish poet writer and musician Julia Copus (born 16 July 1969 in London) is a British Poet and radio dramatist Jacob Polley (born 1975) is a British poet born in Carlisle, Cumbria. ‎ David Morley (1967&ndash October 30, 2004) was a barman who was fatally attacked by a group of youths near Waterloo Station in London on the Alice Oswald (born 1966) is an English Poet. Oswald read Classics at New College, Oxford, has worked as a gardener at Chelsea Physic Garden There has been, too, a remarkable upsurge in independent and experimental poetry pamphlet publishers such as Flarestack, Heaventree and Perdika Press. Perdika Press is a British publishing house specialising in experimental English Poetry and work in Translation by contemporary Poets Throughout this period, and to the present, independent poetry presses such as Enitharmon have continued to promote original work from (among others) Dannie Abse, Martyn Crucefix, Jane Duran and Mario Petrucci. Daniel Abse, better known as Dannie Abse, (born 22 September 1923 is a Welsh Poet. Jane Duran (born 1944 is a poet Cuban by birth who was brought up in the United States and Chile, and moved to England in 1966 after graduating Mario Petrucci (b 1958 is of Italian extraction and lives in Enfield.

Notes

References

Print

• Hamilton, Ian. The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English

Online

• A Time-line of English poetry

See also

• English literature
• List of national poetries
• Indian Poetry in English
• Poets' Corner
• New Oxford Book of English Verse 1250–1950

External links

• English Poetry Collection Forums
• English Poets - Poems and biographies of English poets. The term English literature refers to Literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by Writers not necessarily from This is a list of articles about Poetry in a single Language or produced by a single Nation. Indian English Literature (IEL refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co-native language could be one Poets’ Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey due to the number of Poets Playwrights and
• Poetry Resource a website for students of poetry
• Poets perform their own work
• Perdika Editions Experimental/ Modernist/ Poetry in Translation
• Contemporary British Poetry: Poeclectics

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