4.5.6.2 British poets

British poetry is among the richest in the world. The Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf tells of its hero’s battles against monsters and is still translated into modern English. Poems which survive from the Middle Ages include Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and a poem called Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , about one of the knights at the court of King Arthur.

As well as plays, Shakespeare wrote many sonnets (poems which must be 14 lines long) and some longer poems. As Protestant ideas spread, a number of poets wrote poems inspired by their religious views. One of these was John Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost .

Other poets, including William Wordsworth, were inspired by nature. Sir Walter Scott wrote poems inspired by Scotland and the traditional stories and songs from the area on the borders of Scotland and England. He also wrote novels, many of which were set in Scotland.

Poetry was very popular in the 19th century, with poets such as William Blake, John Keats, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Robert and Elizabeth Browning. Later, many poets – for example, Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon – were inspired to write about their experiences in the First World War. More recently, popular poets have included Sir Walter de la Mare, John Masefield, Sir John Betjeman and Ted Hughes. Some of the best-known poets are buried or commemorated in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Some famous lines include:

‘Oh to be in England now that April’s there And whoever wakes in England sees, some morning, unaware, That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf While the Chaffinch sings on the orchard bough In England – Now!’ (Robert Browning, 1812–89 – Home Thoughts from Abroad ) ‘She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies, All that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes’ (Lord Byron, 1788–1824 – She Walks in Beauty ) ‘I wander’d lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils’ (William Wordsworth, 1770–1850 – The Daffodils ) ‘Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?’ (William Blake, 1757–1827 – The Tyger) ‘What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons.’ (Wilfred Owen, 1893–1918 – Anthem for Doomed Youth )