Poet Biographys

‘Love that doth reign and live within my thought’

• One of the first poets to write in sonnet form
• Fought in many different wars – Scotland, France
• Often imprisoned – thought to be sympathising with rebels
• Cousin of Anne Boleyn
• Beheaded for treason – Paranoid Henry VIII
• Known as controversial character
• Flamboyant, foolish, proud

'New Prince, New Pomp'

• Extremely religious – Jesuit preist – devoted, blind obedience
• Martyed for religion
• Wrote ‘New Prince, New Pomp’ whilst waiting to be hung
• Cannonised by Pope Paul IV
• When Jesus was born, under ‘Herold the Great’ – All new born boys in Bethlehem killed

'New Prince, New Pomp'

• Extremely religious – Jesuit preist – devoted, blind obedience
• Martyed for religion
• Wrote ‘New Prince, New Pomp’ whilst waiting to be hung
• Cannonised by Pope Paul IV
• When Jesus was born, under ‘Herold the Great’ – All new born boys in Bethlehem killed

'Sonnet CXXX'

• Sonnet 130 – Criticising conventions of love poetry, Petrarch wrote love poetry for Laura – Used lots of metaphors , all dark lady poems do not idolise
• Lived during English renaissance
• Married to Anne Hathaway – Known to have affairs, left after 2 years to travel
• Part of collection of ‘Dark Lady Poems’
• Enters in Sonnet 127 – both love, lusts and hates her
• From narrators perspective, he’s treated badly

'Batter My Heart'

• Most famous metaphysical poet
• Philosophical movement studying things we cant know (God)
• Often wrote about love and death
• In early life spent lots of money on womanising, literature and travelling
• 1601 – Secretly married Anne Moore
• Had 12 children
• Died of child birth – poetry changed from love to death and religion
• ‘Batter my heart’ written after wifes death
• Became Anglican preist
• Member of parliament
• Poems where noted for vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor 

'To Virgins, To Make Much Of Time'

• ·      Lived reasonably difficult life
• o   Father died when 1 years old
• o   Ejected from vicarage – Relied on charity
• o   But became a vicar again
• ·      Bachelor all his life, women in poems said to be fictional
• ·      Loved the richness and sensuality and variety of life
• ·      Over riding message of poem = Life is short, world is beautiful, love is splendid, must make use of time here

'On His Blindness'

• Wrote during time of religious flux and political upheaval
• Milton often advocated abolition of Church of England
• Became Blind
• Thought himself useless
• Wrote best work – Paradise Lost, after blindness
• Wrote on his blindness – Allusion to parable of the talents, not using talent
• Married a 16 year old who couldn’t live with him so moved away
• Wrote pamphlets for divorce
• Milton’s poetry reflected deep, personal conflictions, passion for freedom and determination

'To My Dear and Loving Husband'

• Strict puritan upbringing
• Puritan
• Simple life style – reflects bible
• Frown upon creative expression – poetry should serve God
• Everything is pre-destined
• Anything appealing to senses or emotions viewed as dangerous
• Concerned with heaven and hell
• Didn’t have easy life style – raised 8 children, moved from England to America
• Wrote for herself – Brother published them
• ‘To My Dear and Loving Husband’ = more personal, expressing joys and difficulties of puritan life

'The Mower Against Gardens'

• English meta-physical poet and politician
• Characterised by wit, includes far fetched similies and metaphors
• Religious and scientific
• Acedemic and emotional
• Travelled a lot through Europe – Spoke in 4 languages
• Breifly considered Catholicism as a child
• Spent time as a tutor at Nun Appleton – beautiful gardens
• Died suddenly, thought to have been poisoned by political enemies
• First of four poems:
• ‘Mover to a glo-worm’
• ‘Mowers song’
• Upon Appleton House’
• A History of Grafting: Testing genetic limits of fruit, vegetables and plants
• 17^th Century very concerned with compatability

'A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General'

• Irish author, politician and satirist 
• Introduced to politics through William Temple, he was his assistant - helped with errands
• Released poltical pamphlets - 'A tale of a tub and battle of the books' - Got him recognised - Critisied religion he was an Anglican Priest, dissaproved by Church of England 
• Became editor of the Torie paper 'The Examiner' 
• Written upon the death of English general 'John Churchill' 
• John Churchill has checkered diplomatic and military career - One of Swifts political enemys

'The Tyger' 

• English poet, painter and print maker - Largely unrecognised during life
• Came from family of dissenters but brought up on the BIble - took lots of inspiration from it 
• Spiritual but didnt believe in the chuch - Didn't like the laws of the church 
• Very imaginiate as a child 
• Used to sit outside of Westminister Abbey for inspiration - claimed to have seen Jesus and Apostles
• Diverse and symbolically rich work. Embraced imagination as body of God or reason for existence - Seen as mad by lots of people
• Poem has simple appearance by not simple message
• Part of 'Songs of Experience'

'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud'

• Wordsworths parents died when he was very young - He was then rasied in the mountains in a rustic society - spent lots of time outdoors
• He had a soft, emotional view of the world 
• Hugely connected to nature - released theory that children where most connected to nature - We calll come from a perfect, ideal realm - earth is unideal 
• In his poetry he emphasised feeling, simplicity and pleasure of beauty 
• He changed poetry forever, START OF ROMANTIC ERA
• 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud' is his most famous work
• Inspired by event where him and his sister on a walk came across belt of daffodills

'Kubla Khan'

• Experienced a very difficult life - 
• Father died when he was 8
• Problematic relationship with mother
• He was rejected by the love of his life
• Married Sarah Ficker - very unhappy, hated her
• Suffered from severe depression - became addicted to opium, took over his life
• He died from heart failure - could have been a result of the opium
• He was a romantic poet - intense emotion, close connection with nature, promoted imagination
• Good friends with William Wordsworth 
• He promoted a pantisocracy society (equality)
• Kubla Khan came from an opium dream 
• His dream can be analysed by Freud as a want for power
• Kubla Khan - Grandson of Genghis Khan, his power was limited to China 

'The War Song of Dinas Vawr'

• Married Jane Gryffydh - daughter of a Welsh farmer
• Read widely in 5 languages
• Peacock mixed with many contemporary romantic poets - however often criticised them 
• The poem portrays the delight of Welsh men stealing sheep 
• 'A War Song of DInas Vawr' comes from book 'The Misfortunes of Elphen' - Book reflects interest in Welsh legends and history 
• The poem was put to music - sounds like a folk song 

'She Walks In Beauty'

• Romantic Poet
• Numerous illegitimate children and affairs
• Had an eccentric and wild character 
• Described as 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' by Lady Caroline Lamb who was once his wife but she divorced him as he was too difficult
• He died from war casualtys
• Poem is based on his cousin 
• His cousin is rejecting him because she is too pure and perfect

'Ozymandias'

• Major english romantic poet
• Wasnt sure in what he believed
• Had an interesting life - Eloped with Harriet Westbrook, had an affair with Mary Godwin who he fell inlove with, Harriet commited suicide so he married Mary
• He drowned in a sudden storm on a sailing boat - suicide? couldnt steer? murdered?
• Ozymandias: written after British meuseums acquisition of fragment of statue, another name of Pharoh Rameses II
• Can be read a criticism of people or systems that become too big and believe themselves to be invincible

'First Love' 

• Lived very poor life, one of the only examples of a middle class poet
• Found little money in poetry and struggled with where to spend time 
• Became agricultural labourer while child, then was a gardener
• Known for his beautiful representations of english countryside
• Fell in love with Mary Joyce but her father forbade them seeing eachother 
• Married Martha Turner but didnt love her
• BEcame an alcholic and went mad
• Mental health worsened and was admitted to an asylum where he died
• Once he escaped sayign to be looking for Mary who had died years previous

'Natures Questioning'

• Experienced lots of hardships and death - father died, mother remarried 2 months after, then she died. Very close with brothers - one brother died from consumption during winter, other brother moved to America
• New romantic poet - heavely influenced by Milton and Shakespeare.
• Went on a walking tour to meet Wordsworth - enjoyed long walks, close to nature
• Autumn: When he met the love of his life, he became ill and knew he wouldnt survive the winter - consumption. When everything dies. 
• Only wrote for three years - creative urgency

'A Musical Instrument'

• Lived wealthy childhood - unlike rest of family spent time immersed in books - very smart - studied history of England and Greece. Had Greek and Latin tutor 
• Wrote lots on Greece - 'An Essay On Mind', became good friends with Boyd - greek researcher
• Family lost money and she moved from Devon to London
• Married Robert Barrett Browning in secret
• Work has a very religious theme 
• She was admired for her independence and courage in views
• Battled a life long illness from 15 - became dependent on opium and methane - could be reason for vivid imagination.
• Poem comes from 'Poems before Congress' - her last work

• Poem tells story of Pan - Pan is both beauty and destruction - Duality of Art
• Art beings both beauty and destruction
• Greek God of Sheperds- part God, human and goat

'Break, Break, Break' 

• Very popular english poet during Victorian Era
• Wrote about things common to everyone - love, death, grief 
• Born by the sea
• Tennyson's best friend died from sudden brain hemmorage - 'Halam' - He was engaged to his sister, effected everyone deeply
• Also wrote 'In Memorium' about his friends death which is said to be his most famous work. Queen Victoria on Prince Alberts death: 'Next to the Bible, In Memorium is my comfort

'Spellbound'

• Mother died of cancer when Emily was 3 years old 
• She was the 3rd eldest of 4 Bronte siblings - 2 oldest sisters died of tuberculosis
• Encountered abuse at school and then father and aunt where very strict
• Girls released poetry under pseudonyms - 'Ellis Bell'
• One of her teachers said she had 'a strong character and should have been a man'
• Spellbound = setting of poem is bleak, similar to yorkshire moors where she lived
• Girls wrote fiction in free time -
• Gondola: Fictional island with myths and legends - suggested poem is set in Gondola, centres around heroin who has been put on a spell to leave her child in the mountains 

'There is no God, The Wicked Saith'

• As a child/young adult he was very acedemic 
• When he attended Oxford he felt Catholicism was being pushed on him - for a time influenced but rejected it
• Witnessed multiple revolutions which inspired him 
• Suffered periods of religious doubt
• Regarded as one of the most forward thinking poets of the 19th Century - went against popular religion and social ideals
• Devoted lots of energy to helping Florence Nightingale 

'Dying'

• Lived very untroubled life - privallaged 
• Parents where strictly puritan - didn't pay her much attention
• Troubled at a young age by the idea of death - Close second cousin died (left her traumatised), became depressed due to her friends and familys deaths - didn't leave her house unless completely necessary - recluse
• Known for her disruptive dashes, heavy iambic pentametre and imprecise rhyme 
• People tried to disuade her from publishing - Because she was a woman and more modern 
• Many of her poems centred around death and immortality 
• Less archaic, more modern 
• Beginning of modernism 

'Natures Questioning'

• Victorian realist - presents familiar things as they are
• Influenced by romantics e.g. Wordsworth - Also Charles Dickens however he was omore critised of the declining rural society
• Never felt 'at home' in London - too industrial 
• He fell in love with Emma Lavinia in cornwall but they broke up - however when she died it affected him a lot 
• Often examined social restraints espeically those related to marriage, educationa nd religion that limited peoples happiness
• Natures questioning came from his first publishing 
• Very traditional poet, influenced by ballads and folksongs
• Family was Anglican not devout - mainly agnostic but questioned God due to science

 'Gods Grandeur'

• Born in Essex - Becoming industrial, moved up North parents wanted to be closer to nature = closer to God 
• Grew up in devoutly Anglican household - very religious: Converted to catholicism - saw his talent as a gift from God 
• During his life time, society experimenting with electricity - introduced to community
• Couldnt decide whether to devout life to God or poetry - wrote poems about God.