By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Although he’s well-known as a pioneer of the poetic form known as the limerick, Edward Lear (1812-88) wrote a number of other classic poems which are among the finest examples of ‘nonsense verse’. Here are five of Edward Lear’s best poems, along with some information about each of them.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Whether we’re suffering from insomnia or asleep as soon as our head hits the pillow, whether we get too little or too much of it, sleep is a big part of our lives. So it’s unsurprising that so many poets have explored sleep in their work. Here are ten of the greatest poems about sleep from all of English literature.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The Irish poet Louis MacNeice (1907-63) is often associated with the Thirties Poets, along with W. H. Auden and Stephen Spender. Yet unlike Auden, who left us ‘Stop All the Clocks’, MacNeice can be more difficult to pin down to one or two ‘best poems’ or ‘best-known poems’. ‘Prayer Before Birth’? Perhaps.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was one of the leading English Romantic poets, whose Lyrical Ballads, the 1798 collection Coleridge co-authored with Wordsworth, became a founding-text for English Romanticism. In this post, we’ve picked six of Coleridge’s best poems, and endeavoured to explain why these might be viewed as his finest poems.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Let us celebrate Easter with ten classic poems about the Easter season. Whether you’re thinking about the Passion of Christ or tucking into chocolate Easter Eggs, or simply looking forward to returning to those things you’ve given up for Lent, we hope you enjoy this pick of the greatest poems about Easter.