By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Flight is a common trope and topic in poetry, whether it’s the flight of birds or the flight of humans (from Icarus’ doomed flight to the invention of aeroplanes in the early twentieth century).
In this post, we gather together some of the finest poems about flying and flight, taking in everything from aeroplanes to hawks to kestrels to nightingales to … poets themselves, attempting to fly free from the bounds and restrictions of the Earth. If you have your wings ready, let’s dive in.