Fantasy is at once a relatively recent and extremely ancient genre. Although it only became recognised as a distinct genre in the twentieth century thanks to writers like J. R. R. Tolkien and his followers, there’s a case for calling some of the oldest literature in the world – from […]
‘They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old’: this is a familiar quotation to many people, but where does it come from? The answer lies in one of the most famous and yet most obscure poems of the First World War. Laurence Binyon’s ‘For the Fallen’ […]
‘Romanticism is spilt religion’ is a famous phrase from the writings of T. E. Hulme (1883-1917), who has been described as the first modernist poet writing in English and whose prose writings – on modern poetry, politics, and modern art among other things – are among the most important early […]
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) is one of the leading poets of the Augustan era in English literature, named in honour of the Roman emperor Augustus, because Augustan writers sought to return to the values embodied by classical poets from the time of Augustus’ reign. Such a period of English verse – […]
Sorrow and sadness are common themes for poetry, so choosing just eleven of the very best poems about sadness is going to be tricky. In the selection that follows, we’ve tried to include a range of poems from a variety of poets, moving from the heartfelt and moving to the […]