By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Previously, it was the turn of green and red; now, it’s time to ponder some of the greatest blue poems. Blue is the colour of the bluebell, of the oceans, and of a particular strain of melancholy (we talk of suffering from a bout of ‘the blues’), so it’s of little surprise that poets have written beautifully about the colour blue. Here are ten of the very finest poems about blue things.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
This is the latest in our monthly posts celebrating some of the best poems about each of the months of the year. This time, of course, it’s September’s turn: that point where summer may still linger on, but autumn is beginning to rear its head. The harvest is being gathered, and that ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ is upon us, in John Keats’s immortal words. Here’s our pick of the best poems about the month of September.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Previously we’ve offered ten great green poems. Now it’s the turn of the colour black. What are the greatest poems about blackness, about black America, about black things ranging from blacksmiths to blackberries? Here’s our selection.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
All 27 of the known moons of the planet Uranus are named after characters from the work of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. Astronomers have paid tribute to the poets; but what have poets had to say about outer space? Below, we’ve selected ten of the greatest poems about space, astronomy, and the solar system.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Death looms large in poetry, from epitaphs to poems of grief over the loss of a loved one. And, of course, there’s a long-standing tradition of religious or sacred poems. But what about churchyards, graveyards, and cemeteries – those spaces around the church filled with the dead, with epitaphs by turns moving and cringeworthy, with yew trees and with flowers brought in memory of the deceased?