The Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, also referred to as the (English or British) Poet Laureate, is the Poet Laureate appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Prime Minister. Originally, laureates were of the Kingdom of England (to 1707), then of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1801), then of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922); and since 1922 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The post was traditionally held for life, with the exception of John Dryden, who was removed from the post in 1688 because he refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the new king William III. However, starting with Andrew Motion in 1999, the appointment is now made for a fixed term of 10 years.[1] The post of Poet Laureate is traditionally rewarded with "a butt of sack", which in the modern day is approximately equivalent to 477 litres (105 gallons) of sherry.[2] The Poet Laureate also receives an annual honorarium, currently set at £5,750.[1]
Carol Ann Duffy, designated in May 2009 official poet of the United Kingdom, is the first "royal bard" in the post's three centuries of existence to be a woman, and wrote a poem about David Beckham's Achilles tendon.[3]
Contents |
Under the title versificator regis:
| Poet Laureate | Portrait | Birth | Alma mater | Appointed | Notable poetry | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernard André | 1450 Toulouse, France |
by Henry VII | 1522 | |||
| John Skelton | c. 1460 possibly Diss, Norfolk |
University of Cambridge | 1513/1514 by Henry VIII |
"Replycacion" "Speke, Parrot" "The Boke of Phyllyp Sparowe" |
21 June 1529 | |
| Edmund Spenser | c. 1552 London |
Pembroke College, University of Cambridge | by Elizabeth I | "Epithalamium" "The Shepheardes Calender" "The Faerie Queene" Amoretti |
13 January 1599 London |
Each "Appointed" year links to its corresponding "[year] in poetry" article.
| Poet Laureate | Portrait | Birth | Alma mater | Appointed | Notable poetry | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Daniel | 1562 Near Taunton, Somerset |
Magdalen Hall, University of Oxford | 1599 by Elizabeth I |
"Musophilus" "The Complaint of Rosamond" Epistles to Distinguished Persons |
14 October 1619 Beckington, Somerset |
|
| Ben Jonson | c. 11 June 1572 Westminster, London |
Westminster School (Did not attend university) |
1616 by James I |
"Epigrams" "On My First Son" "To Penshurst" "To Celia" Underwoods |
6 August 1637 Westminster, London |
|
| William Davenant (also D'Avenant) |
late February, 1606 Oxford |
Lincoln College, University of Oxford (Did not graduate) |
1638 by Charles I |
"A Discourse upon Gondibert, an heroick poem" "A Panegyric to his Excellency the Lord General Monck" "Poem, Upon His Sacred Majesties Most Happy Return to His Dominions" |
7 April 1668 London |
|
| John Dryden | 9 August 1631 Aldwincle, Northamptonshire |
Trinity College, University of Cambridge | 1668 by Charles II Dismissed by William III and Mary II in 1688 |
"Astraea Redux" "Annus Mirabilis" "Absalom and Achitophel" |
12 May 1700 London |
|
| Thomas Shadwell | c. 1642 Stanton Hall, Norfolk |
Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge | 1689 by William III and Mary II |
"Dear Pretty Youth" "Love in their little veins inspires" "Nymphs and Shepherds" |
19 November 1692 Chelsea, London |
|
| Nahum Tate | 1652 Dublin, Ireland |
Trinity College, Dublin | 1692 by William III and Mary II |
"Panacea, a poem on Tea" | 30 July 1715 Southwark, London |
|
| Nicholas Rowe | 20 June 1674 Little Barford, Bedfordshire |
Middle Temple | 1715 by George I |
"A Poem upon the Late Glorious Successes of Her Majesty's Arms" Poems on Several Occasions Maecenas "Ode for the New Year MDCCXVI" |
6 December 1718 London |
|
| Laurence Eusden | 6 September 1688 Spofforth, North Yorkshire |
Trinity College, University of Cambridge | 1718 by George I |
"The Origin Of The Knights Of The Bath" | 27 September 1730 Coningsby, Lincolnshire |
|
| Colley Cibber | 11 June 1671 London |
No formal education | 1730 by George II |
12 November 1757 London |
||
| William Whitehead | early February, 1715 Cambridge |
Clare College, University of Cambridge | 1757 by George II (on the refusal of Thomas Gray) |
"On Ridicule" "The Enthusiast" "The Je Ne Scai Quoi" |
14 April 1785 London |
|
| Thomas Warton | 9 January 1728 Basingstoke, Hampshire |
Trinity College, University of Oxford | 1785 by George III (on the refusal of William Mason) |
"The Triumph of Isis" "To the River Lodon" |
21 May 1790 Oxford |
|
| Henry James Pye | 20 February 1745 London |
Magdalen College, University of Oxford | 1790 by George III |
Poems on Various Subjects "Alfred" |
11 August 1813 Pinner, Middlesex |
|
| Robert Southey | 12 August 1774 Bristol |
Balliol College, University of Oxford | 1813 by George III (on the refusal of Walter Scott) |
"God's Judgement on a Wicked Bishop" "The Inchcape Rock" "After Blenheim" "Cataract of Lodore" |
21 March 1843 Cumberland |
|
| William Wordsworth | 7 April 1770 Cockermouth, Cumberland |
St John's College, University of Cambridge | 1843 by Victoria |
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" "The Prelude" "Tintern Abbey" The Lucy poems "The World Is Too Much with Us" |
23 April 1850 Grasmere, Cumberland |
|
| Alfred, Lord Tennyson | 6 August 1809 Somersby, Lincolnshire |
Trinity College, University of Cambridge | 1850 by Victoria (on the refusal of Samuel Rogers) |
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" "Tears, idle tears" "Crossing the Bar" In Memoriam A.H.H. "Ulysses" "Tithonus" |
6 October 1892 Haslemere, Surrey |
|
| Alfred Austin | 30 May 1835 Headingley, Leeds |
University of London | 1896 by Victoria (on the refusal of William Morris) |
"The Season: a Satire" "To England" |
2 June 1913 Ashford, Kent |
|
| Robert Bridges | 23 October 1844 Walmer, Kent |
Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford | 1913 by George V |
"Melancholia" "The Evening Darkens Over" The Testament of Beauty |
21 April 1930 Oxford |
|
| John Masefield | 1 June 1878 Ledbury, Herefordshire |
King's School, Warwick (Did not attend university) |
1930 by George V |
"The Everlasting Mercy" "Sea-Fever" "Reynard The Fox" |
12 May 1967 Abingdon, Oxfordshire |
|
| Cecil Day-Lewis | 27 April 1904 Ballintubbert, Queen's County, Ireland |
Wadham College, University of Oxford | 1968 by Elizabeth II |
"Newsreel" | 22 May 1972 Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire |
|
| John Betjeman | 28 August 1906 Hampstead, London |
Magdalen College, University of Oxford | 1972 by Elizabeth II |
"Christmas" "Slough" "The Conversion of St Paul" |
19 May 1984 Trebetherick, Cornwall |
|
| Ted Hughes | 17 August 1930 Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire |
Pembroke College, University of Cambridge | 1984 by Elizabeth II (on the refusal of Philip Larkin) |
Crow Moortown Diary Wolfwatching Tales from Ovid Birthday Letters |
28 October 1998 Devon |
|
| Andrew Motion | 26 October 1952 London |
University College, University of Oxford | 1 May 1999 by Elizabeth II Retired on 1 May 2009 |
"The Letter" | Still alive | |
| Carol Ann Duffy | 23 December 1955 Glasgow |
University of Liverpool | 1 May, 2009 by Elizabeth II |
The World's Wife | Still alive |