Andrew Motion a illustrious poet, author, critic, and novelist is known for his narrative style of writing and his clarity of context. (“Andrew Motion.”). Motion once famously said, “I want my writing to be as clear as water. I want readers to see all the way through its surfaces into the swamp.” Andrew Motion’s poetry is often made up of past events while using a reflective style. In 1999, he was named poet laureate of England. (Marsack). The title that he attained is a title that is only given to poets that have made a great influence on literature, such as Ted Hughes who was just before him. Considering his title and his several awards, he is being recognized for being one of the most accomplished English poets. (“Motion, Andrew 1952-.”). …show more content…
(“Motion, Andrew 1952-.”). His father was consistently working and not home, so he was raised by his mother. Motion had a very wealthy family, and this allowed him to live a comfortable life. (“Motion, Andrew 1952-.”). He attended Radley College, in this school is where he was first presented to poetry in the sixth grade by an English teacher. (“Andrew Motion.”). At the age of 17, his mother was in a serious accident, and became a paralytic and in and out of a coma for years. She later then died in 1978. (Potts 252). This loss of his however became the start of his career. He started to write in her memory and was the inspiration for his works. (Potts 252). He attended the University of Oxford, where he studied many great poets, and later then taught at the University of Hull. (“Motion, Andrew 1952-.”). The privileges to have such prestigious schooling really helped him further his education and meet some great poets such as, Philip Larkin. He who helped him kickstart his writing career. Andrew’s affluent adolescent years had a heavy impact on …show more content…
(Potts 252). Motion’s work often portrays thoughts of fatigue, anxiety, and depression. (Potts 253). He was always interested in the way Edward Thomas conveyed his own thoughts into his poetry. Motion admired, “the way in which [Thomas] refers to a variety of objects with such quick clarity that orthodox pictorial and narrative techniques are replaced by ... ‘disconnected impressions’ ”; this is referring to the admiration he has towards Thomas’ style of writing. (Potts 253). Thomas’s poetic techniques are very similar to Andrew’s in the way that they use personal events as a strategy to make the poem. (Potts 253).Motion also said, "I know who I'd like to be with when I'm dead--[A.E.] Housman, [Thomas] Hardy and, particularly, Edward Thomas." Philip Larkin, a poet that Motion met while teaching, was another one whom he believed had a great style. He developed a close relationship with Philip, to the point that when Philip died Andrew wrote his biography. This gained him a literary prize. (“Andrew Motion.”). His major works include Dangerous Play: Poems 1974-1984 (1984), which he received a Llewellyn Rhys Prize; and Natural Causes in which he won a Dylan Thomas Prize. (“Andrew Motion.”). The Pleasure Steamers (1977) is a collection of poems, and in it the poem Inland won the Newdigate Prize at Oxford. In another one of his collection of poems, Coming Home, won him The Ted
Bob Dylan attributes his ability to writing to inspirational artists such as Buddy Holly, Lead Belly, early folk musicians, and the book’s Moby Dick, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Odyssey. Dylan’s ability to compose such great music is clearly due to his ability to soak up knowledge like a sponge. Dylan claims that these values were obtained from grammar school and that they were primarily obtained through classic grammar school readings such as Don Quixote, Ivanhoe, Robinson Crusoe, Gulivers Travels, and Tale of Two Cities [1]. Dylan also goes on to accredit these readings for teaching him “how to view life, an understanding of human nature, and a standard to measure things by” [1].
When he returned from the army he got enrolled at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He received M.A. degree and began to work on his Ph.D. at the same time he started teaching at University of Minnesota and later at MacAlester College. He received Ph.D. from University of Washington for study on Charles Dickens and he did public readings. He taught at Hunter College in New York City from 1966 to 1980. He also worked as translator. He completed some of his poems as he was teaching in the college he states that he didn’t feel any conflict between the duties of teaching and the labors of writing books which are non-academic.
Archibald MacLeish was born in Glencoe, Illinois to an average middle class family. His father, Andrew MacLeish, was a businessman. His mother, Martha Hillard MacLeish, was a homemaker. His parents soon realized they had a very gifted son so they sent him to the Hotchkiss School. This school catered to his many different interests. Of all the things MacLeish excelled at he was the best at writing. Archibald graduated at the top of his class and was accepted to Yale University. While at Yale MacLeish studied law, but continued his writing and in his off time the university published a book of his works.
The first step to Marvell becoming a marvelous poet was when he was born. He was born March 31, 1621 in Winestead-in-Holderness, Yorkshire. This little town was not very much into visual communication. However, that did not stop Andrew. While the town was focused on cattle and hard labor, Andrew focused on expressing his feelings. Before the town could recognize Marvell's talent, he and his family moved to Hull, Yorkshire. This migration happened because Andrew's father became a lecturer in that city. The move did not disturb Andrew much, however. He continued to do what he loved- write (poemhunter.com).
He then spent 11 months at the University of Virginia but due to his gambling problem, his guardian refused to let him continue his schooling. In 1827 he published his first collection of poems. His poems didn’t do so
His parents were well known around the town, and had a lot of connections with wealthy people. Because of those connections, they were able to find a scholarship so that he could attend Westminster School at a very young age (DISCovering Authors 1). His Professor, Richard Busby, provided him with an education (DISCovering Authors 1). It was here that he published his first poem, Upon the Death of the Lord Hastings (DISCovering Authors 1). This poem had special meaning for him because it was about one of his good friends who died of small pox. At the age of 19, he was elected to attend Trinity College in Cambridge. Dryden graduated in 1654 while earning a Bachelor of Arts degree (Britannica 1). A few months after his graduation, he received some very bad news- his father had died suddenly. He then became in charge of his family and the small estate where he grew up (DISCovering Authors 1).
Richard Lovelace was, and still is, regarded highly as an an excellent poet. Being a captain of war, he was very highly ranked, and King Charles I thought highly of him. His poetry makes the reader think, and look at the reality of life in early London. Through the use of personification, similes and heavy imagery, Lovelace is able to capture his readers and create an image that sticks with the person after they have finished the piece of literature. Richard Lovelace was born December 9, 1618 in Woolwich, England.
T.S. Eliot is considered to be one of the most prominent poets and playwrights of his time and his works are said to have promoted to “reshape modern literature” (World Book). He was born in 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri and studied at Harvard and Oxford. It was at Harvard where he met his guide and mentor Ezra Pound, a well-known modernist poet. Pound encouraged Eliot to expand his writing abilities and publish his work. Eliot became an England citizen in 1925 and received the Nobel Peace Prize for literature in 1948. Eliot connected most of his earlier works to French Symbolists, such as Mallarme, Baudelaire, and Rimbaud and first came into contact with these three in college while reading The Symbolist Movement in Literature by Arthur Symons (Pearce). He created a eminent style that was original and new. He gained their ability to write poetry filled with wisdom while adding his ow...
Philip Larkin wrote many different poems in his life time he was described to be “The Poet that created a movement in poetry”(Craik). Poems that are famous by Larkin are “Days”, “High Windows”, “Love Again”, “Toads”, and “Church Going”. Some critics say “ That his poetry was very offensive in the manner he wrote it because it was dark and gloomy and sent a very negative message to the reader.” (Thwaite, 268) The poet Philip Larkin is a gloomy, death-obsessed and darkly humorous observer of human foibles and failings.
EE Cummings was and is still one of the most well-regarded and unique poets of all time. His poems were unusual, but his strange way of writing is what grabbed people’s attention and made him so special. Many incidents in Cummings’ life affected his poetry, his experiences and his personality, which could clearly be observed in the poems he wrote. Cummings became such a well-known poet due to the effect of his life events on his poetry, his peculiar writing style and his strong connection with the topics of love and lust. The struggles and successes of his life developed his poetry in a huge manner.
Thomas spent his days growing up in Swansea, South Whales with his father, a grammar school English teacher. His father encouraged his early interest in reading and writing. Some of his early poetry was published in local literary writing journals. Thomas grew up in the late 1920’s and the 1930’s. “In the 1930’s, when the trend toward social and political commentary dominated the arts, Thomas began pursuing more personal themes that originated in his own experiences” (Gunton and Harris 358). Thomas would then incorporate these experiences into his poetry. For example, the poem “The Ballad of the Long-Legged Bait” is about a fisherman he probably saw around growing up in Swansea. In 1934 Thomas began moving between London and several villages where he started drinking a lot and “epitomized the raucous image of an artist” After WW II, Thomas began writing more short stories rather than poetry (Gunton and Harris 358).
Dylan Thomas was born in 1914 of intellectual parents both being literature professors. Long before he could read, his father would recite poetry from classic authors. Many of his poems can be traced to the illustrated style of D.H Lawrence. The imagery he provides of disparity and death in many of his poems. In the span of Dylan’s life, he witnessed both Great Wars. The first war may have been the main topic of discussion by his parents at childhood. And later at service in the air defense over London. Because of his determined health Thomas was not able to enroll in an active combat role during World War II. Thomas life’s experiences played a major role in influencing his writing...
T.S. Eliot’s poems are mainly what got him famous. When “Murder In The Cathedral” was out there was a reviewer That actually said, “it may well mark a turning point in English drama.” When his poem, “The Waste Land”, got published he won a two thousand dial award. In 1954 he got the Hanseatic Goethe prize; Confidential Clerk. Two years later he got to lecture an audience of fourteen thousand people at the University of Minnesota.
Tennyson's poetry has stood the test of time because it successfully paints a time and place and reflects the feelings of the people in it. His ability to capture the feelings of uncertainty and loss that were characteristic of this time period, through his use of descriptions, diction, and pathetic fallacy made his poetry not only pleasing to the ear, but also historically important. He surpassed Wordsworth and other poets of his generation as Poet Laureate because his poems capture the important social issues of the Victorian Age such as the shift in religious belief as a result of science, the confusion surrounding women's roles in society, and the isolation that came as a result of the rapid social and economical changes that occurred.
"The point of view which I am struggling to attack is perhaps related to the metaphysical theory of the substantial unity of the soul: for my meaning is, that the poet has, not a personality' to express, but a particular medium, which is only a medium and not a personality, in which impressions and experiences combine in peculiar and unexpected ways."