Famous Poets

LASCELLES ABERCROMBIE Born on 9 January 1881, Lascelles Abercrombie was an indeed famous British poet and critic associated with Georgian poetry. Regarded as one of the 'Dymock poets', Abercrombie worked in the community of several young and intellectual poets, namely Robert Frost, Edward Thomas, John Drinkwater, Wilfred Wilson Gibson and Rupert Brooke. Together the group published four editions of the literary journal 'New Numbers' in the time period of 1914 - 1915. In these editions, they often focused on poems that portrayed the traditions, beauty and cultural heritage of rural England. Educated at Malvern College and Owens College, Manchester, he earned his living by reading and reviewing books. It was during this period of time that he developed a fascination and passion for poetry. A man who wrote both poetry and plays, Abercrombie's works often included a hybrid of both the genres. Having served as a munitions examiner in World War I, he was appointed as a le...

LOUISA MAY ALCOTT Louisa May Alcott, born on 29 November 1832 in the town of Pennsylvania, USA was an indeed famous and prominent American author, poet and short story writer. Raised by her transcendentalist parents, Alcott grew up with in the company of some utterly intellectual minds such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Having experienced a financially critical childhood, Alcott supported her family while working on her passion and fascination for poetry and writing. Her family firmly believed in the power and strength of love and communal justice.  As a child, she was a tomboy. A girl with rich imagination, Alcott often narrated stories and dramas to her friends in order to catch their attention. She began her career of writing as a poet and later continued with short stories. In certain instances, she wrote under the pen name A.M. Barnard as in the case of 'Perilous Play' and 'Pauline’s Passion and Punishment'. Her trilogy...

GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE Born on 26 August 1880 in the Italian city of Rome, Guillaume Apollinaire was a French poet, short story writer, playwright, art critic and novelist. He is regarded as one of the foremost and prominent figures of his century. Apollinaire spent most of his childhood travelling in Europe and hence, developed an obsession and charm for diverse cultures and traditions. After attaining the job of a bank clerk, he became friends with innovative and forward-looking artists, namely Picasso, Georges Braque, Henri Rousseau, and Marcel Duchamp. Awed by the beauty of Rhineland, he started writing verse by capturing the beauty of the place along with its rich traditions. Having suffered a period of six day imprisonment, Apollinaire was falsely accused for the theft of the famous artwork, Mona Lisa. A man of patriotism and bravery, he joined the armed forces in order to serve his duties for his nation. During this period of time, he suffered a head wound and had to be rushed to...

J.R.R. TOLKIEN Born on 3 January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien commonly known as J.R.R. Tolkien was an English poet, writer, philologist and academic. The author of highly famous fantasy novels like 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings', Tolkien led to a popular resurgence of this genre. Having suffered a rough childhood, he lost his father at the age of 4. This forced him, his mother and his younger brother Hilary to move back to England. Tolkien's mother, Mabel Tolkien passed away when he was merely 12 years old, leaving the two young boys orphaned. At this time, the family priest, Father Francis Morgan took over and made sure that all their materialistic, emotional and spiritual requirements were fulfilled. Tolkien was a linguist and had mastered various languages including Greek, Latin, Gothic, Finnish and English. A student of Exeter College, Oxford, he was a determined man and didn't cease to pursue his studies even at the outbreak of the war. Tolkien...

 EMILY BRONTE Emily Brontë was an english novelist and poet with only one published book, Wuthering Heights which is now considered a classic. She was a writer in the Romantic Period, having lived between the years 1818 to 1848. She also has a book that was published with her writer sisters, Charlotte and Anne Brontë. This was published under the name of Ellis Bell (Emily), Curer and Acton Bell. She lost her mother to cancer at a very young age and was taken care of by her aunt. She had 2 older sisters who died due to unhygienic conditions at their school in 1825 and Emily’s father moved away from the town. She was a pianist and a teacher in her adulthood. Her health was worsened by the conditions at her school and the unsanitary conditions at her home. She developed tuberculosis and refused to take medical help until the last moment in her life when she accepted a doctor to look at her health. But before a doctor could be brought to her, she had breathed her last. Her beautiful bo...

 SYLVIA PLATH Sylvia Plath, a well known female poet who lived between the years of 1932-1963 is a poet with a lot of poems that are deep and very relatable. With a troubled marriage with Ted Hughes and her own personal trauma of her father’s death, she took her life in her 30s but yet had a literary following before that. Her poems are and were about the deepest feelings and she is one of the most adored poets of the 20th and 21st century. According to Thomas McClanahan, “at her brutal best—and Plath is a brutal poet—she taps a source of power that transforms her poetic voice into a raving avenger of womanhood and innocence.” In her studies, she excelled at it and won numerous awards. It was during her undergraduate years that Plath began to suffer the symptoms of severe depression that would ultimately lead to her death. In one of her journal entries, dated June 20, 1958, she wrote: “It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous positive and despairing ...

RUDYARD KIPLING Rudyard Kipling, born on 30 December 1865, was an English poet, short-story writer, journalist and novelist. He is widely remembered for his tales and stories of colonial rule in India and his stories for children. Having awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907, Kipling contributed greatly towards literature. During his childhood, Kipling was deeply influenced by his father, an artist and scholar. Born in India, Kipling loved the languages, cultures and traditions of the subcontinent. Having suffered a rough childhood, his rough encounters as a child played a great role in shaping his career. Kipling earned immense fame in the last decade of the 19th century. During his life, he turned down various awards and honours including a knighthood and the poet laureateship before finally accepting the Nobel Prize. Some of Kipling's famous works include 'Kim', 'The Jungle Book', 'If' and 'Just So Stories'. After spending a considerable ...