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Poet Laureates in Poets' Corner
10 minute read
The official post of ‘Poet Laureate’ (laureate meaning crowned with laurels) in the United Kingdom, is held by a distinguished poet chosen by the monarch who is attached to the royal household. Their main task is to compose poems that commemorate important national events such as coronations, royal births and birthdays. Chroniclers and poets wrote informally about royal events for centuries, including Ben Jonson who was unofficially referred to as a poet laureate. In 1668, John Dryden was the first poet to be officially appointed to the role by formal warrant from King Charles II, when the salary included a barrel of Canary wine and the length of service was determined by being in royal favour. Explore nine Poet Laureate’s from history who are buried or memorialised in the Abbey.
John Dryden (1631-1700)
Poet Laureate from 1668-88
John Dryden (1631-1700)
Poet Laureate from 1668-88
John Dryden (1631-1700)
John Dryden, the eldest of fourteen children, was a King’s Scholar at Westminster School from around 1644, when the Headmaster was the charismatic disciplinarian Richard Busby (also buried in the Abbey).
Dryden came from a Puritan family and he wrote a poem to mark Oliver Cromwell’s funeral. His poems Astraea Redux, (1660), and the modern epic Annus Mirabilis (1667) secured the approval of the newly-restored king Charles II and his appointment as poet laureate in 1668, combined in 1670 with the role of historiographer royal. Dryden was best-known for his heroic couplets; his topical satires, plays and his translation of The Works of Virgil (1697).
He was replaced as poet laureate by Thomas Shadwell after he refused to swear the oath of allegiance to William and Mary because he had converted to Catholicism.
‘Thy throne is darkness in th’abyss of light/
A blaze of glory that forbids the sight’
‘Thy throne is darkness in th’abyss of light/
A blaze of glory that forbids the sight’
At different times of the day, or in different seasons, the light falling in the Abbey will light up something that you have walked past a million times and never seen before.
