The Romantic Poets

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The Literary World of the nineteenth century was lit up by six of England's Greatest Poets. Wordsworth, Coleridge and Blake were in the vanguard of the early Romantic movement that broke from the past, emphasizing the individual and personal, embracing imagination over reason. Romanticism's second wave saw Byron, Shelley and Keats come to the fore, rebels who breathed new life into the movement which spawned some of the best poetry in English Literature.

William Wordsworth rose to fame in the 18th century for his radical and direct approach to poetry. Casting aside outdated literary tropes, he wrote poems that reflected everyday speech, becoming one of the first modern poets to connect to readers in their own language. Drawing inspiration from his life in the beautiful Lake District, his poems perfectly capture the healing powers of the natural world and provide an unrivalled antidote to the busy lives of our era.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in 1772, the youngest of ten children of the vicar of Ottery St Mary in Devon. His father died nine years later and from 1782 to 1791 he became a charity scholar at Christ’s Hospital School in the City of London. Coleridge is best known for his poems Kubla Khan, The Ancient Mariner and Christabel. Others will know him for his opium addiction, expertise on German literature and philosophy and as a philosopher and theologian in his own right.

William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language".

Lord Byron was one of the leading figures of the Romantic Movement in early 19th century England. The flamboyant notoriety of his sexual escapades is surpassed only by the beauty and brilliance of his writings. After leading an unconventional lifestyle and producing a massive amount of emotionally stirring literary works, Byron died at a young age in Greece pursuing romantic adventures of heroism.

Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of the epic poets of the 19th century and is best known for his classic anthology verse works such as Ode to the West Wind and The Masque of Anarchy. He is also well known for his long-form poetry, including Queen Mab and Alastor. He went on many adventures with his second wife, Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.