Favourite Poems of London E-Book

Jane McMorland Hunter

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 49

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

An illustrated anthology of poetry celebrating life in England's capital. 'Earth hath not anything to show more fair' said Wordsworth of London in 1802. Hundreds of years on, the same can still be said of Britain's largest metropolis. Favourite Poems of London is a wonderful anthology of poetry celebrating England's capital and life as a Londoner. Verses from our best-loved authors, such as William Wordsworth, William Blake and John Betjeman among others, are accompanied by beautiful illustrations – often taken from iconic tube posters – of London's famous sights, green parks and Londoners in their daily lives. Epic poems celebrating London's vast and majestic presence sit alongside Cockney ditties about pie, mash and jellied eels in this new collection. Celebrating every aspect of 'the big smoke' – from the Houses of Parliament and the Blitz spirit, through to red double-decker buses and infamous rainy English summers – this is the perfect gift for any Londoner or visitor to the city.

Leseprobe

Contents

INTRODUCTION

A MIGHTY MASS OF BRICK AND SMOKE

Arriving at London George Gordon, Lord Byron

London John Davidson

The Fire of London John Dryden

On a Bus to Primrose Hill Jeremy Hooker

London Joanna Baillie

London William Blake

To the City of London William Dunbar

THE SHADOWY SHIPS OF DEPTFORD

The River’s Tale Rudyard Kipling

Collecting the Ridges Carrie Etter

On the Report of a Wooden Bridge to be Built at Westminster James Thomson

Ghosts in Deptford Cecily Fox Smith

Shadwell Stair Wilfred Owen

Rising Damp U A Fanthorpe

His Teares to Thamesis Robert Herrick

TREES FRECKLED IN WEAK SUNLIGHT

Earthly Paradise William Morris

Twickenham Garden John Donne

London Plane-Tree Amy Levy

London Plane Andrew Motion

Boats on the Round Pond Alan Ross

Kew Gardens Alfred Noyes

London versus Epping Forest John Clare

THE TANGLED PRINTS OF LONDON’S FEET

The People Clifford Dyment

The Londoners W H Auden

Miss Hamilton in London Fleur Adcock

Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town T S Eliot

London Robert Leighton

Business Girls John Betjeman

London Sparrow Eleanor Farjeon

The Statues of Buckingham Palace Imogen Robertson

TOWERS, BELFRIES AND STRUCTURES FAIR

Lines and Squares A A Milne

Residence in London William Wordsworth

Suburban Villas William Cowper

The South Bank John Agard

Oranges and Lemons Traditional Nursery Rhyme

Holy Smoke Spike Milligan

The Mermaid Francis Beaumont

TO PAINT THE SUMMER MORNING

London’s Summer Morning Mary Robinson

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge William Wordsworth

London Snow Robert Bridges

Fog Laurence Binyon

Leaving Thomas Moore

INDEX TO POETS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PICTURE CREDITS AND EDITOR’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Introduction

It is difficult to speak adequately, or justly of London.

(The Notebooks of Henry James, 1881)

Everyone knows London, but each one of us will have our own individual thoughts and feelings about the great metropolis. ‘The Devil’s drawing room’, ‘The city of the free’, ‘A shrub among the hills’ – ask a hundred people, or a hundred poets, and each will give you a different answer.

There were over three hundred works that could easily have been included in this anthology. There were some obvious choices, but also some surprises. Shakespeare, who lived in London for much of his life, and used the city and its inhabitants for source material rarely mentions it in any detail. Chaucer, who also lived in London, placed his pilgrims at Southwark for the start of their journey, but they are too intent on setting out to really take note of their surroundings. Many of the poets who write about London are actually visitors or immigrants. The earliest poem in this collection is by a visiting Scot, William Dunbar, who extravagantly praises the city, even if his private diaries are less flattering.

Poets’ views of London have changed with history. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the seventeenth century people travelled comparatively little and poetry tended to concentrate on valour and love, rather than towns and town life. The early eighteenth century was a time of satire, albeit largely affectionate towards the city, but by the nineteenth century the rural way of life was definitely regarded as superior. Matthew Arnold went so far as to describe the city as ‘unpoetic’. The first half of the twentieth century was dominated by the two world wars and their aftermath, influencing poets from D H Lawrence to John Betjeman. The second half brought about further change, and all aspects of London life were debated by locals, visitors and new arrivals alike.

Rather than divide London by area or time, this anthology looks at some of the different aspects of the city, and city life. Without the River Thames London as we know it would probably not exist. For centuries this was the true heart of London; transporting wealth, trade and all manner of people. We may have attempted to harness it with bridges and a barrier, but the river has its own life, a fact recognised by both James Thomson and Carrie Etter, nearly three centuries apart. Grey and dusty as it may seem, London is a green city. Private gardens, street trees, city parks and the wide open spaces beyond the metropolis are as much London as the terraces and tower blocks. London may not be ‘small and white, and clean’, but one can at least crunch leaves underfoot as winter approaches.

A city is nothing without its inhabitants. Just as important as the millions of people are Eleanor Farjeon’s sparrows and T S Eliot’s cats. If one believes Imogen Robertson even the statues and paintings are merely slumbering, waiting for a suitable moment to take to the streets again. The famous, the lonely, the busy and the monuments all make up the tangled prints of London’s feet. Iconic buildings such as Big Ben and St Pauls are synonymous with the city and often appear in this anthology. But not all buildings have survived and many evolve as the city grows. New structures emerge and places such as the South Bank change, often almost beyond recognition. The pavements, the churches and the miles of suburban houses are all part of London.

The weather is a national obsession in Britain. Each day brings forth a new set of surprises. In recognition of this, the last section of this anthology includes a series of London dawns across the years and seasons.

As this is something of an ode to London, I have unashamedly omitted any poems that I felt did not flatter the city. I have also mostly restricted the poems to those directly about London; one could easily collect another anthology called Inspired by London. Where possible I have chosen the version of the poem closest to that which the poet originally wrote. If everything is reduced to an easy read the progress of time is rendered meaningless and much of the beauty and mystery of words is lost.

Jane McMorland Hunter