He died in cambridge in 1936 and was buried in his beloved shropshire. The poems are all rather the same, short poems about young men who died, some as soldiers, some by suicide, some hanged, etc. Lyrical and almost epigrammatic in form, the poems wistfully evoke the dooms and disappointments. Lyrical in form, many of his best poems are included in this beautiful collection entitled a shropshire lad. Housmans lyrics express a romantic pessimism in a clear, direct style. George sainton kaye butterworth, mc 12 july 1885 5 august 1916 was an english composer who was best known for the orchestral idyll the banks of green willow and his song settings of a. A shropshire lad is a collection of sixtythree poems by the english poet alfred edward.
To ask me a question or send me a comment, please read this. Some other housman resources are available on the web. The table of contents lists the introduction, books a shropshire lad, last poems, more poems, additional poems, translations, appendix, notes, index of first lines, and index of titled poems, not the individual poems. Alfred edward housman was born in worcestershire, england, and he was profoundly affected by. Housman, james mason a shropshire lad and other poetry. The poems in a shropshire lad are not completely disconnected from housmans scholarly workamong other things, they owe something. The poem, like the rest of housmans poetry, is taut, concise, sharp. Housman, pessimist, classicist and connoisseur of melancholy, was also one the greatest formal masters of his age. Six songs from a shropshire lad is a song cycle for baritone and piano composed in 1911 by george butterworth 18851916. About the poem housmans remarkable love poem, when i was oneandtwenty, is simple and elegant poem from his collection titled a shropshire lad. Housman a shropshire lad was originally published in 1896. Written about the same time as the others, this poem was held over until it was incorporated in last poems 1922. For some it may radiate from the shropshire life he so finely etches. This volume brings together a shropshire lad 1896 and last poems 1922, along with the posthumous selections more poems and additional poems, and three translations of extracts from aeschylus, sophocles and euripides that display his mastery of classical literature.
Pdf a shropshire lad and other poems download full pdf. A shropshire lad has never been outofprint and this volume also includes his later poems, which are well worth reading as well. A shropshire lad poem by john betjeman poem hunter. Although housman barely knew shropshire he was born in neighbouring worcestershire, and the closest he appears to have got to the county before he wrote a shropshire lad is peering at the steeples of shropshire churches across the county boundary his 1896 volume is the book that gave shropshire its lasting literary reputation, and many. I knew well those blue remembered hillsthe land of lost content and loveliest of trees, the cherry nowis hung with bloom along the bough, but i didnt know the other 61 poems, although i must have. The method of the poems in a shropshire lad illustrates better than any theory how poetry may assume the attire of reality, and yet in speech of the simplest, become in spirit the sheer quality of loveliness. Housman originally titled the book the poems of terence hearsay. At first glance, it can be a major surprise that the author of the enormously popular poetry collection a shropshire lad was a classical scholar by the name of a. How does the poet bring out the feeling of separation between the place of his childhood and his. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library.
Housman wrote poems that conjure a potent and idyllic rural world imbued with a poignant sense of loss. The poems of heinrich heine, the songs of william shakespeare, and scottish border ballads were housmans models, from which he learned to express. Alfred edward housman was born was born in worcestershire, england, and he was profoundly. The best poems according to a professor who teaches the best.
Some of the betterknown poems in the book are to an athlete dying young, loveliest of trees, the cherry now and when i was oneandtwenty. The poems of heinrich heine, the songs of william shakespeare, and scottish border ballads were. Why, if tis dancing you would be, theres brisker pipes than poetry. Housmans first and most famous volume of poetry was a shropshire lad 1896, which was followed by several other collections. The method of the poems in a shropshire lad illustrates better than any theory. Now dreary dawns the eastern light, and fall of eve is drear, and cold the poor man lies at night, and so goes out the year. A wonderful collection from one of englands bestloved poets. A shropshire lad and other poems a e housman, nick laird. Poems i to xxi poems xxii to xlii poems xliii to lxiii i 1887 from clee to heaven the beacon burns, the shires have seen it plain, from north and south the sign returns. The fastidious care with which each poem is built out of the simplest of technical elements, the precise tone and color of language employed to articulate impulse and mood, and the reproduction of objective substances for a clear visualization of character and scene, all tend. Housman, archie burnett, nick laird, john sparrow on. Butterworth set another five poems from a shropshire lad in bredon hill and other songs 1912. James mason presents selections from last poems and more poems, as well as a shropshire lad. He was a scholar at cambridge university and spent a year at harvard as a visiting fellow.
A wonderful collection from one of englands bestloved poets one of the most admired poets of his day. In more poems, diffugere nives is a translation of one of horaces odes and had already been published in quarto vol. I hadnt realised that a shropshire lad is a whole series of poems. Set in a halfimaginary shropshire, a nostalgic land of lost content, they are often addressed to, or spoken by, a soldier or a boy farmer. This volume brings together the works housman published in his lifetime, a shropshire lad 1896 and last poems 1922, along with many posthumous selections and three translations of extracts from aeschylus, sophocles, and euripedes that display his mastery of classical literature. Lee a shropshire lad and other poems the collected poems of a. Alfred edward housman 18591936, usually known as a. Written in quatrains comprising rhyming couplets and in iambic tetrameter four beats, or eight syllables, per line, to an athlete dying young is in keeping with the other poems from a shropshire lad in being metrically regular and formally polished. Alfred edward housman march 26, 1859 april 30, 1936, usually known as a. Housman was one of the bestloved poets of his day, and a shropshire lad and other poems is a collection of poems whose elegant.
The collection was published in 1896 see 1896 in poetry. A shropshire lad is a collection of sixtythree poems by the english poet alfred edward housman, published in 1896. After a slow beginning, it rapidly grew in popularity, particularly among young readers. A shropshire lad and other poems king county library system. The majority of housemans poems are centered around themes such as the ephemeral nature of youth. Housman, james mason a shropshire lad and other poetry at discogs. When i was oneandtwenty by a e housman poetry reading. All this quite points to, and partly explains, the charm of the poems in a shropshire lad. Housman was one of the bestloved poets of his day, whose poems conjure up a potent and idyllic rural world imbued. Another poem, crossing alone the nighted ferry 23, is based on ancient greek beliefs about the journey to hades, the land of death.
Sep 28, 2010 alfred edward housman 18591936 usually known as a. To an athlete dying young and other poems from a shropshire lad a. Nick laird is the author of two collections of poetry, the acclaimed novel utterly monkey, and, most recently, the novel glovers mistake. Housman 18591936 was an english poet and classical scholar best known for his cycle of poems a shropshire lad. If you enjoyed a shropshire lad and other poems, you might like john clares selected poems, also available in penguin classics. Download pdf a shropshire lad and other poems book full free. His few published poems are included in this collection. The gas was on in the institutethe flare was up in the gyma man was running a mineral line.
Housmans a shropshire lad and last poems together with an introduction by keith hale that ties the poems to their historical root. A shropshire lad and other poems king county library. From clee to heaven the beacon burns, at first glance, it can be a major surprise that the author of the enormously popular poetry collection a shropshire lad was a classical scholar by the name of a. Is hung with bloom along the bough, and stands about the woodland ride. At the outbreak of war in 1914 housmans poems suddenly became popular, striking a powerful emotional chord. While it has on oldfashioned feel the poem is rather modern in its attitude to the idea that drink and other distractions are necessary to avoid. He published two volumes of poetry during his life, including a shropshire lad 1896, which was widely read during world war i. A shropshire lad and other poems the examined life. Read a shropshire lad and other poems the collected poems of a.
It has been superseded by the collected housman page and thats probably where you want to be. Nick laird first published as the collected poems of a. A shropshire lad is a cycle of sixtythree poems by the english poet alfred edward housman 26 march 1859 30 april 1936. Composers began setting the poems to music less than ten years after their first appearance. The phantoms who tell the tale of each poem find the futility of their lives to be disconcerting, as the wheel of life seems to keep. A shropshire lad and other poems available for download and read online in other formats. Nick laird is the author of two collections of poetry, the acclaimed novel utterly monkey, and, most recently, the.
Housman was one of the bestloved poets of his day, and a shropshire lad and other poems is a collection of poems whose elegant simplicity of form belies their hidden complexities. His poems conjure up a potent and idyllic rural world imbued with a poignant sen. A shropshire lad and other poems by nick laird overdrive. Housman, was an english classical scholar and poet, best known for his collection of poems a shropshire lad. Selling slowly at first, it then rapidly grew in popularity, particularly among young readers. Housman, was an english classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems a shropshire lad. Little is the luck ive had, and oh, tis comfort small to think that many another lad has had no luck at all. Housman, was an english poet and classical scholar, now best known for his cycle of poems a shropshire lad. Poems i to xxi poems xxii to xlii poems xliii to lxiii xxii the street sounds to the soldiers tread, and out we troop to see. For, in these unobtrusive pages, there is nothing shunned which makes the spectacle of life parade its dark and painful, its ironic and. About a shropshire lad and other poems a wonderful collection from one of englands bestloved poets one of the most admired poets of his day, a. Nick laird was born in 1975 in county tyrone, northern ireland. Housman sign up for poem aday receive a new poem in your inbox daily.