On this day...

Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson died in 1892, at the age of 83. A descendent of King Edward III, Tennyson was the fourth of twelve children, all of whom received an excellent supplementary education from their father, a rector. Tennyson first published poetry at 17, yet it was at Cambridge University where his literary career blossomed, as he won the Chancellor's Gold Medal, and came to the attention of Samuel Taylor Coleridge with his first solo collection of poems, 'Poems Chiefly Lyrical'.

It was there that Tennyson met someone who was to become a major influence on his works - best friend Arthur Hallam. Hallam's sudden death at the age of 22 devestated the young Tennyson, who composed elegy 'In Memoriam A.H.H' and referenced him in many other poems, even naming his own son Hallam. Tennyson, a favourite of Queen Victoria, became Poet Laureate in 1850, following the death of William Wordsworth, becoming the man to hold the longest tenure before or since. One of Britain's most well loved poets, Tennyson has written many notable works, with the most famous including, 'The Lady of Shalott', 'Idylls of a King', 'Ulysses', and 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'.

Carol's Christmas...

Commissioned for Chrsitmas, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, has composed a political poem about the occasion. Commenting on topical issues such as the Cumbrain floods and expenses scandals, she also singles out high profile celebrity figures for their achievements; Joanna Lumley and Fabio Capello to name a few. There has been a trend for seasonal poetry ever since the installation of the first official Poet Laureate, John Dryden, in 1668; the third, Nahum Tate, wrote the Christmas carol, 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night'.

This is the first stanza of Duffy's, '12 Days of Christmas':

On the first day of Christmas,

a buzzard on a branch.

In Afghanistan,

no partridge, pear tree;

but my true love sent to me

a card from home.

I sat alone,

crouched in yellow dust,

and traced the grins of my kids

with my thumb.

Somewhere down the line,

for another father, husband,

brother, son, a bullet

with his name on.

Religious approval for Hughes?...

Poet Ted Hughes may be honoured with a plaque in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner. The Dean of Westminster said that he had received a number of letters persuading him to the cause; a cause supported by fellow poets Seamus Heaney and Andrew Motion. A former Poet Laureate, Hughes is best known for his marriage to Sylvia Plath, whose subsequent suicide in 1963 shocked the literary world. If selected for a plaque, Hughes would be the first since the man he succeeded as Poet Laureate in 1984, John Betjeman; and would join the likes of Thomas Hardy, William Blake and T.S. Eliot. Hughes died in 1998, and is described by Heaney as 'one of the vital presences in 20th century poetry.'

On this day...

English playwright and poet Thomas Shadwell died in 1692, at the age of 50. In relative terms a literary success, Shadwell was awarded the title of Poet Laureate in 1689, succeeding contemporary John Dryden. Yet it is for his relationship with Dryden, mainly conveyed through text, that he is best remembered; the two swapping some three satirical pieces each, about the other. It was Dryden who came out on top; the protagonist of his work 'Mac Flecknoe', the King of Dullness, giving his crown to Shadwell, who is described as 'confirm'd in full stupidity'. While many of their debates took to a political or religious line, both diametrically opposed on those issues, the pair were also known to contemplate more intellectual ideas, such as whether Ben Jonson or Shakespeare were a better playwright. The best works of the man who 'enjoyed a popularity in his own day which is not easily explicable in ours', are play 'Epsom Wells', and poem 'Dear Pretty Youth'.

Apology for the life of...

Today also marks the death of English poet Colley Cibber, in 1757, at the age of 86. A playwright by first profession, he spent much of his time adapting plays from various sources and getting highly criticied for doing do; critics calling it a 'miserable mutilaiton' of 'hapless Shakespeare'. He fared no better in acting himself, frequently getting ridiculed for his attempts. To complete the trend in his literary career, his poetry was equally bad, having no admirers in his own time and his appointment as Poet Laureate in 1730 thought to be purely political. Although he certainly made some impact, the title of his most famous work, his autobiography 'Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber' is arguably all that is needed when assessing the success of his career.

On this day...

The American poet and prose writer Sylvia Plath was born, in 1932. Born in Massachusetts, she attended Cambridge University, and it was there that she met and married poet Ted Hughes, a later Poet Laureate. She is known as one of the main contributors to the genre of confessional poetry - in which the poem shares intimate details surrounding the poet's life. Although famous for her poetry, perhaps her best known work is in prose - the semi-autobiographical 'The Bell Jar' written under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. After numerous suicide attempts, many initiated by her husband's affair, she finally succeeded in February 1963; dying at the age of 30.

On this day...

Former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion, was born in 1952. At the age of 17, his mother was induced into a coma by a riding accident; a coma which continued for nine years before her death. Motion stated that he aimed to keep his mother's memory alive through poetry and most certainly her memory is well honoured. For Motion was appointed Poet Laureate in 1999, succeeding Ted Hughes upon his death. Previously a position held until death, Motion was the first to say that he would accept the post for only ten years; a post that offers a butt of canary wine and £5,000 annually. During his tennancy, he wrote 'Spring Wedding' in honour of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. His lasting legacy is achieved through the establishment of Poetry Archive, through which poets can be heard reading their own works.

On this day...

Robert Bridges, an English poet was born in 1844. Originally a student of medicine and a physician at Great Ormond Street Hospital, he was forced to retire through lung disease and so took up writing poetry and literary criticism. He was rewarded for his efforts by being made Poet Laureate in 1913, a position he held until his death in 1930. Perhaps his most famous work was 'Milton's Prosody', an examination of John Milton's use of blank verse; and his best known poem, 'The Testament of Beauty'.