Starting to love poetry? These are the poets you must read – English literature

English literature is not free of blemishes. You can find in plenty once you begin to see what lies beneath the abyss of centuries that reputation has earned for the English nation. However, we are not talking about the shortcomings, at least today. I am here to share a few poets whom you will surely love to read if you have just begun reading English poetry. And these poets, that I have read myself, are not the ones that anyone could ascribe greatness to even without reading them. And that’s why you might find this list a little wayward or different, to say the least. Are you ready, my friends?

Richard Crashaw: You might not want to know what this guy was in person. However, his poems are splendid and you will see it yourself if you can read some of his poems online or in any collection or in any other books. Crashaw was a Jesus lover and he sank himself in the old-new testament and displayed the same love for his god in his poems. Nevertheless, you will find some of the imagery-sparks, lyrical beauty and overall splendour in his works without a doubt. Do read him. You might find the English used by this poet a little freakish but don’t bother. Cope with it.

William Blake: Believe me, Blake is more than the burning white tiger… His poems are still great in all measures that you can apply to encapsulate someone’s poetic greatness. William Blake wrote poems that his angels and fairies guided him to do (or so he claimed). Are you not excited to see what these guys from the heavens were up to? Do read his poems, so-called pre-romantic poetry, and you will find a silent whisper that lengthens itself across the oeuvre of the poet.

Matthew Arnold: Arnold’s poetry seldom comes to the fore because he was largely outshined by Tennyson, the In Memoriam fame. However, if you read Arnold’s poetry, you will certainly realise the spark in him, the understanding, the maturity and the eagerness to convey the messages that we can connect to life and understand many things at once. Make sure you read his poems, shorter ones as well as the long ones.

Thomas Hardy: Ignored as a poet, more than often, Hardy’s poetry is certain melancholy, prudent, mature and pessimistic. However, there is a beauty in everything that he does as a poet and you can realise that almost instantly as you begin reading his voluminous oeuvre as a poet. Hardy readers are certainly very few in number. However, those who have read him have become his fan for sure!

T. S. Eliot: Let me sign out by writing this last name on the list of poets you must read. T. S. Eliot was an enigma. He searched and searched but found nothing, almost. However, in his search for the things he longed for, he created many pieces of poetry that were untouched, are still untouched and will be untouched for a long long time in the future… no poets could ever touch the complexity of his poetic art and you must witness the same. I am sure you should have heard about his poems already, especially The Waste Land. Dive into the world of his poems and you can thank me later.

All the best guys!

By Nishant for Desi Readers