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In the year 1668, John Dryden became the first poet laureate, the first English poet to be officially recognised as the poet of the court. Since Dryden the position has been held by such illustrious names as William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson, John Masefield, Cecil Day Lewis, Ted Hughes and, most recently, Andrew Motion. Andrew Motion is the first poet laureate not appointed for life, but for a fixed term of 10 years. 2009 marks the end of his term as court poet and the choice of his successor is being hotly awaited with names such as Benjamin Zephariah, Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage in for the race. We will take this occasion as a starting point to discuss the works of a number of poets laureate throughout history, focussing on how they solve the conflict between their allegiance to the monarch and to their individual, creative voice. In order to facilitate this, we will look at selected poems from well-known and lesser known poets laureate, setting them into the cultural context of their time. In addition, we will also have a look at some laureates from other Anglophone cultures in an effort to compare their respective approaches to the position. A Reader for this course will be available in the copy-shop in "Unser Kopierladen" (Reckhammerweg4) at the beginning of the semester. |
