Liste der Poets Laureate im Vereinigten Königreich

The Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, also referred to as the (English or British) Poet Laureate, is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Prime Minister. The role does not officially entail any specific duties, but there is an expectation that the holder will write verse for significant national occasions. The role has been held by Carol Ann Duffy since her appointment in May 2009. The United Kingdom also has a position called "Children's poet laureate", a position which is currently held by Julia Donaldson.

History

The role was entitled the Poet Laureate of the Kingdom of England until the Acts of Union 1707, when it became the Poet Laureate of the Kingdom of Great Britain. The present title, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, has been used since the Acts of Union 1800.

The post was traditionally held for life, John Dryden being the only holder to have been dismissed, which was due to his refusal to swear an oath of allegiance to the new king, William III. However, starting with Andrew Motion in 1999, the appointment is made for a fixed term of 10 years.

In May 2009 Carol Ann Duffy became the first woman, the first Scot and the first openly gay person to be appointed to the position.

Role and rewards

The role of Poet Laureate is an honorary position that entails no specific duties, although there is an expectation that the holder will write verse for significant national occasions. An annual honorarium is provided, which is currently set at £5,760. The holder is also traditionally rewarded with a butt of canary or sack, which is approximately equivalent to 477 litres (105 gallons) of sherry. Cash payments, however, have been presented as an alternative to wine: in 1952, for example, John Masefield was instead given £27 (equivalent to £1,048 in 2025).Vorlage:Inflation-fn

Mediaeval England

Under the title versificator regis:

• Richard Canonicus employed by Richard I (reigned 1189–99)
• Gulielmus Peregrinus (d. c. 1207) employed by Richard I
• Master Henry employed by Henry III (reigned 1216–72) (according to Thomas Warton)
• Andrew Baston
• Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400)
• John Kay in the reign of Edward IV (1461–83)

Tudor England

Poet Laureate	Portrait	Birth	Alma mater	Appointed	Notable poetry	Death
Bernard André		1450 Toulouse, France		by Henry VII		1522
John Skelton		c. 1460 possibly Diss, Norfolk	University of Cambridge	1513/1514 by Henry VIII	"Replycacion" "Speke, Parrot" "The Boke of Phyllyp Sparowe"	21 June 1529
Edmund Spenser		c. 1552 London	Pembroke College, University of Cambridge	by Elizabeth I	"Epithalamium" "The Shepheardes Calender" "The Faerie Queene" Amoretti	13 January 1599

1599 to present

Poet Laureate	Portrait	Birth	Alma mater	Appointed	Notable poetry	Death
Samuel Daniel		1562 Near Taunton, Somerset	Magdalen Hall, University of Oxford	1599 by Elizabeth I	"Musophilus" "The Complaint of Rosamond" Epistles to Distinguished Persons	14 October 1619 Beckington, Somerset
Ben Jonson		c. 11 June 1572 Westminster, London	Westminster School (Did not attend university)	1616 by James I	"Epigrams" "On My First Son" "To Penshurst" "To Celia" Underwoods	6 August 1637 Westminster, London
William Davenant (also D'Avenant)		late February, 1606 Oxford	Lincoln College, University of Oxford (Did not graduate)	1638 by Charles I	"A Discourse upon Gondibert, an heroick poem" "A Panegyric to his Excellency the Lord General Monck" "Poem, Upon His Sacred Majesties Most Happy Return to His Dominions"	7 April 1668 London
John Dryden		9 August 1631 Aldwincle, Northamptonshire	Trinity College, University of Cambridge	1668 by Charles II Dismissed by William III and Mary II in 1688	"Astraea Redux" "Annus Mirabilis" "Absalom and Achitophel"	12 May 1700 London
Thomas Shadwell	Datei:ShadwellT.jpg	c. 1642 Stanton Hall, Norfolk	Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge	1689 by William III and Mary II	"Dear Pretty Youth" "Love in their little veins inspires" "Nymphs and Shepherds"	19 November 1692 Chelsea, London
Nahum Tate	Datei:Ntate.jpg	1652 Dublin, Ireland	Trinity College, Dublin	1692 by William III and Mary II	"Panacea, a poem on Tea"	30 July 1715 Southwark, London
Nicholas Rowe		20 June 1674 Little Barford, Bedfordshire	Middle Temple	1715 by George I	"A Poem upon the Late Glorious Successes of Her Majesty's Arms" Poems on Several Occasions Maecenas "Ode for the New Year MDCCXVI"	6 December 1718 London
Laurence Eusden	Datei:Eusden.JPG	6 September 1688 Spofforth, North Yorkshire	Trinity College, University of Cambridge	1718 by George I	"The Origin Of The Knights Of The Bath"	27 September 1730 Coningsby, Lincolnshire
Colley Cibber		11 June 1671 London	No formal education	1730 by George II		12 November 1757 London
William Whitehead		early February, 1715 Cambridge	Clare College, University of Cambridge	1757 by George II (on the refusal of Thomas Gray)	"On Ridicule" "The Enthusiast" "The Je Ne Scai Quoi"	14 April 1785 London
Thomas Warton		9 January 1728 Basingstoke, Hampshire	Trinity College, University of Oxford	1785 by George III (on the refusal of William Mason)	"The Triumph of Isis" "To the River Lodon"	21 May 1790 Oxford
Henry James Pye		20 February 1745 London	Magdalen College, University of Oxford	1790 by George III	Poems on Various Subjects "Alfred"	11 August 1813 Pinner, Middlesex
Robert Southey		12 August 1774 Bristol	Balliol College, University of Oxford	1813 by George III (on the refusal of Walter Scott)	"God's Judgement on a Wicked Bishop" "The Inchcape Rock" "After Blenheim" "Cataract of Lodore"	21 March 1843 Cumberland
William Wordsworth		7 April 1770 Cockermouth, Cumberland	St John's College, University of Cambridge	1843 by Victoria	"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" "The Prelude" "Tintern Abbey" The Lucy poems "The World Is Too Much with Us"	23 April 1850 Grasmere, Cumberland
Alfred, Lord Tennyson		6 August 1809 Somersby, Lincolnshire	Trinity College, University of Cambridge	1850 by Victoria (on the refusal of Samuel Rogers)	"The Charge of the Light Brigade" "Tears, idle tears" "Crossing the Bar" In Memoriam A.H.H. "Ulysses" "Tithonus"	6 October 1892 Haslemere, Surrey
Alfred Austin		30 May 1835 Headingley, Leeds	University of London	1896 by Victoria (on the refusal of William Morris)	"The Season: a Satire" "To England"	2 June 1913 Ashford, Kent
Robert Bridges		23 October 1844 Walmer, Kent	Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford	1913 by George V	"Melancholia" "The Evening Darkens Over" The Testament of Beauty	21 April 1930 Oxford
John Masefield	Datei:John Masefield.jpg	1 June 1878 Ledbury, Herefordshire	King's School, Warwick (Did not attend university)	1930 by George V	"The Everlasting Mercy" "Sea-Fever" "Reynard The Fox"	12 May 1967 Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Cecil Day-Lewis		27 April 1904 Ballintubbert, Queen's County, Ireland	Wadham College, University of Oxford	1968 by Elizabeth II	"Newsreel"	22 May 1972 Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire
John Betjeman		28 August 1906 Hampstead, London	Magdalen College, University of Oxford	1972 by Elizabeth II	"Christmas" "Slough" "The Conversion of St Paul"	19 May 1984 Trebetherick, Cornwall
Ted Hughes	Datei:Ted-Hughes-March1993.jpg	17 August 1930 Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire	Pembroke College, University of Cambridge	1984 by Elizabeth II (on the refusal of Philip Larkin)	Crow Moortown Diary Wolfwatching Tales from Ovid Birthday Letters	28 October 1998 Devon
Andrew Motion		26 October 1952 London	University College, University of Oxford	1 May 1999 by Elizabeth II Retired on 1 May 2009	"The Letter"	Still alive
Carol Ann Duffy		23 December 1955 Glasgow	University of Liverpool	1 May, 2009 by Elizabeth II	The World's Wife	Still alive

External links

• The Poet Laureate at The British Monarchy official website