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Betjeman, Sir John
Betjeman, Sir John (1906–84), poet, educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he became friendly with Auden and MacNeice and was encouraged by Bowra. He began to publish poems in magazines (‘Death in Leamington’ appeared in the London Mercury in 1930). His first collection of verse, Mount Zion (1931), was followed by other collections, including Continual Dew: A Little Book of Bourgeois Verse (1937), New Bats in Old Belfries (1945), A few Late Chrysanthemums (1954), and his extremely successful Collected Poems (1958, expanded 1962). His blank-verse autobiography, Summoned by Bells (1960), which covers his boyhood and life at Oxford, was followed by two more collections, High and Low (1966) and A Nip in the Air (1972). He was appointed poet laureate in 1972. His poetry is predominantly witty, urbane, satiric, and light of touch, a comedy of manners, place-names, and contemporary allusions. In the preface to Old Lights for New Chancels (1940) Betjeman writes of his own ‘topographical predilection’ for ‘suburbs and gaslights and Pont Street and Gothic Revival churches and mineral railways, provincial towns and garden cities’, a predilection also displayed in his editing and writing of Shell Guides and various works on architecture, beginning with Ghastly Good Taste (1933). His Letters 1926–1951, ed. by his daughter, were published in 1994.
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Betjeman, Sir John." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Betjeman, Sir John." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-BetjemanSirJohn.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Betjeman, Sir John." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-BetjemanSirJohn.html |
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Betjeman, Sir John
Betjeman, Sir John (1906–84). Poet laureate and essayist, whose eccentricity and accessibility have encouraged an undervaluation of his literary gifts. His Collected Poems (1958) sold over a million copies and as broadcaster he became a national institution, championing Victoriana and the disappearing ‘Metro-land’ of his youth. Unhappy at Marlborough, he blossomed at Oxford, where he moved in literary circles and went on to write for the Architectural Review. His first book, Mount Sion (1931), testifies to an enduring fascination with the Anglican church, and hymn forms are often reflected in his traditional metrics. Cornwall and the home counties repeatedly engage his ‘topographical predilection’, and he documents the doings of middle-class suburbia with a mixture of nostalgia and irony. He has something of Thomas Hardy's sadness and simplicity, but a greater capacity for enjoyment—of remembered tennis parties, for example, with Miss J. Hunter Dunn, ‘furnish'd and burnish'd by Aldershot sun’.
John Saunders |
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JOHN CANNON. "Betjeman, Sir John." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Betjeman, Sir John." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-BetjemanSirJohn.html JOHN CANNON. "Betjeman, Sir John." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-BetjemanSirJohn.html |
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Betjeman, Sir John
Betjeman, Sir John (1906–84). Poet laureate and essayist, whose eccentricity has encouraged an undervaluation of his literary gifts. His Collected Poems (1958) sold over a million copies and as a broadcaster he became a national institution, championing Victoriana and the disappearing ‘Metro‐land’ of his youth. Unhappy at Marlborough, he blossomed at Oxford, where he moved in literary circles. He documented the doings of middle‐class suburbia with a mixture of nostalgia and irony. Betjeman had something of Thomas Hardy's sadness and simplicity, but a greater capacity for enjoyment.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Betjeman, Sir John." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Betjeman, Sir John." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-BetjemanSirJohn.html JOHN CANNON. "Betjeman, Sir John." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-BetjemanSirJohn.html |
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Betjeman, Sir John
Betjeman, Sir John (1906–84) English poet. Traditional in form, accessible in sentiment, and often apparently parochial in his concern with English social and domestic life, the seriousness and accomplishment of Betjeman's poetry has often been obscured by its popularity. His Collected Poems (1958; rev. 1962) was a bestseller. Poet Laureate from 1972, Betjeman was also a broadcaster and idiosyncratic architectural critic.
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Cite this article
"Betjeman, Sir John." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Betjeman, Sir John." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-BetjemanSirJohn.html "Betjeman, Sir John." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-BetjemanSirJohn.html |
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