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Category: Literature
William Blake, born on November 28, 1757, transformed English poetry through visionary imagery, symbolic language, and prophetic intensity. His fusion of lyric clarity and mythic imagination reshaped Romanticism, expanded English’s expressive power, and left a linguistic legacy that continues to influence literature, art, philosophy, and modern cultural discourse.
Birth of William Blake (1757–1827) – The Visionary Poet Who Transformed the Imagination of English Literature
The Wife’s Lament is an Anglo Saxon poem from the Exeter Book. There are numerous articles on the poem and scholarly analyses—including the linked Wikipedia article—so I won’t go into it; but the poem has a fascinating history.. My own version is not a translation but is based on the original. There are a variety […]
Song of Sorrows (or The Wife’s Lament)
Born on November 26, 1731, William Cowper reshaped English poetry by replacing Augustan formality with plain, humane language. His gentle humor, emotional candor, and conversational style bridged the gap to Romanticism, proving that poetry could speak quietly, personally, and in the natural rhythms of everyday life.
Birth of William Cowper (1731–1800) – The Poet Who Gave English Verse Its First Modern, Conversational Voice
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More about H.G.W!
Richard Hakluyt, who died on November 23, 1616, shaped early English exploration literature and the rise of English as a global language. Through vast compilations of voyages and persuasive arguments for colonization, he preserved sailors’ voices, guided imperial policy, and expanded the imaginative and linguistic horizons of English readers.
Death of Richard Hakluyt (c. 1552–1616) – The Great Chronicler of English Voyages and the Early Global Reach of the English Language
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, born on November 21, 1863, profoundly shaped how English poetry is read and taught. Through The Oxford Book of English Verse and his influential lectures on style, he defined literary taste for decades, preserving poems, guiding readers, and shaping the canon for the modern English-speaking world.
Birth of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863 – 1944) – The Anthologist Who Helped Define the Canon of English Poetry
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An Intriguing New Novel
Born on November 18, 1836, W. S. Gilbert transformed English comic writing through his dazzling operatic librettos. With razor-sharp satire, intricate rhyme, and musical wit, he reshaped theatrical language, proving that humor in English can be elegant, rhythmic, and brilliantly subversive.
Birth of W. S. Gilbert (1836 – 1911) – The Master of English Comic Verse and Satirical Operetta
Mervyn Peake, who died on November 17, 1968, crafted a literary world defined by shadow, grandeur, and imagination. His Gormenghast trilogy stands as a monumental fusion of Gothic atmosphere and poetic precision, proving that English prose can be both dreamlike and rigorously constructed.
Death of Mervyn Peake (1911 – 1968) – The Gothic Architect of English Imagination
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