Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley

( 1792 – 1822 )

One of the major English Romantic Poets, and is considered one of the finest lyric poets in the English language, and  talk about a free thinker…….. One of his first published works was “The Necessity of Atheism” (and this was 200 years ago!), and it got him expelled from school at 18. He believed in free love, as in living together and all that, again, in an era when you could get in trouble for blasphemy and sedition. Evidently he was way ahead of his time.

His works are too many to list, but try these, if you want to read some of his genius:

Queen Maab

When Soft Voices Die

Prometheus Unbound

Ozymandias

Adonais

His body is buried in Campo Cestio , Rome.

John Keats and Edward Trelawny are buried there too……. Keats being another, along with Byron, of the great Romantic Poets of the Era. Trelawny was an adventurer and friend, whose lived his life as if he stepped out of their poems.

Trivia:

His Heart is buried close to his wife in St. Peter Churchyard, Bournemouth, Dorset, England, and she was Mary Shelley, the Author of “Frankenstein”.

Robert Frost

Robert Frost

(1874 – 1963)

An American poet and writer, Frost’s work  will make you think. His realistic depictions of life and deep thought , added to his command of the English language are irresistible, to me anyway. Talk about a life plagued with tragedy- His Father died when Frost was 11, His mother when he was about 25, He outlived his wife by 25 years, and only two of his six children outlived him.  Some of his best:

The Road Not Taken

Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy evening

Nothing Gold Can Stay  (My favorite of his)

He is buried in  Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont.

Trivia:

He read a poem at JFK’s inauguration in January, 1961

F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald

(1896 – 1940)

Regarded as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, he was an author and a poet.

The Great Gatsby, The Beautiful and the Damned, This Side Of Paradise, Tender is the Night, to name a few, kind of says it all.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” was a short story of his. His wife was Zelda Sayre (1900 -1948). She suffered a lot and spent time in mental institutions, and he was an alcoholic from his college days. A troubled marriage to say the least. His works are still popular today and are required reading in some schools.

He put out some deep thoughts, that’s for sure. He is buried in  St. Mary’s Cemetery, Rockville, MD

Check out his stuff……

George Gordon, Lord Byron

George Gordon, Lord Byron

(1788 – 1824)

The most flamboyant of the romantic poets, Byron lived a life that is almost mythic.

Known for his excesses, he lived scandalously(huge debts, countless affairs with both sexes, even a rumored affair with his half sister, radical political beliefs), and lived his life as he wanted, trying(and it sounds like succeeding) to not be a hypocrite……. Only 36 when he died, it’s had to believe he did so much in that length of time. Even so, he is regarded as one of the greatest British Poets, and he is still widely read and influential.  She walks in beauty is an awesome poem, my favorite anyway. Read his works if you get a chance, and read about his life, it’s better than fiction. The “Byronic Hero” is the image that pervades his works, and the model is used by other authors.

He is buried in St. Mary Magdalene Church, Nottinghamshire, England . There were rumors that his heart was kept and buried by the Greeks(He died in Greece) but I’m not sure about that one.