Betjeman, Sir John

Betjeman, Sir John
born Aug. 28, 1906, London, Eng.
died May 19, 1984, Trebetherick, Cornwall

English poet.

His poetry volumes include Mount Zion (1933), High and Low (1966), and A Nip in the Air (1974), and his prose works include guidebooks to English counties and essays on places and buildings. His nostalgia for the near past, his exact sense of place, and his precise rendering of social nuance made him widely read at a time when much of what he wrote about was vanishing. From 1972 until his death he served as poet laureate of England.

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▪ British poet
born Aug. 28, 1906, London, Eng.
died May 19, 1984, Trebetherick, Cornwall

      British poet known for his nostalgia for the near past, his exact sense of place, and his precise rendering of social nuance, which made him widely read in England at a time when much of what he wrote about was rapidly vanishing. The poet, in near-Tennysonian rhythms, satirized lightly the promoters of empty and often destructive “progress” and the foibles of his own comfortable class. As an authority on English architecture and topography, he did much to popularize Victorian and Edwardian building and to protect what remained of it from destruction.

      The son of a prosperous businessman, Betjeman grew up in a London suburb, where T.S. Eliot was one of his teachers. He later studied at Marlborough College (a public school) and Magdalen College, Oxford. The years from early childhood until he left Oxford were detailed in Summoned by Bells (1960), blank verse interspersed with lyrics.

      Betjeman's first book of verse, Mount Zion, and his first book on architecture, Ghastly Good Taste, appeared in 1933. Churches, railway stations, and other elements of a townscape figure largely in both books. Four more volumes of poetry appeared before the publication of Collected Poems (1958). His later collections were High and Low (1966), A Nip in the Air (1974), Church Poems (1981), and Uncollected Poems (1982). Betjemen's celebration of the more settled Britain of yesteryear seemed to touch a responsive chord in a public that was suffering the uprootedness of World War II and its austere aftermath.

      Betjeman's prose works include several guidebooks to English counties; First and Last Loves (1952), essays on places and buildings; The English Town in the Last Hundred Years (1956); and English Churches (1964; with Basil Clarke). He was knighted in 1969, and in 1972 he succeeded C. Day-Lewis as poet laureate of England.

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  • Betjeman,Sir John — Bet·je·man (bĕchʹə mən), Sir John. 1906 1984. British poet and poet laureate (1972 1984) whose often nostalgic works, in collections such as A Few Late Chrysanthemums (1955), praise the English countryside. He also wrote widely on Victorian… …   Universalium

  • Betjeman, Sir John — (1906 1984)    Broadcaster, television presenter and poet laureate known for writing about the recent past in such a way as to make it accessible and familiar. The only child of a London furniture manufacturer, he was educated at Marlborough… …   British and Irish poets

  • Betjeman, Sir John — (28 ago. 1906, Londres, Inglaterra–19 may. 1984, Trebetherick, Cornwall). Poeta inglés. Entre sus libros de poesía se cuentan Mount Zion [Monte Sión] (1933), High and Low [Alto y bajo] (1966) y A Nip in the Air [Aire fresco] (1974). Sus obras en… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Sir John — Barbirolli (conductor violincellist); Sir John Betjeman (poet laureate); Sir John Gielgud (actor) …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

  • Betjeman — Sir John Betjeman (* 28. August 1906 in London; † 19. Mai 1984 in Daymer Lane, Trebetherick, Cornwall) war ein britischer Dichter, Publizist und Journalist. Er gilt als der weitaus populärste Lyriker Großbritanniens im 20. Jahrhundert. Bekannt… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Betjeman — Sir John Betjeman (* 28. August 1906 in London; † 19. Mai 1984 in Daymer Lane, Trebetherick, Cornwall) war ein britischer Dichter, Publizist und Journalist. Er gilt als der weitaus populärste Lyriker Großbritanniens im 20. Jahrhundert. Bekannt… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • john — /jon/, n. Slang. 1. a toilet or bathroom. 2. (sometimes cap.) a fellow; guy. 3. (sometimes cap.) a prostitute s customer. [generic use of the proper name] * * * I known as John Lackland born Dec. 24, 1167, Oxford, Eng. died Oct. 18/19, 1216,… …   Universalium

  • John — /jon/, n. 1. the apostle John, believed to be the author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the book of Revelation. 2. See John the Baptist. 3. (John Lackland) 1167? 1216, king of England 1199 1216; signer of the Magna Carta 1215 (son of… …   Universalium

  • sir — /serr/, n. 1. a respectful or formal term of address used to a man: No, sir. 2. (cap.) the distinctive title of a knight or baronet: Sir Walter Scott. 3. (cap.) a title of respect for some notable personage of ancient times: Sir Pandarus of Troy …   Universalium

  • sir — (Voz inglesa.) ► sustantivo masculino Tratamiento honorífico empleado por los británicos. * * * sir (ingl.; pronunc. [ser]) m. *Tratamiento de respeto usado en Inglaterra delante de un nombre de hombre o para dirigirse a la persona de que se… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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