John Masefield

John Masefield (1878–1967) was an English poet, novelist, and playwright who served as Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death.

Sea-Fever: A lyric poem by John Masefield, first published in his 1902 collection Salt-Water Ballads. Its longing for the sea became one of Masefield’s best-known poetic voices.
Herefordshire: A historic county in western England, bordering Wales. Masefield was born in Ledbury, a market town in Herefordshire.
Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom: An officially appointed poet who writes verse for significant national occasions in the United Kingdom. Masefield held the office for 37 years, from 1930 until 1967.
The Times: A British daily newspaper founded in 1785. Its 1915 publication of “The West Wind” helped bring Masefield’s wartime verse to a wide audience.
Cargoes: A short poem by John Masefield contrasting ships and cargoes from different historical eras. Its compact contrasts exemplify his maritime imagery and rhythmic craft.
HMS Conway: A British naval training ship that educated boys for careers in the merchant service. Masefield trained aboard the ship before leaving seafaring for literary work.
Alfred Austin: An English poet who served as Poet Laureate from 1896 to 1913. Austin’s earlier laureateship provides a predecessor to Masefield’s long tenure.
The West Wind: A poem by John Masefield, published in The Times during the First World War. The poem expressed wartime resolve and strengthened his public profile.
The Everlasting Mercy: A 1911 narrative poem by John Masefield about a poacher’s conversion and moral renewal. Its colloquial language and spiritual transformation marked a major change in his poetry.
Merchant navy: The commercial shipping fleet and seafaring workforce that transport goods by sea. His brief merchant-service experience supplied firsthand material for sea poems.

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