Poetry

Wilfred Owen: A Remembrance Tale

Jeremy Paxman tells the tragic story of World War One poet Wilfred Owen. At a time of jingoism and wartime propaganda, one Shropshire lad wa...

War Poetry | Culture Fix

Examining poetry that has helped to shape our view of war, and traces its origins back through Tennyson's 'Charge of the Light Brigade' to Homer's c...

The Poetry of War | English File

The story of WW1 through drama, poetry and archive, focusing on three poets: Wilfred Owen, Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon. Aimed at 14-...

Poetry: Between the Lines - The Romantics | William Blake's 'London'

Akala presents a reading and discussion of 'London' from Blake's Songs of Experience.

The Power of Poetry | Robert Browning's 'The Laboratory'

A contemporary dramatisation of Browning's poem, with the poisoning set in a nightclub.

English File | John Agard's poem Half-caste

John Agard discusses and reads his poem 'Half-caste'.

Poetry: Between the Lines - The Romantics | Percy Bysshe Shelley - Ozymandias

Hip-Hop star, Akala meets the poet, Hannah Lowe, to explore Shelley’s poem ‘Ozymandias’ and how...

Poets in Person | John Agard - Checking Out My History

Six short films, each celebrating a different contemporary poem, featuring performances and personal insights from the...

Simon Armitage: Writing Poems | ''The Manhunt''

Simon Armitage explores his response to war poetry, 'The Manhunt'.

Arena | Seamus Heaney and the Music of What Happens

A portrait of Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney. Six years after his death, his family recalls the experiences that ...

Poetry: Between the Lines - The Romantics | Lord Byron - When we two parted

Hip-Hop star Akala discusses with poet, Mark Grist, the ideas and emotions in Byron’s poem, ‘When...

Something to Write Home About: Seamus Heaney

A tribute to Seamus Heaney, exploring his home ground, the boundaries and divisions and 'the possibility of true understanding'.

Wilfred Owen: A Remembrance Tale | Siegfried Sassoons influence on Anthem for Doomed Youth

Jeremy Paxman looks at original manuscripts and discovers how integral Siegfried S...

Antiques Roadshow | Wilfred Owen

Items featured include a communion book originally owned by the poet Wilfred Owen.

Four Sides of Seamus Heaney | 03: Seamus Heaney - The Troubles

Gail McConnell explores how Seamus Heaney, who died ten years ago, responded in his work to The Troubles in hi...

Poets in Person | Imtiaz Dharker - The Right Word

Six short films, each celebrating a different contemporary poem, featuring performances and personal insights from the poet...

Dylan Thomas: A Poet at War

Poet and broadcaster Ifor ap Glyn looks at Dylan Thomas' work as scriptwriter of propaganda films for the government during WWII.

The Poetry of History | S01E02: Peterloo and Shelley

Jonathan Bate looks at the history behind Shelley's The Mask of Anarchy, travelling to Manchester to investigate the Pet...

Songs of Praise | A Reading of 'Anthem for Doomed Youth'

Dame Patricia Routledge discusses how Wilfred Owen captured the horror of war in his poetry before reading Anthem fo...

Arena | Seamus Heaney and the Music of What Happens: Out of the Bag'

A reading of Heaney's poem 'Out of the Bag'.