Learn More - Poems

Poems are like stories, but are written in a different way.

Unlike stories, poems often rhyme. This means that the words sound the same.

Listen to 'Two poems about flies' to hear rhyming words like

"There was an old lady
Who swallowed a fly.
I don't know why
She swallowed a fly
Perhaps she'll die!"

Can you hear all the rhyming words? It makes the story sound like a song or a rap.

Some poems, like Jabberwocky are called nonsense poems because they use lots of made-up words.

"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe"

Though stories always have a beginning, a middle and an end, poems don't have to. Remember 'Humpty Dumpty' from the Lewis Carroll poems collection? - there is no end at all!

Poems can be very long. Listen to 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin'.

Or they can be very short; like this one by Edward Lear

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests
in my beard!'

Lewis Carroll 1832 – 1898

"Sometimes I have believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast"

Lewis' real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He was born in Cheshire, England in 1832. He had 10 brothers and sisters and was very clever as a boy. He could read difficult books and was excellent at maths without even trying! He was also an artist, photographer and inventor of games!

You have probably heard of his famous books:

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Through the Looking-Glass

Tales of time loves his poems and has a whole collection of them!

Edward Lear 1812 - 1888

"It's a fact the whole world knows

That Pobbles are happier without their toes"

Edward was born in London, England in 1812. He was the last brother born to 19 siblings! But the family was very poor and he and his sister left home when he was just 4years old. She was 25. He wasn't very well as a child and suffered from epilepsy, sore throats and asthma. His bad health made him very sad and he called these times 'The Morbids.'

He started work as an illustrator and got his first drawings published when he was 19. He even gave drawing lessons to Queen Victoria!

He became famous for his nonsense poems and his most famous was 'The Owl and the Pussycat'. He wrote this for the children of his friend; the Earl of Derby.

William Brighty Rands 1823 - 1882

"Never do to-day what you can put off till to-morrow."

William was born in London, England on Christmas eve 1823. He only went to school from ages 10 until 13, but he was very clever. He taught himself to read and learned Latin, Greek, Spanish and French! He loved languages and when he was older, he learnt Chinese too!

He did lots of different jobs and finally he became a reporter for the House of Commons.

When he was not reporting, he was writing for lots of other papers and magazines. This is when he started writing for children. He wrote many nursery rhymes, poems and fairy tales.

Albert Midlane

Albert was born on the Isle-of-White in 1825.

He went to Church and, instead of listening to the sermons, he spent the morning studying the hymn book. Then he started writing his own hymns. He was 17 when his first hymn was published. After that, we was producing about 200 hymns and verses a year!

But he never accepted payment for his writing. He worked at a printing office and then became an iron monger's assistant. Then he started his own Ironmongery. But one day, he had some money trouble and was made bankrupt!

His fans all over the country gave money so that he could overturn the bankruptcy and he and his wife could live comfortably.

Robert Browning

Robert was born in London, England in 1812. He wrote a whole book of poems when he was only 12 years old. But nobody wanted to publish it, so he burned it!
He didn't like school (can't image why!) and his family got him a home tutor. He was a really fast learner, and by the time he was 14, he was fluent in French, Greek, Italian and Latin.
He met a lady called Elizabeth Barret and had to marry her secretly as her father didn't want her to get married. They ran off to Italy together and had a son.
It was only after his wife died, that he returned to England. This is when he became famous for his work. He wrote lots of really long poems.
"Perhaps one has to be very old before one learns to be amused rather than shocked"