Famous Westminster Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous Westminster poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous westminster poems. These examples illustrate what a famous westminster poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

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An Ode On The Death Of Mr. Henry Purcell

...Late Servant to his Majesty, and 
Organist of the Chapel Royal, and 
of St. Peter's Westminster 

I

Mark how the Lark and Linnet Sing, 
With rival Notes 
They strain their warbling Throats, 
To welcome in the Spring. 
But in the close of Night, 
When Philomel begins her Heav'nly lay, 
They cease their mutual spite, 
Drink in her Music with delight, 
And list'ning and silent, and silent and list'ning, 
And list'ning and silent obey.

II

So...Read more of this...
by Dryden, John


Composed Upon Westminster Bridge

...Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning; silent , bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky,
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did the sun more...Read more of this...
by Wordsworth, William

Death and Burial of Lord Tennyson

...losely associated with his history,
And he has done what Wordsworth did for the Lake Country. 

His remains now rest in Westminster Abbey,
And his funeral was very impressive to see;
It was a very touching sight, I must confess,
Every class, from the Queen, paying a tribute to the poet's greatness. 

The pall-bearers on the right of the coffin were Mr W. E. H. Lecky,
And Professor Butler, Master of Trinity, and the Earl of Rosebery;
And on the left were Mr J. A. Froude and th...Read more of this...
by McGonagall, William Topaz

In Westminster Abbey

...Let me take this other glove off
As the vox humana swells,
And the beauteous fields of Eden
Bask beneath the Abbey bells.
Here, where England's statesmen lie,
Listen to a lady's cry.

Gracious Lord, oh bomb the Germans,
Spare their women for Thy Sake,
And if that is not too easy
We will pardon Thy Mistake.
But, gracious Lord, whate'er shall be,
Don't let a...Read more of this...
by Betjeman, John

Jubilate Agno: Fragment D

...ys rejoice with The Beardmanica a curious bird. 

Let Busby, house of Busby rejoice with The Ganser a bird. God prosper Westminster-School. 

Let Alured, house of Alured rejoice with the Book-Spider -- I refer the people of both Universitys to the Bible for their morality. 

Let Lidgate, house of Lidgate rejoice with The Flammant a curious large bird on the coast of Cuba. God make us amends for the restoration of the Havannah. 

Let Cunningham, house of Cunningham rejoice wit...Read more of this...
by Smart, Christopher


Ode to the Sublime Porte

...o know a lean Benthamite spinster --
A maid, who her faith in old Jeremy puts;
Who talks, with a lisp, of the "last new Westminster,"
And hopes you're delighted with "Mill upon Gluts";

Who tells you how clever one Mr. Fun-blank is,
How charming his Articles 'gainst the Nobility; --
And assures you that even a gentleman's rank is,
In Jeremy's school, of no sort of utility.

To see her, ye Gods, a new number perusing --
Art. 1 - "On the Needle's variations", by Pl--e;
Art. 2 -...Read more of this...
by Moore, Thomas

On The Death Of The Right Honourable The Lord Viscount Bayning

...ist-Church Pile,
Great Henrie's Monument, shall grow awhile
With Bayning's Treasure; who a way hath took.
Like those at Westminster, to fill a nook
'Mongst beds of Kings. Thus speak, speak while we may
For Stones will speak when We are hush'd in Clay....Read more of this...
by Strode, William

She rose as high as His Occasion

...She rose as high as His Occasion
Then sought the Dust --
And lower lay in low Westminster
For Her brief Crest --...Read more of this...
by Dickinson, Emily

The Battle of the Nile

...ook but little food;
But now he ordered dinner and prepared without delay,
Saying, I shall gain a peerage to-morrow, or Westminster Abbey. 

The French had found it impossible to enter the port of Alexandria,
Therefore they were compelled to withdraw;
Yet their hearts were burning with anxiety the war to begin,
But they couldn't find a pilot who would convey them safely in. 

Therefore Admiral Brueyes was forced to anchor in Aboukir Bay,
And in a compact line of battle, the l...Read more of this...
by McGonagall, William Topaz

The Burial of Mr. Gladstone

...the year of 1898, and on the 19th of May,
When his soul took its flight for ever and aye,
And his body was interred in Westminster Abbey;
But I hope his soul has gone to that Heavenly shore,
Where all trials and troubles cease for evermore. 

He was a man of great intellect and genius bright,
And ever faithful to his Queen by day and by night,
And always foremost in a political fight;
And for his services to mankind, God will him requite. 

The funeral procession was affecti...Read more of this...
by McGonagall, William Topaz

The Pangolin

...nger unpugnaciously,
 with no sound but a harmless hiss; keeping

the fragile grace of the Thomas-
 of-Leighton Buzzard Westminster Abbey wrought-iron vine, or
rolls himself into a ball that has
 power to defy all effort to unroll it; strongly intailed, neat
 head for core, on neck not breaking off, with curled-in-feet.
 Nevertheless he has sting-proof scales; and nest
 of rocks closed with earth from inside, which can thus
 darken.
 Sun and moon and day and night and man and...Read more of this...
by Moore, Marianne

The White Cliffs

...and further away. . . . And now we stood 
On a bridge, where a poet came to keep 
Vigil while all the city lay asleep—
Westminster Bridge, and soon the sun would rise,
And I should see it with my very eyes!
Yes, now it came— a broad and awful glow
Out of the violet mists of dawn. 'Ah, no',
I said. 'Earth has not anything to show
More fair— changed though it is— than this.'
A curious background surely for a kiss—
Our first— Westminster Bridge at break of day—
Settings by Word...Read more of this...
by Miller, Alice Duer

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