Verse class stamps
We have today announced the launch of 10 new Special Stamps on the 250th anniversary of the birth of William Wordsworth, the renowned Romantic poet, who was born on 7 April 1770.
Our new Special Stamps also celebrate other major Romantic poets: William Blake; John Keats; Lord Byron; Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Mary Robinson; Percy Bysshe Shelley; Walter Scott; John Clare; and Letitia Elizabeth Landon.
Each stamp uses an extract from one of their most popular and enduring works, along with a specially-commissioned, monochrome design that reflects the theme of the poem.
The Romantic poets made poetry more passionate and more personal than ever before with their embrace of romantic landscapes and the natural world. Some became international household names. Lord Byron (1788–1824) was the original celebrity author and Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) became famous as the inventor of the historical novel. By contrast, the genius of some others, notably William Blake (1757–1827) and John Clare (1793– 1864), was recognised only after their deaths.
The poet who came to be seen as the primary voice of the Romantic movement, was William Wordsworth (1770–1850). Wordsworth’s early work was initially neglected. Lyrical Ballads (written with his friend and contemporary, Samuel Taylor Coleridge) and published anonymously, was often derided, but leading Victorian thinkers would come to regard him as the greatest English poet since Shakespeare.
In 1843, Queen Victoria made Wordsworth her Poet Laureate. When he died seven years later, his influence was immense, and his poetry genuinely changed the world.
Coleridge (1772– 1834) wrote some of his best work around the turn of the century – penning the mysterious ‘Kubla Khan’ as well as his beautiful poem ‘Frost at Midnight’, addressed to his sleeping baby son Hartley.
Stamp strategy manager, Philip Parker, said: ‘The Romantic poets composed some of the most loved poetry of all time, and our striking new stamps celebrate the genius of their imaginations.’
The full range of stamps, and other collectible products are now available at www.royalmail.com/romanticpoets and by phone on 03457 641 641.
