John Masefield

Arthurian Poets: John Masefield

Marc Notes: Also avail. in cloth by D. S. Brewer well as physicians. Publisher Marketing: At the end of the nineteenth century, a homeless runaway teenager in New York found a job in a bar and discovered Malory. So began the lifelong interest of the future Poet Laureate, John Masefield (1878-1967), in the story of King Arthur. After becoming a popular, successful narrative poet and playwright, Masefield turned to the Arthurian material in earnest, producing the verse drama Tristan and Isolt in 1927 and Midsummer Night a year later with its Arthurian cycle. All29 of Masefield's previously published Arthurian poems from the Ballad of Sir Bors (1903) to Caer Ocvran (1966) are collected here in addition to the full-length tragi-comedy When Good King Arthur. Also included are nine poems never before published which, together with prose notes, reveal Masefield undertaking an ambitious retelling of the Arthurian myth.

Contributor Bio:  Masefield, John John Masefield was a well-known English poet and novelist. After boarding school, Masefield took to a life at sea where he picked up many stories, which influenced his decision to become a writer. Upon returning to England after finding work in New York City, Masefield began publishing his poetry in periodicals, and then eventually in collections. In 1915, Masefield joined the Allied forces in France and served in a British army hospital there, despite being old enough to be exempt from military service. After a brief service, Masefield returned to Britain and was sent overseas to the United States to research the American opinion on the war. This trip encouraged him to write his book Gallipoli, which dealt with the failed Allied attacks in the Dardanelles, as a means of negating German propaganda in the Americas. Masefield continued to publish throughout his life and was appointed as Poet Laureate in 1930. Masefield died in 1967 the age of 88.