The Great Poets: John Masefield

By: John Masefield

Narrated by: Ronald Pickup

John Masefield (1878–1967) was one of the most prolific, popular and successful poets of the twentieth century. Masefield broke upon Edwardian literature with the startling work entitled "The Everlasting Mercy," which described the spiritual enlightenment of a drunken poacher. Over the span of his lifetime, he was appointed Poet Laureate and amassed a large number of admirers, which included such high-profile names as John Betjeman, Robert Graves and W.B. Yeats. This collection contains 36 poems and spans Masefield's entire career. There are early poems from "Salt-Water Ballads" (1902) and "Ballads" (1903), followed by extracts from the narrative poems "The Everlasting Mercy," "Dauber" and "Reynard the Fox." The selection also includes a number of sonnets including "On Growing Old", as well as his poetry on the Romans, alongside a number of rarities.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks

Joe, The Shrimpboat Man

What made the experience of listening to The Great Poets: John Masefield the most enjoyable?

Joe was a man I knew for a short while, fifty tears ago. He loved poetry and would just burst out with poetry at any given time for long periods of time....usually it was 'Sea Fever'...he spent ten years at sea and memorized many Masefields poems....Now I see why. Ode to you Joe..

What does Ronald Pickup bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is the Poet!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

On Growing Old.

Depth of subject matter.

The narrator made these poems come alive! He had the perfect voice, tone and infliction for these poems.