Philip Bourke Marston was born in London on 13 August 1850 and died there on 13 February 1887, only thirty-six years later. His short life was shaped by an unusually concentrated mixture of literary privilege, physical disability, bereavement, emotional intensity, and artistic determination. During his lifetime he was admired by prominent writers, including Algernon Charles Swinburne, and was known in literary circle…
“It seems to me this perfect poem is possessed by the melancholy yet tender music of winds sighing at twilight, in some churchyard, through old trees that watch beside silent graves.”
Neighbourhood:
Death & Mortality, Love Poets, Pre-Raphaelite Poets, Victorian Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Tenderness
In the brief span of twenty-seven years, Georg Trakl created a body of work that would forever alter the landscape of German-language poetry. His verses, saturated with autumnal imagery, spiritual anguish, and apocalyptic visions, emerged from the twilight of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and spoke to a civilization on the brink of collapse. Today, he stands as one of the most enigmatic and influential poets of early t…
“Sleep is the only mercy granted to the restless mind.”
Neighbourhood:
German Romantics, Modernist Poets, Symbolist Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Despair, Longing