A poetic history of England

How do you tell the story of 1,300 years of English history? Through verse, according to cultural historian Catherine Clarke. In this episode of the History Extra podcast, she takes Lauren Good on a poetic journey through time, from the Black Death to literal bumfodder. Along the way, they explore why we've got WH Ordon's funeral blues all wrong, how Elizabeth Barrett Browning used poetry as a platform for social change, and how such works offer uniquely human insights into key moments in history. Hi Catherine, thank you so much for joining me today.

Hi, good to be here. Your book, A History of England, in 25 poems, does what it says on the tin. It covers the history of England from the 8th century to the present day. In 25 poems. Now, Catherine, that's quite an undertaking.

When did you think, you know what, I'm going to summarise England's history in this way? I think poems have a real magic for taking as like time machines inside moments in the past, because and these are poems written between the 8th century and the present day, so they cover 1,300 years of England's history. And that magic of poetry is that It takes us into the events of history, you know, the landmark events, the milestones. So in the book, there's the Battle of Agincourt, world wars, the Great Fire of London, but crucially, poems also take us inside the feelings, the imaginations, the experiences of people living and breathing through history.

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