Robert Laurence Binyon (August 10, 1869 at Lancaster – March 10, 1943 at Reading, Berkshire) was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... A view of Lancaster showing the Lune, the Millennium Bridge and the Ashton Memorial Lancaster (2001 census population 45,952: source ONS) is a city in Lancashire, in the north-west of England, UK. It is a commercial, cultural and educational centre. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (70th in leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Reading is a town and unitary authority (the Borough of Reading) in the English county of Berkshire. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... A poet is some one who writes poetry. ...

Life & works

The son of Quakers, Binyon was educated at St Paul's High School and Trinity College, Oxford. He was already writing poetry by 1890, and won the Newdigate Prize for one poem whilst still at Oxford. The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... College name Trinity College Named after The Holy Trinity Established 1555 Sister College Churchill College President Sir Ivor Roberts KCMG MA JCR President Kushal Banerjee Undergraduates 298 MCR President Andrew Ng Graduates 105 Homepage Boatclub Trinity College (in full: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University... Sir Roger Newdigates Prize is awarded to students of the University of Oxford for Best Composition in English verse by an undergraduate who has not yet been in attendance at Oxford for four years since his or her date of admittance. ...

After graduation, from 1893 he worked at the Department of Printed Books in the British Museum. In 1904 he married fellow historian Cicely Margaret Powell, and the couple had three daughters. He later moved to the Museum's Department of Prints and Drawings, becoming the Assistant Keeper of Prints and Drawings in 1909. In 1913 he was made the Keeper of the new Sub-Department of Oriental Prints and Drawings. Many of his books produced while at the Museum were influenced by his sensibilities as a poet, although some are works of plain scholarship - such as his four-volume catalogue of all the Museum's English drawings. Academic procession during the University of Canterbury graduation ceremony. ... The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Buro Happold and Foster and Partners surrounding the original Reading Room. ...

Although too old to enlist in the First World War, he went to the Western Front in 1916 to work for the Red Cross as a medical orderly with an Ambulance Unit. He wrote about his experiences in For Dauntless France (1918). Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West. ... The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

For the Fallen

He is best known for the poem For the Fallen, written while sitting on The Rumps, Polseath Polzeath, Cornwall, and first published in The Times in September, 1914. The seven-verse poem honoured the World War I British war dead of that time and in particular the British Expeditionary Force, which had by then already had high casualty rates on the developing Western Front. The poem was published when the Battle of the Marne was foremost in people's minds. The Rumps, site of Iron Age cliff fortifications. ... View of the beach from New Polzeath. ... Cornwall (Cornish: Kernow) is a county in South West England on the peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom since 1785, and under its current name since 1788. ... Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to France and Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939 - 1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War in case the... For most of World War I, Allied Forces, predominantly those of France and the United Kingdom, were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. ... There were two Battles of the Marne during World War I: First Battle of the Marne (1914) Second Battle of the Marne (1918) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

The fourth verse from that poem has gained an existence of its own and is known today as the Ode of Remembrance - one that applies to all war dead: The Ode of Remembrance is an ode taken from Laurence Binyons For the Fallen, which was first published in September 1914 to honour the British casualties of the First World War. ...

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

"The Ode" is still regularly recited on occasions such as Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom and Canada and ANZAC day in Australia and New Zealand, and adorns numerous war memorials including The Cenotaph in Whitehall. It is customarily read by an old soldier. In Australia's Returned and Services Leagues, it is read out nightly at 6 p.m. Wreaths of artificial poppies used as a symbol of remembrance Remembrance Day (Australia, Canada, Colombia, UK and Ireland), also known as Poppy Day (South Africa and Malta), and Armistice Day (UK, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries; and the original name of the holiday internationally) is a day to... In the United Kingdom Remembrance Sunday is the Sunday nearest to 11 November - Remembrance Day, which is the anniversary of when hostilities in the First World War ended at 11 a. ... ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Australian War Memorial, 25 April 2005, 90th anniversary Australia and New Zealand commemorate the ANZAC Day public holiday on April 25 every year to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and of all those... This memorial in England lists the names of soldiers who died in the First World War. ... The Returned and Services League of Australia (often abbreviated to RSL) is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. ...

Time of our Darkness is the title of a novel by South African author Stephen Gray. The last two lines of For the Fallen are 'As the stars are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end they remain.' Time of our Darkness is a novel by South African author Stephen Gray. ... Stephen Gray (December, 1666 - February 7, 1736) was an English dyer and amateur astronomer, who was the first to systematically experiment with electrical conduction, rather than simple generation of static charges and investigations of the static phenomena. ... Laurence Robert Binyon (August 10, 1869 Lancaster, England – March 10, 1943) was a British poet and scholar. ...

‘Condemn’ or ‘contemn’?

There has been some debate as to whether the line “Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn” should end with the words ‘condemn’ or ‘contemn’. Contemn means to ‘despise’ therefore either word would make sense in the context of the stanza.

When the poem was printed ‘condemn’. This word was also used in The Winnowing Fan in which the poem was published later. Binyon would have had the chance to make amendments so it seems unlikely that the word contemn was meant. [1]

The issue of what word was meant seems only to have arisen in Australia, with little debate in other Commonwealth countries that mark Remembrance Day. The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, the majority of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ... Wreaths of artificial poppies used as a symbol of remembrance Remembrance Day (Australia, Canada, Colombia, UK and Ireland), also known as Poppy Day (South Africa and Malta), and Armistice Day (UK, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries; and the original name of the holiday internationally) is a day to...

Music

Edward Elgar set Binyon's poems to music as The spirit of England: op. 80, for tenor or soprano solo, chorus and orchestra (1917). Sir Edward Elgar Sir Edward Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 â€“ 23 February 1934) was an English Romantic composer. ...

Post-war life

After the war, he returned to the British Museum and wrote numerous books on art; in particular on William Blake, Persian art, and Japanese art. His work on ancient Japanese & Chinese cultures offered strongly contextualised examples that inspired, among others, the poets Ezra Pound, and W.B. Yeats. His work on Blake and his followers kept alive the then nearly-forgotten memory of the work of Samuel Palmer. Binyon's duality of interests continued the traditional interest of British visionary Romanticism in the rich strangeness of Mediterranean and Oriental cultures. The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Buro Happold and Foster and Partners surrounding the original Reading Room. ... William Blake in an 1807 portrait by Thomas Phillips William Blake (November 28, 1757–August 12, 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. ... Iran is filled with tombs of poets and musicians, such as this one belonging to Rahi Moayeri. ... Bronze statue of Amida Buddha at Kotokuin in Kamakura (1252 CE) Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper, and a myriad of other types of works of art. ... Ezra Pound in 1913. ... A 1907 engraving of Yeats. ... Self-portrait of the young Samuel Palmer, circa 1826. ... Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. ...

In 1931 his two volume Collected Poems appeared. In 1933, he was appointed Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard. In 1934 he retired from the British Museum, having risen to be the Keeper of the Prints and Drawings Department, and went to live in the country at Westridge Green, near Streatley (where his daughters also came to live during the Second World War). The brothers Charles Benjamin Norton, Frank Henry Norton, and Charles Eliot Norton, between 1853-1855. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... Streatley is a village on the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

As well as writing poetry Binyon continued his academic work: in May 1939 he gave the prestigious Romanes Lecture in Oxford on Art and Freedom, and in 1940 he was appointed the Byron Professor of English Literature at University of Athens. He worked there until forced to leave before the German invasion of Greece in April 1941. The Romanes Lecture is a prestigious free public lecture given annually at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. ... The University of Oxford (often called Oxford University), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ... The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greek: Εθνικόν και Καποδιστριακόν Πανεπιστήμιον Αθηνών), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens, is the oldest university in the region of the eastern Mediterranean and has been in continuous operation since its establishment in 1837. ...

Binyon had been friends with Ezra Pound since around 1909, and in the 1930s the two became especially friendly - Pound affectionately called him "BinBin", and closely assisted Binyon with his Dante translation work. Another Binyon protege was Arthur Waley, whom Binyon employed at the British Museum. Binyon also introduced Robert Frost to the young Robert Bridges. Ezra Pound in 1913. ... Arthur David Waley (August 19, 1889 – June 27, 1966) was a noted English Orientalist and Sinologist. ... Robert Frost (1941) Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet, one of the foremost of the 20th century. ... Bridges on the cover of Time in 1929 Robert Seymour Bridges (October 23, 1844–April 21, 1930) was an English poet, holder of the honour of poet laureate from 1913. ...

Between 1933 and 1943, Binyon published an acclaimed translation of Dante's Divina commedia in an English version of terza rima. At his death he was also working on a major three-part Arthurian trilogy; the first part of which was published after his death as The Madness of Merlin (1947). Durante degli Alighieri, better known as Dante Alighieri or simply Dante, (c. ... ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Terza rima is a rhyming verse stanza form that was first used by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. ... A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust (armor of the beginning of 15c) as ancient armour is one of the chivalrous mourners at the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I (died 1519), in Innsbruck King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology... Merlin Ambrosius (Welsh: Myrddin Emrys (Merlin the Wise); also known as Myrddin Wyllt (Merlin the Wild), Merlin Caledonensis (Scottish Merlin), Merlinus, and Merlyn) is the personage best known as the mighty wizard featured in Arthurian legends, starting with Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae. ...

There is a slate memorial at Aldworth, St. Mary's Church, where Binyon's ashes were scattered after death. Slate Slate is a fine-grained, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low grade regional metamorphism. ... Aldworth is a small village and civil parish, close to the northern edge of the English county of Berkshire, in the rural area between Reading, Newbury and Streatley. ...

His daughter Helen Binyon (1904-1979) was an artist who studied with Paul Nash and Eric Ravilious. She illustrated many books for the Oxford University Press, and was also a marionettist. She later taught puppetry and published Puppetry Today (1966) and Professional Puppetry in England (1973). Paul Nash (1899 - 1946) was a British war artist. ... Eric Ravilious (1903 - 1942) was an English painter, book illustrator, and wood engraver. ... Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ...

Bibliography of key works

Poems and verse:

• Lyric Poems (1894)
• Porphyrion and other Poems (1898)
• Odes (1901)
• Death of Adam and Other Poems (1904)
• London Visions (1908)
• England and Other Poems (1909)
• "For The Fallen", The Times, September 21, 1914
• Winnowing Fan (1914)
• The Anvil (1916)
• The Cause (1917)
• The New World: Poems (1918)
• The Idols (1928)
• Collected Poems Vol 1: London Visions, Narrative Poems, Translations. (1931)
• Collected Poems Vol 2: Lyrical Poems. (1931)
• The Burning of the Leaves and Other Poems (1944)
• The Madness of Merlin (1947)

English arts & myth September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

• William Blake: Being all his Woodcuts Photographically Reproduced in Facsimile (1902)
• English Poetry in its relation to painting and the other arts (1918)
• Drawings and Engravings of William Blake (1922)
• Arthur: A Tragedy (1923)
• The Followers of William Blake (1925)
• The Engraved Designs of William Blake (1926)
• Landscape in English Art and Poetry (1931)
• Gerard Hopkins and his influence (1939)
• Art and freedom. (The Romanes lecture, delivered 25 May 1939). Oxford: The Clarendon press, (1939)
• English Watercolours (1944)

Japanese & Persian arts: William Blake in an 1807 portrait by Thomas Phillips William Blake (November 28, 1757–August 12, 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. ... A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust (armor of the beginning of 15c) as ancient armour is one of the chivalrous mourners at the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I (died 1519), in Innsbruck King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology... Gerard Manley Hopkins (July 28, 1844 - June 8, 1889) was a British Victorian poet and Jesuit priest. ... The Romanes Lecture is a prestigious free public lecture given annually at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

• Painting in the Far East (1908)
• Japanese Art (1909)
• Flight of the Dragon (1911)
• The Court Painters of the Grand Moguls (1921)
• Japanese Colour Prints (1923)
• The Poems of Nizami (1928) (Translation)
• Persian Miniature Painting (1933)
• The Spirit of Man in Asian Art (1936)

Autobiography: External links The Legend of Leyli and Majnun Nizami, Jamal al-Din Ilyas. ...

• For Dauntless France (1918) (War memoir)

Biography:

• Botticelli (1913)
• Akbar (1932)

Stage plays: Alleged self-portrait of Botticelli, in his Adoration of the Magi. ...

• Brief Candles (Richard III's life as a verse-drama)
• Godstow Nunnery: Play
• Boadicea; A Play in eight Scenes
• Attila: a Tragedy in Four Acts
• Ayuli: a Play in three Acts and an Epilogue
• Sophro the Wise: a Play for Children

(Most of the above were written for John Masefield's theatre). Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death. ... Statue of Boudica near Westminster Pier Boudica (also Boudicca, Boadicea, Buduica, Bonduca) (d. ... John Edward Masefield, OM, (1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967), was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967. ...

Further reading

• Hatcher, John. Laurence Binyon: Poet, Scholar of East and West. Clarendon Press, 1995. ISBN 0-19-812296-9.

External links

Wikisource has original works written by or about:

Laurence Binyon

• "For the Fallen" (poem)
• "Koya San" (poem)

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ...

References

• Giddings, Robert. The War Poets (London: Bloomsbury, 1998). ISBN 0-7475-4271-6.
• Checkland, Olive. Japan and Britain After 1859: Creating Cultural Bridges (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002). ISBN 0-7007-1747-1.
• Zhaoming Qian. The Modernist Response to Chinese Art: Pound, Moore, Stevens (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2003). ISBN 0-8139-2176-7.