John Edward Masefield, OM (/ˈmeɪsˌfiːld, ˈmeɪz-/; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967. He is remembered as the author of the classic children's novels The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, and poems, including "The Everlasting Mercy" and "Sea-Fever".
Life
Early life
Masefield was born in Ledbury in Herefordshire, to Caroline and George Masefield, a solicitor. His mother died giving birth to his sister when Masefield was only six, and he went to live with his aunt. His father died soon after following a mental breakdown. After an unhappy education at the King's School in Warwick (now known as Warwick School), where he was a boarder between 1888 and 1891, he left to board HMSConway, both to train for a life at sea, and to break his addiction to reading, of which his aunt thought little. He spent several years aboard this ship and found that he could spend much of his time reading and writing. It was aboard the Conway that Masefield's love for story-telling grew. While on the ship, he listened to the stories told about sea lore. He continued to read, and felt that he was to become a writer and story teller himself.
"I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky; and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by."
"I must down to the sea again, for the call of the running tide / Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied."
"The days that make us happy make us wise"
"There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university a place where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see."
"Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a song. / Better the world with a blow in the teeth of a wrong."
"In the power and splendor of the universe, inspiration waits for the millions to come. Man has only to strive for it. Poems greater than the Iliad, plays greater than Macbeth, stories more engaging than Don Quixote await their seeker and finder."
"Sex ran in him like the sea"
"I must down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life,To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's o"
"Commonplace people dislike tragedy because they dare not suffer and cannot exult."
"One road leads to London, / One road runs to Wales, / My road leads me seawards / To the white dipping sails."
Why were we all – do we continue to be – so captivated? The Box of Delights is adapted from John Masefield’s 1935 book, a masterpiece of children’s literature ... But Masefield can be verbose in places (I ...
Andrew Craig-Bennett muses on what the imminent swearing in of the 47th president of the United States means for international merchant shipping. The Old Man said, “I mean to hang on. Till her canvas busts or her sticks are all gone…” ...John Masefield ... .
A famous line from English poetJohn Masefield's poem, Sea-Fever, "I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky," must certainly have inspired a college in the Free State to offer maritime qualifications to students ... .
What does St. Joseph policy say about community? ... The surgical staff was preparing for the surgery when it was called off by the hospital ... I believe Trump would do much better if he read what the author John Masefield wrote many years ago.
Puzzles. Challenge yourself with today’s puzzles. Crossword. Polygon. Sudoku ... 2 John Masefield was the last poet to be interred in Poets’ Corner in which London church? ... Sponsored. .
"All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by" (John Masefield not Herman Melville, in case you were wondering, Doctor McCoy) ... And, of course, space stations more than count too, with the Masefield quote on the Defiant's dedication plaque ... 10.
On the popular beach here, within earshot of the amusement arcades, we visit a 6,000-year-old submerged forest “I must go back to a woollen vest, a woollen vest with sleeves!” my husband ...
“I must go back to a woollen vest, a woollen vest with sleeves!” my husband shouts – his favourite parody of the John Masefield poem “I must go down to the seas again” – at the fog and flurries of ...
