Ancient poets The civilization of
Sumer figures prominently in the history of early poetry, and
The Epic of Gilgamesh, a widely read epic poem, was written in the
Third Dynasty of Ur 2100 BC; copies of the poem continued to be published and written until 600 to 150 BC. However, as it arises from an
oral tradition, the poet is unknown. The
Story of Sinuhe was a popular narrative poem from the
Middle Kingdom of Egypt, written 1750 BC, about an ancient Egyptian man named
Sinuhe, who flees his country and lives in a foreign land until his return, shortly before his death. The Story of Sinuhe was one of several popular narrative poems in
Ancient Egyptian. Scholars have conjectured that Story of Sinuhe was actually written by an Ancient Egyptian man named Sinuhe, describing his life in the poem; therefore, Sinuhe is conjectured to be a real person. In
Ancient Rome, professional poets were generally sponsored by
patrons, including nobility and military officials. For instance,
Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, friend to
Caesar Augustus, was an important patron for the Augustan poets, including both
Horace and
Virgil.
Ovid, a well established poet, was banished from Rome by the first
Augustus for one of his poems.
Western poets During the
High Middle Ages,
troubadors were an important class of poets. They came from a variety of backgrounds, often living and traveling in many different places and were looked upon as actors or musicians as much as poets. Some were under patronage, but many traveled extensively. The
Renaissance period saw a continuation of patronage of poets by royalty. Many poets, however, had other sources of income, including Italians like
Dante Aligheri,
Giovanni Boccaccio and
Petrarch's works in a pharmacist's guild and
William Shakespeare's work in the theater. In the
Romantic period and onwards, many poets were independent writers who made their living through their work, often supplemented by income from other occupations or from family. This included poets such as
William Wordsworth and
Robert Burns. Poets such as
Virgil in the
Aeneid and
John Milton in
Paradise Lost invoked the aid of a
Muse.
Poet laureate A
Poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions.
Albertino Mussato of
Padua and
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) of
Arezzo were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age, respectively in 1315 and 1342. In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of
Bernard André by
Henry VII of England. The royal office of Poet Laureate in England dates from the appointment of
John Dryden in 1668.
Other poets Poets held an important position in pre-Islamic Arabic society with the poet or ''
sha'ir filling the role of historian, soothsayer and propagandist. Words in praise of the tribe (qit'ah
) and lampoons denigrating other tribes (hija'
) seem to have been some of the most popular forms of early poetry. The sha'ir'' represented an individual tribe's prestige and importance in the
Arabian Peninsula, and mock battles in poetry or
zajal would stand in lieu of real wars. 'Ukaz, a market town not far from
Mecca, would play host to a regular poetry festival where the craft of the ''sha'irs'' would be exhibited. ==Education==