Poet laureate
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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
A depiction of Torquato Tasso from a German encyclopedia, 1905. Note the laurel crown.
Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin of Ethiopia
Mohammad-Taqi Bahar poet laureate of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar.
Portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer of England
The British poet laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the prime minister. The role does not entail any specific duties, but there is an expe
Poet laureate
…of England. The office developed from earlier practice when minstrels and versifiers were members of the king's retinue. Richard Cœur-de-Lion had a versificator regis (English: king's poet), Gulielmus Peregrinus (William the Pilgrim), and Henry III had a versificator named Master Henry. In the fifteenth century, John…
John Dryden, the first poet laureate, (1667-1689)
John Dryden, Poet and Playwright
Thomas Shadwell from NPG
Nicholas Rowe from NPG