Editing Poets' Corner

{{Short description|South Transept of Westminster Abbey}}
{{About|the section of Westminster Abbey|the neighborhood of Berkeley, California|List of Berkeley neighborhoods}}
{{Refimprove|date = April 2024}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox cemetery
| name         = Poets' Corner
| native_name  =
| native_name_lang =
| image        = Memorials to Shakespeare and others in Westminster Abbey.jpg
| image_size   =
| alt          =
| caption      = Memorials in Poets' Corner
| map_type     = London
| map_size     =
| map_caption  =
| established  = 1400
| abandoned    = <!-- or | closed = -->
| location     = [[Westminster Abbey]]
| country      = London, England
| coordinates  = {{Coord|51|29|57|N|0|7|38.50|W|type:landmark_region:GB-EG|display=title,inline}}
| type         =
| style        =
| owner        =
| size         =
| graves       =
| interments   =
| cremations   =
| leases       =
| website      =
| findagraveid =
| politicalgeo =
| footnotes    =
| nrhp         =
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}}

'''Poets' Corner''' is a section of the southern [[transept]] of [[Westminster Abbey]] in London, England, where many poets, playwrights, and writers are buried or commemorated.

The first poet interred in Poets' Corner was [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] in 1400.<ref>Harold Bloom (2009). "Geoffrey Chaucer". p. 13. Infobase Publishing</ref> [[William Shakespeare]] was commemorated with a monument in 1740, over a century after his death. Over the centuries, a tradition has grown up of interring or memorialising people there in recognition of their contribution to [[Culture of the United Kingdom|British culture]]. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the honour is awarded to writers.

In 2009, the founders of the [[Royal Ballet]] were commemorated in a memorial [[ledger stone|floor stone]] and on 25 September 2010, the writer [[Elizabeth Gaskell]] was celebrated with the dedication of a panel in the memorial window.<ref name="Gaskell">[http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/elizabeth-gaskell "Elizabeth Gaskell"]. Westminster-abbey.org (25 September 2010). Retrieved on 21 October 2011.</ref> On 6 December 2011 [[Ted Hughes]], a former [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom]], was commemorated with a floor stone.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16055750 Ted Hughes takes his place in Poets' Corner], BBC News, 6 December 2011</ref> On 22 November 2013, the fiftieth anniversary of his death, the writer [[C. S. Lewis]] was commemorated with a memorial floor stone.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25031909 "CS Lewis honoured with Poets' Corner memorial"]. BBC News. Retrieved 23 November 2012</ref> The poet [[Philip Larkin]] was commemorated with a floor stone dedicated on 2 December 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Westminster Abbey honour for poet Philip Larkin|publisher=Westminster Abbey|url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/press/news/2015/june/westminster-abbey-honour-for-poet-philip-larkin|date=June 2015|access-date=27 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Sawyer|first=Patrick|title='Outsider' Larkin finally joins the Establishment in Poets' Corner|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/26/outsider-larkin-finally-joins-establishment-poets-corner/|date=26 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="Poets Corner">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-38187840 |title=Westminster Poets' Corner memorial for Philip Larkin |work= BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=2 December 2016 |access-date=2 December 2016}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:View of Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey 01.jpg|thumb|250px|Partial view of Poets' Corner]]
[[File:View of the west wall of Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey.jpg|thumb|250px|The west wall of Poets' Corner]]
The first poet interred in Poets' Corner, [[Geoffrey Chaucer]], owed his 1400 burial in the Abbey (in front of St. Benedict's Chapel) more to his position as Clerk of Works of the [[Palace of Westminster]] than to his fame as a writer. The erection of his tomb by [[Nicholas Brigham]] in 1556 (to where Chaucer's remains were then transferred) and the nearby burial of [[Edmund Spenser]] in 1599 began a tradition that still continues. The area also houses the tombs of several [[Canon (priest)|Canons]] and [[Dean (Christianity)|Dean]]s of the Abbey, as well as the grave of [[Old Tom Parr|Thomas Parr]] who, it is said, died at the age of 152 in 1635 after having seen ten sovereigns on the throne.

Burial or commemoration in the Abbey does not always occur at or soon after the time of death. [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Lord Byron]], for example, whose poetry was admired but who maintained a scandalous lifestyle, died in 1824 but was not given a memorial until 1969. Even [[William Shakespeare]], buried at [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] in 1616, was not honoured with a monument until 1740 when one designed by [[William Kent]] was constructed in Poets' Corner (though shortly after Shakespeare's death [[William Basse]] had suggested Shakespeare should be buried there). [[Samuel Horsley]], [[Dean of Westminster]] in 1796, was said to have tartly refused the request for the actress [[Kitty Clive]] to be buried in the Abbey:

<blockquote>if we do not draw some line in this theatrical ambition to mortuary fame, we shall soon make Westminster Abbey little better than a Gothic ''[[Green Room]]''!<ref>''The Times'', 26 March 1796, p. 3</ref></blockquote>

Not all poets appreciated memorialisation and [[Samuel Wesley (poet, died 1735)|Samuel Wesley]]'s epitaph for [[Samuel Butler (poet)|Samuel Butler]], who supposedly died in poverty, continued Butler's satiric tone:

{{poemquote|While Butler, needy wretch, was yet alive,
No generous patron would a dinner give;
See him, when starv'd to death, and turn'd to dust,
Presented with a monumental bust.
The poet's fate is here in emblem shown,
He ask'd for bread, and he received a stone.
}}

[[File:Charles Dickens grave 2012.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Grave of [[Charles Dickens]]]]
Some of those buried in Poets' Corner also had memorials erected to them over or near their grave, either around the time of their death or later. In some cases, such as [[Joseph Addison]], the burial took place elsewhere in Westminster Abbey, with a memorial later erected in Poets' Corner. In some cases a full burial of a body took place, in other, later, cases the body was cremated and the ashes buried. There are also cases where there was support for a particular individual to be buried in Poets' Corner, but the decision was made to bury them elsewhere in the Abbey, such as [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]]. Other notable poets and writers, such as [[Aphra Behn]], are buried elsewhere in the Abbey. At least two of the memorials (both to individuals buried in Poets' Corner – [[Nicholas Rowe (writer)|Nicholas Rowe]] and [[John Gay]]) were later moved to a location elsewhere in the Abbey due to the discovery of old paintings on the wall behind them. In 1936 the ashes of the author and poet [[Rudyard Kipling]] were interred.

==Memorial types==
The memorials can take several forms. Some are stone slabs set in the floor with a name and inscription carved on them, while others are more elaborate and carved stone monuments, or hanging stone tablets, or memorial busts. Some are commemorated in groups, such as the joint memorial for the [[Brontë sisters]] (commissioned in 1939, but not unveiled until 1947 due to the [[Second World War]]), the sixteen [[First World War]] poets inscribed on a stone floor slab and unveiled in 1985, and the four founders of the [[Royal Ballet]], commemorated together in 2009.<ref>[http://www.westminster-abbey.org/press/news/news/2009/november/a-service-to-dedicate-a-memorial-to-the-founders-of-the-royal-ballet A Service to Dedicate a Memorial to the Founders of the Royal Ballet], Westminster Abbey press release, November 2009, accessed 16 March 2010</ref>

[[File:Brontes plaque Westminster Abbey.jpg|thumb|Brontë sisters wall tablet]]
The grave of [[Ben Jonson]] is not in Poets' Corner, but is in the north aisle of the nave. It has the inscription "O Rare Ben Johnson" ''(perhaps the original spelling)'' on the slab above it. It has been suggested that this could be read "Orare Ben Johnson" (pray for Ben Johnson), which would indicate a deathbed return to Catholicism, but the carving shows a distinct space between "O" and "rare".<ref name=DCWA>{{cite web
  | title = Monuments & Gravestones: Ben Jonson
  | work = Westminster Abbey 1065 to today
  | publisher = Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey
  | url = http://www.westminster-abbey.org/history-research/monuments-gravestones/people/12177
  | access-date =26 May 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080107172342/http://www.westminster-abbey.org/history-research/monuments-gravestones/people/12177 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 7 January 2008}}</ref> The fact that he was buried in an upright grave could be an indication of his reduced circumstances at the time of his death<ref>[[Joseph Quincy Adams|Adams, J. Q.]] ''The Jonson Allusion Book''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1922: 195–6.</ref> but it has also been suggested that Jonson asked for a grave exactly 18&nbsp;inches square from the monarch and received an upright grave to fit in the requested space.<ref name="world and its people">{{cite book
  |last = Dunton
  |first = Larkin
  |title = The World and Its People
  |url = https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog
  |publisher = Silver, Burdett
  |year = 1896
  |page = [https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog/page/n42 34]}}</ref> As well as the gravestone in the north aisle of the nave, a wall tablet commemorating Jonson was later erected in Poets' Corner.

As floor and wall space began to run out, the decision was taken to install a stained glass memorial window (unveiled in 1994 in memory of [[Edward Horton Hubbard]]), and it is here that new names are added in the form of inscribed panes of glass. There is room for 20 names, and currently there are six names on this window, with the latest entry ([[Elizabeth Gaskell]]) unveiled on 25 September 2010.<ref>[http://www.westminster-abbey.org/press/news/news/2010/january/abbey-to-honour-cranfords-creator Abbey to honour Cranford's creator], Westminster Abbey press release, January 2010, accessed 15 March 2010</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/elizabeth-gaskell|title=Elizabeth Gaskell|website=Westminster Abbey}}</ref> The memorial ceremonies often include guest speakers. In 1995, [[Oscar Wilde]] was commemorated in the window and those in attendance included Sir [[John Gielgud]] and Dame [[Judi Dench]] who both read extracts from his work.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Oscar Wilde |agency=Westminster Abbey |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/oscar-wilde |access-date=9 May 2022 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923062103/https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/oscar-wilde |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Burials==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="unsortable"| Image
! Name
! Born
! Died
! Age at death
! class="unsortable"| Details of funeral / memorial
!  Occupation
|-
| [[File:Robert-adam.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert Adam]]
| 1729
| 1792
| 63
| Grave & gravestone
| Architect
|-
| [[File:Isaac Barrow memorial.jpg|100px]]
| [[Isaac Barrow]]
| 1630
| 1677
| 46
| Grave & marble memorial bust on a pedestal by [[John Bushnell]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/isaac-barrow#i13284|title=Isaac Barrow |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Mathematician
|-
| [[File:Francis Beaumont.jpg|100px]]
| [[Francis Beaumont]]
| 1584
| 1616
| 31–32
| Grave is unmarked. Name is inscribed on the Abraham Cowley gravestone.<ref name="Beaumont">{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/francis-and-john-beaumont#i13272|title=Francis and John Beaumont |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Playwright
|-
| ...
| [[Sir John Beaumont, 1st Baronet|John Beaumont]]
| 1583
| 1627
| 43–44
| Unmarked grave<ref name="Beaumont"/>
| Poet
|-
| ...
| [[William Benson (abbot)|William Benson]]
| unknown
| 1549
| unknown
| Grave & memorial stone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/william-benson#i11723|title=William Benson |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Abbot of Westminster
|-
| [[Image:Mary Eleanor Bowes Countess of Strathmore.jpg|100px|Mary Eleanor Bowes and her husband [[John Bowes, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne|John Lyon]].]]
| [[Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne|Mary Eleanor Bowes]]
| 1749
| 1800
| 51
| Grave & gravestone. Reported by some to have been buried in a court dress, with all the accessories necessary for a Royal audience, plus a small silver trumpet, and by others as in her bridal dress.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/mary-eleanor-bowes-countess-of-strathmore#i12568 |title=Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and playwright
|-
| [[File:Robert & Elizabeth Barrett Browning memorial, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert Browning]]
| 1812
| 1889
| 77
| Browning's grave & gravestone is immediately adjacent to that of [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]<ref name="Browning">{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/robert-and-elizabeth-barrett-browning#i12821|title= Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning |website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and playwright
|-
| [[File:Monument to Richard Busby, Westminster Abbey 03.jpg|100px]]
| [[Richard Busby]]
| 1606
| 1695
| 88–89
| Busby is buried beneath the pavement of the Choir while his memorial, by the sculptor [[Francis Bird]], is located in the South Transept.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/richard-busby|title=Richard Busby |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref>
| Headmaster
|-
| [[File:William Camden by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Camden]]
| 1551
| 1623
| 72
| Marble memorial bust with surround<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/william-camden#i11725 |title=William Camden |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Antiquarian and historian
|-
| [[File:Statue of Thomas Campbell, Westminster Abbey 02.jpg|100px]]
| [[Thomas Campbell (poet)|Thomas Campbell]]
| 1777
| 1844
| 66
| Funeral 3 July 1844.;<ref>''The Times'', 29 June 1844, p. 6; 4 July 1844, p. 5</ref> Statue by [[William Calder Marshall]] erected 1848<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/thomas-campbell#i12929 |title=Thomas Campbell |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Rev. Henry Francis Cary.jpg|100px]]
| [[Henry Francis Cary]]
| 1772
| 1844
| 72
| Funeral 14 August 1844.<ref>''The Times'', 22 August 1844, p. 3</ref> Grave & gravestone in Poets' Corner<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/henry-francis-cary#i14890 |title=Henry Francis Cary |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Author and translator
|-
| [[File:Isaac Casaubon from NPG.jpg|100px]]
| [[Isaac Casaubon]]
| 1559
| 1614
| 55
| Wall monument in black & white marble by sculptor [[Nicholas Stone]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/isaac-casaubon#i14900 |title=Isaac Casaubon |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Classical scholar
|-
| [[File:Sir William Chambers.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Chambers (architect)|William Chambers]]
| 1723
| 1796
| 75
| Grave & gravestone in South Transept<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/sir-william-chambers#i15114 |title= Sir William Chambers |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Architect
|-
| [[File:Chaucer manuscrit portrait (détail).jpeg|100px]]
| [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]
| c. 1343
| 1400
| 56–57
| Actual grave site is now unmarked but his name is inscribed on the Cowley gravestone. A grey Purbeck marble memorial was erected in 1556.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/geoffrey-chaucer#i15046 |title= Geoffrey Chaucer |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Author and poet
|-
| [[File:Bust of Abraham Cowley in Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey, Wellcome V0018688.jpg|100px]]
| [[Abraham Cowley]]
| 1618
| 1667
| 48–49
| White marble monument, of an urn on a pedestal, by [[John Bushnell]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/abraham-cowley#i14049 |title=Abraham Cowley |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref> Large black marble gravestone to which several further names have been added.
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Richard Cumberland, dramatist.jpg|100px]]
| [[Richard Cumberland (dramatist)|Richard Cumberland]]
| 1732
| 1811
| 79
| Grave & gravestone in South Transept<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/richard-cumberland |title= Richard Cumberland |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Playwright
|-
| [[File:William Davenant.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Davenant]]
| 1606
| 1668
| 62
| Grave & gravestone in South Transept<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/sir-william-davenant#i14898 |title= Sir William Davenant |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and playwright
|-
| [[File:Sir-john-denham-1.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Denham (poet)|John Denham]]
| 1614 or 1615
| 1669
| 63–65
| Grave is unmarked. Name is inscribed on the Abraham Cowley gravestone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/sir-john-denham#i14201 |title= Sir John Denham |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Dickens Gurney head.jpg|100px]]
| [[Charles Dickens]]
| 1812
| 1870
| 58
| Dickens's will did not dictate his place of burial, but stipulated that there be no grand funeral ceremony. He was therefore given a secret early-morning funeral in the Abbey, 14 June 1870.<ref>'Funeral of Mr. Charles Dickens', ''[[The Times]]'', 15 June 1870.</ref>
| Author
|-
| [[File:MichaelDrayton.jpg|100px]]
| [[Michael Drayton]]
| 1563
| 1631
| 67–68
| Died in London. Memorial bust & surround in alabaster & black marble placed by the [[Lady Anne Clifford|Countess of Dorset]], with lines attributed to [[Ben Jonson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/michael-drayton#i15006|title=Michael Drayton |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:John Dryden bust, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Dryden]]
| 1631
| 1700
| 68
| Grave is unmarked. Name is inscribed on the Cowley gravestone. Memorial bust on pedestal by [[Peter Scheemakers]] was erected in 1731, replacing an earlier memorial.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/john-dryden#i15130 |title= John Dryden |website=Westminster Abbey|access-date= 9 August 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and playwright
|-
| ...
| [[Adam Fox (poet)|Adam Fox]]
| 1888
| 1977
| 93–94
| Grave & gravestone in South Transept<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/adam-fox#i14942 |title= Adam Fox |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Oxford Professor of Poetry<br>Canon of Westminster Abbey
|-
| [[File:David Garrick monument. Westminster Abbey 01.jpg|100px]]
| [[David Garrick]]
| 1717
| 1779
| 61
| Grave plus monument in white and grey marble by [[Henry Webber]] on the west wall of Poets' Corner<ref name="DG">{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/david-eva-garrick#i13816 |title= David & Eva Garrick |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Actor
|-
| [[File:John Gay - Project Gutenberg eText 13790.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Gay]]
| 1685
| 1732
| 47
| Buried in South Transept, with a monument by [[John Michael Rysbrack]] which is now in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/john-gay#i13090 |title=John Gay |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and playwright
|-
| [[File:William Gifford by John Hoppner.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Gifford]]
| 1756
| 1826
| 70
| Gifford wanted to be buried in [[South Audley Chapel]], "but for the pressing request of his grateful executor <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[John Ireland, Dean of Westminster]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>, who was anxious that Gifford's remains should be mingled with the great and good in Poets' Corner, Westminster-abbey."<ref>''The Times'', 13 February 1827, p. 3</ref>
| Poet and editor
|-
| [[File:Bust of George Grote, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[George Grote]]
| 1794
| 1871
| 76
| Marble bust by [[Charles Bacon (sculptor)|Charles Bacon]], 1873<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gunnis.henry-moore.org/henrymoore/works/recordlist.php?-skip=0&-max=25&-action=find&sculptor_id=92|title=Charles Bacon |website=A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660-1851|access-date=2 September 2022}}</ref>
| Historian
|-
| [[File:RichardHakluyt-BristolCathedral-stainedglasswindow.jpg|100px]]
| [[Richard Hakluyt]]
| c.1552
| 1616
| 63–64
| Unmarked grave thought to be in the South Transept<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/richard-hakluyt#i13862 |title=Richard Hakluyt |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Author
|-
| [[File:Handel monument in Poets' Corner.jpg|100px]]
| [[George Frideric Handel]]
| 1685
| 1759
| 74
| Life-size sculpture by [[Louis-François Roubiliac]] with musical scores and instruments represented.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/george-frederic-handel#i13483 |title= George Frederic Handel |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 2 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/0d69278a.html |title= Monument to George Frederick Handel |website=The Courtauld Institute of Art |access-date=2 September 2022}}</ref>
| Composer
|-
| [[File:Thomashardy restored.jpg|100px]]
| [[Thomas Hardy]]
| 1840
| 1928
| 87
| Hardy's funeral, on 16 January 1928, was controversial. Hardy had wanted to be buried at [[Stinsford]] in the grave of his first wife, Emma. His executor, Sir [[Sydney Carlyle Cockerell]], was adamant that Hardy warranted interment in the Poets' Corner. A compromise saw his heart buried at Stinsford, and his ashes at the Abbey.
| Author and poet
|-
| [[File:John Henderson by Thomas Gainsborough.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Henderson (actor)|John Henderson]]
| 1747
| 1785
| 38
| Buried at the foot of the grave of [[David Garrick]] in the south transept. The inscription has now worn away but it read: "Underneath this stone are interr'd the remains of John Henderson who died the 25th day of Novembr. 1785 aged 38 years".<ref>{{cite web|title=John Henderson|website=Westminster Abbey|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/john-henderson|access-date=9 August 2023}}</ref>
| Actor
|-
| [[File:Henry Irving portrait.jpg|100px]]
| [[Henry Irving]]
| 1838
| 1905
| 67
| Grave & gravestone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/sir-henry-brodribb-irving#i14661|title= Sir Henry (Brodribb) Irving |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Actor
|-
| [[File:Bust of Samuel Johnson.jpg|100px]]
| [[Samuel Johnson]]
| 1709
| 1784
| 75
| Bust by [[Joseph Nollekens]] located above Johnson's grave<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/samuel-johnson#i14362|title=Samuel Johnson |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Author, poet and lexicographer
|-
| [[File:Rudyard Kipling.jpg|100px]]
| [[Rudyard Kipling]]
| 1865
| 1936
| 70
| Grave & gravestone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/rudyard-kipling#i14511 |title=Rudyard Kipling |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Author and poet
|-
| ...
| Nicholas Litlyngton
| before 1315
| 1386
| 70+
| Grave & memorial stone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/nicholas-litlyngton#i14452 |title=Nicholas Litlyngton |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 September 2022}}</ref>
| Abbot of Westminster
|-
| [[File:Bust of Thomas Babington Macaulay, Poets' Corner 03.jpg|100px]]
| [[Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay|Thomas Macaulay]]
| 1800
| 1859
| 59
| Public funeral, 9 January 1860, with a bust by the sculptor George Burnard erected in 1866.<ref>''The Times'', 9 January 1860, p. 10; 10 January 1860, p. 9</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/thomas-babington-macaulay |title=Thomas Babington Macaulay |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=15 August 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and historian
|-
| [[File:James Macpherson by George Romney.jpg|100px]]
| [[James Macpherson]]
| 1736
| 1796
| 59
| Grave & gravestone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/james-macpherson#i15008 |title= James Macpherson |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=15 August 2022}}</ref>
| Author and poet
|-
| [[File:John Masefield 1913.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Masefield]]
| 1878
| 1967
| 88
| According to his wishes, was cremated and his ashes placed in Poets' Corner.
| Poet and author
|-
| ...
| [[Robert Moray]]
| 1608/9
| 1673
| 63–65
| Grave is unmarked. Name is inscribed on the Cowley gravestone.
| Statesman and natural philosopher
|-
| [[File:Gilbert Murray.jpg|100px]]
| [[Gilbert Murray]]
| 1866
| 1957
| 91
| Grave & gravestone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/gilbert-murray#i13391 |title= Gilbert Murray |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Scholar and translator
|-
| [[File:Olivier plaque.jpg|100px]]
| [[Laurence Olivier|Laurence, Lord Olivier]]
| 1907
| 1989
| 82
| Grave & memorial stone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/laurence-olivier#i14611 |title=Laurence Olivier |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Actor
|-
| [[File:Thomas Parr.jpg|100px]]
| [[Old Tom Parr]]
| 1483
| 1635
| 152
| Grave & gravestone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/thomas-parr#i13742 |title= Thomas Parr |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Supposedly long-lived Englishman
|-
| [[File:Bust of Matthew Prior, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Matthew Prior]]
| 1664
| 1721
| 57
| Grave is unmarked. Name is inscribed on the Cowley gravestone. Memorial, designed by James Gibbs, with a bust by [[Antoine Coysevox]] and figures by [[John Michael Rysbrack]] erected by 1726.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/matthew-prior#i13407 |title=Matthew Prior |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 16 August 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and diplomat
|-
| [[File:Nicholas Rowe from NPG.jpg|100px]]
| [[Nicholas Rowe (writer)|Nicholas Rowe]]
| 1674
| 1718
| 44
| Buried in South Transept, with a monument by [[John Michael Rysbrack]] which is now in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/nicholas-rowe#i12606 |title= Nicholas Rowe |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Playwright and poet
|-
| [[File:Charles de Marquetel de Saint-Evremond by Jacques Parmentier.jpg|100px]]
| [[Charles de Saint-Évremond]]
| 1610
| 1703
| 93
| Grave is unmarked. Name is inscribed on the Cowley gravestone. Memorial was also erected.
| Essayist and literary critic
|-
| [[File:Richard Brinsley Sheridan.jpg|100px]]
| [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]]
| 1751
| 1816
| 64
| Grave & gravestone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/richard-brinsley-sheridan#i15128 |title=Richard Brinsley Sheridan |website=Westminster Abbey|access-date= 9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Playwright and poet
|-
| [[File:Robert South detail, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert South]]
| 1634
| 1716
| 81
| Monument by [[Francis Bird]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/robert-south#i14737|title=Robert South|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=19 August 2022}}</ref>
| Theologian and poet
|-
| [[File:EdmundSpenser.jpg|100px]]
| [[Edmund Spenser]]
| c. 1552
| 1599
| 46–47
| Marble memorial erected in 1620 on south wall of Poets' Corner, fully restored 1778<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/edmund-spenser#i14803 |title=Edmund Spenser|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date= 9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| ...
| [[Robert Stapylton]]
| c.1607
| 1669
| 61–62
| Unmarked grave in the South Transept<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/sir-robert-stapylton#i14287 |title=Sir Robert Stapylton |website=Westminster Abbey|access-date= 9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Playwright
|-
| ...
| [[Mary Steele]]
| 1678
| 1718
| 40
| Grave and gravestone in South Transept<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/dame-mary-steele#i14301 |title= Dame Mary Steele |website=Westminster Abbey|access-date= 9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Letter writer
|-
| [[File:Bust of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Westminster Abbey 01.jpg|100px]]
| [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]
| 1809
| 1892
| 83
| Large public funeral, 12 October 1892.<ref>''The Times'', 13 October 1892</ref> In 1893 the government formally requested there be a bust of Tennyson in Poets' Corner. The businessman-botanist Charles Jenner offered [[Thomas Woolner]]'s 1857 bust of Tennyson to the Abbey, and it was placed near Tennyson's gravestone, by moving a tablet to [[Christopher Anstey]], in 1895. There was no formal unveiling ceremony.<ref>"In accordance with the wish of the family there was no formal ceremonial of unveiling, and, as in the case of [[Charles George Gordon|General Gordon]], [[Arthur Penrhyn Stanley|Dean Stanley]], and the [[Benjamin Disraeli|Earl of Beaconsfield]], the memorial was placed, a possession for ever, in the presence of none save those by whom the work was done." ''The Times'', 3 June 1895, p. 6</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Bust of Connop Thirlwall, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Connop Thirlwall]]
| 1797
| 1875
| 78
| Marble bust by sculptor [[Edward Davis (sculptor)|Edward Davis]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/connop-thirlwall#i14543 |title= Connop Thirlwall |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 3 September 2022}}</ref>

| Bishop and historian
|-
| [[File:Thomas Triplet memorial, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Thomas Triplett|Thomas Triplet]]
| 1602
| 1670
| 68
| Marble memorial on west wall of South Transept<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/thomas-triplet#i14021|title= Thomas Triplet |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Prebendary
|-
| [[File:Mrs garrick.PNG|100px]]
| [[Eva Marie Veigel]]
| 1724
| 1822
| 98
| Buried with her husband David Garrick<ref name="DG"/>
| Dancer
|}

==Memorials==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="unsortable"| Image
! Name
! Born
! Died
! Age at death
! Year<br>commemorated
! class="unsortable"| Details of<br>memorial
! class="unsortable"| Occupation
|-
| [[File:Statue of Joseph Addison, Westminster Abbey 03.jpg|100px]]
| [[Joseph Addison]]
| 1672
| 1719
| 47
| 1809
| Statue by [[Richard Westmacott]]. Addison is buried elsewhere in the Abbey.
| Poet and essayist
|-
| [[File:Christopher Anstey with his daughter by William Hoare.jpg|100px]]
| [[Christopher Anstey]]
| 1724
| 1805
| 80
| 1807
| Marble wall tablet<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/christopher-anstey#i13040|title=Christopher Anstey|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and author
|-
| [[File:Bust of Matthew Arnold, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Matthew Arnold]]
| 1822
| 1888
| 65
| 1989
| Memorial bust of 1891 in the east aisle of Poets' Corner by [[Albert Bruce-Joy]]. There is also a 1989 limestone and slate plaque honouring Arnold, by Donald Buttress, in Poets' Corner.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/thomas-and-matthew-arnold#:~:text=His%20son%20Matthew%2C%20poet%20and,is%20inscribed%20on%20the%20bust.|title=Thomas and Matthew Arnold|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=23 October 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Actrice Peggy Ashcroft op Schiphol voor optreden in Stadsschouwburg, Bestanddeelnr 914-0309.jpg|100px]]
| [[Peggy Ashcroft]]
| 1907
| 1991
| 83
| 2005
| Floor stone
| Actress
|-
| [[File:AudenVanVechten1939.jpg|100px]]
| [[W. H. Auden]]
| 1907
| 1973
| 66
| 1974
| Floor stone
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Jane Austen, Poets' Corner.jpg|100px]]
| [[Jane Austen]]
| 1775
| 1817
| 41
| 1967
| Wall tablet
| Author
|-
| [[File:Memorial to John Betjeman, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Betjeman]]
| 1906
| 1984
| 77
| 1996
| Marble wall tablet<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/sir-john-betjeman#i12744|title=Sir John Betjeman|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and author
|-
| [[File:Bronze bust of William Blake, Westminster Abbey 01.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Blake]]
| 1757
| 1827
| 69
| 1957
| Bronze memorial bust by [[Jacob Epstein]], 1957<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/william-blake#i2415|title=William Blake|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=6 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and artist
|-
| ...
| [[Barton Booth]]
| 1681
| 1733
| 51–52
| 1772
| Monument
| Actor
|-
| [[File:Charlotte Brontë Richmond cropped.tif|100px]]
| [[Charlotte Brontë]]
| 1816
| 1855
| 38
| 1947
| Memorial tablet
| Author
|-
| [[File:Anne Brontë by Patrick Branwell Brontë restored.jpg|100px]]
| [[Anne Brontë]]
| 1820
| 1849
| 29
| 1947
| Memorial tablet
| Author
|-
| [[File:Emily Brontë by Patrick Branwell Brontë restored.jpg|100px]]
| [[Emily Brontë]]
| 1818
| 1848
| 30
| 1947
| Memorial tablet
| Author
|-
| [[File:Robert & Elizabeth Barrett Browning memorial, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]]
| 1806
| 1861
| 55
| 1906
| Inscription added to Robert Browning's gravestone in 1906<ref name="Browning"/>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Frances d'Arblay ('Fanny Burney') by Edward Francisco Burney.jpg|100px]]
| [[Frances Burney|Fanny Burney]]
| 1752
| 1840
| 87
| 2002
| Panel on Hubbard memorial window
| Author and playwright
|-
| [[File:Bust of Robert Burns, Westminster Abbey 02.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert Burns]]
| 1759
| 1796
| 37
| 1885
| Marble memorial bust by [[John Steell]]. Unveiled 7 March 1885 by [[Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery|the Earl of Rosebery]].<ref>''The Times'', 9 March 1885</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/robert-burns |title= Robert Burns |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 2 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Bust of Samuel Butler, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Samuel Butler (poet)|Samuel Butler]]
| 1612
| 1680
| 68
| 1721
| Memorial bust thought to be by [[John Michael Rysbrack]]; Butler is buried at St Paul's, Covent Garden.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/samuel-butler#i13011 |title= Samuel Butler |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 12 October 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Byron 1813 by Phillips.jpg|100px]]
| [[Lord Byron|George, Lord Byron]]
| 1788
| 1824
| 36
| 1969
| Floor stone
| Poet
|-
| [[File:MemorialToCaedmon(RichardThomas)Jul2006.jpg|100px]]
| [[Cædmon]]
| fl.657
| fl.680
| unknown
| 1966
| Floor stone
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Monument to John Campbell, Duke of Argyll, Westminster Abbey 02.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll]]
| 1678
| 1743
| 64
| 1749
| Monument by [[Louis-Francois Roubiliac]], erected 1749, with figures representing History, Eloquence and Minerva. The Duke is buried elsewhere in the Abbey.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/john-campbell-2nd-duke-of-argyll#i12849 |title= John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 12 September 2022}}</ref>
| Soldier and nobleman
|-
| [[File:Lewis Carroll 1863.jpg|100px]]
| [[Lewis Carroll]]
| 1832
| 1898
| 65
| 1982
| Floor stone
| Author
|-
| [[File:John Clare.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Clare]]
| 1793
| 1864
| 70
| 1989
| Floor stone
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Bust of Coleridge, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]
| 1772
| 1834
| 61
| 1885
| Memorial bust by [[Hamo Thornycroft]]<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/samuel-taylor-coleridge#i13886 |title= Samuel Taylor Coleridge |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:George Eliot at 30 by François D'Albert Durade.jpg|100px]]
| [[George Eliot]]
| 1819
| 1880
| 61
| 1980
| Floor stone
| Author
|-
| [[File:T.S. Eliot, 1923.JPG|100px]]
| [[T. S. Eliot]]
| 1888
| 1965
| 76
| 1967
| Floor stone
| Poet and playwright
|-
| [[File:David Frost Rumsfeld interview cropped.jpg|100px]]
| [[David Frost]]
| 1939
| 2013
| 74
| 2014
| Floor stone<ref>{{cite news |title=Sir David Frost's memorial at Westminster's Poets' Corner |publisher=BBC News |date=13 March 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26560669 |access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref>
| Journalist, comedian, writer and media personality
|-
| [[File:Elizabeth Gaskell 1832.jpg|100px]]
| [[Elizabeth Gaskell]]
| 1810
| 1865
| 55
| 2010
| Panel on Hubbard memorial window
| Novelist
|-
| [[File:JG-Benedick-1959.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Gielgud]]
| 1904
| 2000
| 96
| 2022
| Floor stone
| Actor and director
|-
| [[File:Oliver Goldsmith by Sir Joshua Reynolds.jpg|100px]]
| [[Oliver Goldsmith]]
| 1728
| 1774
| 45
| 1776
| Memorial tablet and bust
| Poet and playwright
|-
| [[File:Bust of Adam Lindsay Gordon, Westminster Abbey 01.jpg|100px]]
| [[Adam Lindsay Gordon]]
| 1833
| 1870
| 36
| 1934
| Memorial bust by [[Kathleen Scott]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/adam-lindsay-gordon|title=Adam Lindsay Gordon|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=29 July 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Monument to John Ernest Grabe, Westminster Abbey 01.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Ernest Grabe]]
| 1666
| 1711
| 44–45
| 1727
| Monument by [[Francis Bird]] on the west wall of Poets' Corner erected 1726<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/john-ernest-grabe#i15186|title=John Ernest Grabe |website=Westminster Abbey|access-date= 9 September 2022}}</ref>
| Priest and theologian
|-
| [[File:PortraitThomasGrayByJohnGilesEccart1747to1748.jpg|100px]]
| [[Thomas Gray]]
| 1716
| 1771
| 54
| 1778
| Monument
| Poet and historian
|-
| [[File:Stephen Hales.jpg|100px]]
| [[Stephen Hales]]
| 1677
| 1761
| 83
| 1761
| Monument
| Priest and scientist
|-
| [[File:Robert Herrick 1591-1674.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert Herrick (poet)|Robert Herrick]]
| 1591
| 1674
| 83
| 1994
| Panel on Hubbard memorial window
| Poet
|-
| [[File:GerardManleyHopkins.jpg|100px]]
| [[Gerard Manley Hopkins]]
| 1844
| 1889
| 44
| 1975
| Floor stone
| Poet
|-
| 
| [[Alfred Edward Housman|A. E. Housman]]
| 1859
| 1936
| 77
| 1996
| Panel on Hubbard memorial window
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Poet Ted HughesDCP 2068.JPG|100px]]
| [[Ted Hughes]]
| 1930
| 1998
| 68
| 2011
| Floor stone at the foot of that for [[T. S. Eliot]], one of his main influences
| Poet
|-
| [[File:HenryJamesPhotograph.png|100px]]
| [[Henry James]]
| 1843
| 1916
| 72
| 1976
| Floor stone
| Author
|-
| [[File:Ben Jonson memorial, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Ben Jonson]]
| 1572
| 1637
| 65
| 1723
| Memorial with portrait medallion and masks designed by [[James Gibbs]] and carved by [[John Michael Rysbrack]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/ben-jonson#i14372 |title= Ben Jonson |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 12 October 2022}}</ref>
| Playwright and poet
|-
| [[File:John Keats by William Hilton.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Keats]]
| 1795
| 1821
| 25
| 1954
| Mural tablet
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Bust of John Keble, Westminster Abbey, London.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Keble]]
| 1792
| 1866
| 73
| 1873
| Bust by [[Thomas Woolner]]
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Bust of Charles Kingsley, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Charles Kingsley]]
| 1819
| 1875
| 55
| 1875
| Bust by [[Thomas Woolner]]
| Author
|-
| [[File:Philip Larkin memorial floorstone, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Philip Larkin]]
| 1922
| 1985
| 63
| 2016
| Floor stone. The stone was inscribed with the final two lines from "[[An Arundel Tomb]]": <blockquote>Our almost-instinct almost true:<br />What will survive of us is love.<ref name="Poets Corner"/></blockquote>
| Poet and novelist
|-
| [[File:DH Lawrence floorstone in Poets Corner.jpg|100px]]
| [[D. H. Lawrence]]
| 1885
| 1930
| 44
| 1985
| Floor stone
| Author and poet
|-
| [[File:Edward Lear floorstone, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Edward Lear]]
| 1812
| 1888
| 75
| 1988
| Floor stone
| Author and poet
|-
|[[File:C.S. Lewis memorial, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[C. S. Lewis]]
| 1898
| 1963
| 64
| 2013
| Floor stone. The dedication service, at noon on 22 November 2013, included a reading from ''[[The Last Battle]]'' by [[Douglas Gresham]], younger stepson of Lewis. Flowers were laid by [[Walter Hooper]], trustee and literary advisor to the Lewis Estate. An address was delivered by former Archbishop of Canterbury [[Rowan Williams]]. The floor stone inscription is a quotation from an address by Lewis: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else."<ref>{{cite book|title=A service to dedicate a memorial to C. S. Lewis, writer, scholar, apologist|publisher=Westminster Abbey|year=2013}}</ref>
| Author
|-
| [[File:Jenny Lind memorial, Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Jenny Lind]]
| 1820
| 1887
| 67
| 1894
| Wall tablet. "A medallion portrait of the famous singer – the last work of the late [[Charles Bell Birch|Mr Birch]] – has been placed in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, and was yesterday unveiled by the [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|Princess Christian]]."<ref>''The Times'', 21 April 1894</ref>
| Opera singer
|-
| [[File:Bust of Longfellow, Poets' Corner.jpg|100px]]
| [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]]
| 1807
| 1882
| 75
| 1884
| Marble bust by [[Thomas Brock]], unveiled 1 March 1884.<ref>''The Times'', 2 November 1992, p. 6; 26 February 1884, p. 10; 3 March 1884, p. 8</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/henry-wadsworth-longfellow|title=Henry Wadsworth Longfellow|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=29 July 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Frederic William Maitland by Beatrice Lock (Mrs Fripp).jpg|100px]]
| [[F. W. Maitland]]
| 1850
| 1906
| 56
| 2001
| Floor stone
| Historian
|-
| [[File:Christopher Marlowe.jpg|100px]]
| [[Christopher Marlowe]] ([[Marlowe portrait|disputed portrait]])
| 1564
| 1593
| 29
| 2002
| Panel on Hubbard memorial window
| Playwright and poet
|-
| [[File:William Mason memorial, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Mason (poet)|William Mason]]
| 1724
| 1797
| 72–73
| 1799
| Memorial, by [[John Bacon (sculptor, born 1740)|John Bacon]], in the east aisle of Poets' Corner
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Bust of Frederick Dension Maurice, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[F. D. Maurice]]
| 1805
| 1872
| 66
| 1932
| Bust in east aisle of Poets' Corner by [[Thomas Woolner]]
| Author
|-
| ...
| [[Thomas May]]
| 1595
| 1650
| 54–56
| 1880
| Wall stone
| Poet and playwright
|-
| [[File:Monument to John Milton, Westminster Abbey 03.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Milton]]
| 1608
| 1674
| 65
| 1737
| Monument with bust by [[John Michael Rysbrack]]
| Poet and author
|-
| [[File:John Philips from NPG.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Philips]]
| 1676
| 1709
| 32
| 1710
| Monument
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Alexander Pope by Michael Dahl.jpg|100px]]
| [[Alexander Pope]]
| 1688
| 1744
| 56
| 1994
| Panel on Hubbard memorial window
| Poet
|-
| [[File:John Pringle.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Pringle (physician)|John Pringle]]
| 1707
| 1782
| 74
| ...
| Monument
| Military physician
|-
| [[File:Hannah Pritchard.jpg|100px]]
| [[Hannah Pritchard]]
| 1711
| 1768
| 56–57
| ...
| Monument. Later moved to the triforium.
| Actress
|-
| [[File:John Ruskin plaque, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Ruskin]]
| 1819
| 1900
| 80
| 1902
| Portrait roundel in bronze by [[Edward Onslow Ford]]. Unveiled 8 February 1902, after a controversy over whether Ruskin felt monuments like this wasted money and disfigured a building's architectural unity.<ref>[[Sydney C. Cockerell]] letter to ''The Times'', 22 August 1900; ''The Times'', 7 February 1902, p. 9; 10 February 1902, p. 8</ref>
| Poet and art critic
|-
| [[File:Bust of Walter Scott, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Walter Scott]]
| 1771
| 1832
| 61
| 1897
| Bust by the Scottish sculptor [[John Hutchison (sculptor)|John Hutchison]], "a beautifully executed copy of the famous [[Francis Chantrey|Chantrey]] bust at [[Abbotsford House|Abbotsford]]".<ref>''The Times'', 22 May 1897, p. 16</ref>
| Author and poet
|-
| [[File:Thomas Shadwell from NPG.jpg|100px]]
| [[Thomas Shadwell]]
| c.1642
| 1692
| ~50
| c.1700
| Monument
| Poet and playwright
|-
| [[File:Shakespeare memorial, Poets' Corner.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Shakespeare]]
| 1564
| 1616
| 52
| 1740
| Statue with surround designed by [[William Kent]] and carved by [[Peter Scheemakers]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/william-shakespeare|title=William Shakespeare |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref>
| Playwright and poet
|-
| [[File:Grsharp.jpg|100px]]
| [[Granville Sharp]]
| 1735
| 1813
| 77
| 1816
| Monument
| Slavery abolitionist
|-
| [[File:Portrait of Percy Bysshe Shelley by Curran, 1819.jpg|100px]]
| [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]]
| 1792
| 1822
| 29
| 1954
| Mural tablet
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Robert Southey memorial, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert Southey]]
| 1774
| 1843
| 68
| 1845
| Marble memorial bust with surround by [[Henry Weekes]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/robert-southey#i14793|title=Robert Southey|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=1 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Bust of Thackeray, Westminster Abbey 01.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Makepeace Thackeray]]
| 1811
| 1863
| 52
| 1865
| Marble bust by [[Carlo Marochetti]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/william-makepeace-thackeray |title=William Makepeace Thackeray|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=29 July 2022}}</ref>
| Author
|-
| [[File:James Thomson memorial, Westminster Abbey 01.jpg|100px]]
| [[James Thomson (poet, born 1700)|James Thomson]]
| 1700
| 1748
| 47
| 1762
| Sculpture group designed by [[Robert Adam]] and carved by Michael Spring<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/james-thomson#i14420 |title=James Thomson|website=Westminster Abbey|access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet and playwright
|-
| [[File:Dylan Swansea.jpg|100px]]
| [[Dylan Thomas]]
| 1914
| 1953
| 39
| 1982
| [[:File:Dylan Thomas floorstone, Westminster Abbey.jpg|Floor stone]]
| Poet and author
|-
| [[File:Sarony, Napoleon (1821-1896) - Trollope, Anthony (1815-1882).jpg|100px]]
| [[Anthony Trollope]]
| 1815
| 1882
| 67
| 1993
| Floor stone
| Author
|-
| [[File:William Vincent by GP Harding after William Owen.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Vincent (priest)|William Vincent]]
| 1739
| 1815
| 76
| c.1815<ref>"Yesterday morning, at half-past eleven o'clock, the remains of Dr. VINCENT, the Dean of Westminster, were interred in a private manner, at the back of DRYDEN's monument." ''[[The Times]]'', 30 December 1815, p. 3</ref> 1
| Monument
| Dean of Westminster
|-
| [[File:Oscar Wilde by Sarony 1882 01.jpg|100px]]
| [[Oscar Wilde]]
| 1854
| 1900
| 46
| 1995
| Panel on Hubbard memorial window
| Playwright and author
|-
| [[File:Statue of William Wordsworth, Poets' Corner.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Wordsworth]]
| 1770
| 1850
| 80
| 1854
| Statue by [[Frederick Thrupp]] erected 1854.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/william-wordsworth#i13676 |title= William Wordsworth |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 15 August 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:James Wyatt.JPG|100px]]
| [[James Wyatt]]
| 1746
| 1813
| 67
| ...
| Monument
| Architect
|-
|}

==First World War poets==
The memorial in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, to 16 Great War poets is a slate stone slab with the names of the poets inscribed on it. It was unveiled on 11 November 1985, the 67th anniversary of the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|Armistice]]. An additional inscription quotes [[Wilfred Owen|Owen]]'s "Preface":<ref>[http://net.lib.byu.edu/english/wwi/poets/poets.html Poets of the Great War] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922074012/http://net.lib.byu.edu/english/WWI/poets/poets.html |date=22 September 2008 }}, Brigham Young University, accessed 14 March 2010</ref>

{{cquote|My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity.}}
[[File:WW1 Poets floorstone, Westminster Abbey.jpg|thumb|Poets of the First World War memorial]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="unsortable"| Image
! Poet
! Born
! Died
! Age when<br>war started<ref>The date used here is 4 August 1914, the date Britain entered the war.</ref>
! class="unsortable"| Notes on<br>war service
! class="unsortable"| Notes on<br>poetry
|-
| ...
|| [[Richard Aldington]]
| 1892
| 1962
| 22
| Enlisted 1916<br>Commissioned 1917<br>Second Lieutenant<br>[[Royal Sussex Regiment]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Laurence Binyon by William Strang.jpg|100px]]
| [[Laurence Binyon]]
| 1869
| 1943
| 44
| Volunteered in 1915 and 1916<br>[[Hôpital Temporaire d'Arc-en-Barrois]]<br>British hospital for French soldiers
| ...
|-
| [[File:Edmundblundencirca1914.jpg|100px]]
| [[Edmund Blunden]]
| 1896
| 1974
| 17
| Commissioned August 1915<br>Second Lieutenant<br>[[Royal Sussex Regiment]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Rupert Brooke Q 71073.jpg|100px]]
| [[Rupert Brooke]] <sup>†</sup>
| 1887
| 1915
| 27
| Commissioned August 1914<br>Temporary Sub-Lieutenant<br>[[Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve]]
| ...
|-
| ...
| [[Wilfrid Wilson Gibson|Wilfrid Gibson]]
| 1878
| 1962
| 35
| Rejected several times<br>Enlisted October 1917<br>[[Royal Army Service Corps|Army Service Corps]]<br>(Motor Transport)<br>Never saw active service
| ...
|-
| ...<!--Do not use the non-free file:File:Robert Graves.jpg-->
| [[Robert Graves]]
| 1895
| 1985
| 19
| Commissioned 1914<br>[[Royal Welch Fusiliers]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Julian Grenfell (For Remembrance) cropped.jpg|100px]]
| [[Julian Grenfell]] <sup>†</sup>
| 1888
| 1915
| 26
| Commissioned 1910<br>Captain (at time of death)<br>[[Royal Dragoons]]
| ...
|-
| ...
| [[Ivor Gurney]]
| 1890
| 1937
| 23
| Private<br>[[Gloucestershire Regiment]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:David jones.jpg|100px]]
| [[David Jones (poet)|David Jones]]
| 1895
| 1974
| 18
| Enlisted 1915<br>Private<br>[[Royal Welch Fusiliers]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Robert Nichols, by Elliott & Fry.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert Nichols (poet)|Robert Nichols]]
| 1893
| 1944
| 20
| Commissioned 1914<br>[[Royal Artillery]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Wilfred Owen plate from Poems (1920).jpg|100px]]
| [[Wilfred Owen]] <sup>†</sup>
| 1893
| 1918
| 21
| Enlisted 1915<br>Commissioned June 1916<br>Second Lieutenant<br>[[Manchester Regiment]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Herbert Read (1966).jpg|100px]]
| [[Herbert Read]]
| 1893
| 1968
| 20
| Captain<br>[[Green Howards]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Isaac Rosenberg by Isaac Rosenberg.jpg|100px]]
| [[Isaac Rosenberg]] <sup>†</sup>
| 1890
| 1918
| 23
| Enlisted October 1915<br>12th Suffolk Folk Regiment<br>[[King's Own Royal Lancaster]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Siegfried Sassoon by George Charles Beresford (1915).jpg|100px]]
| [[Siegfried Sassoon]]
| 1886
| 1967
| 27
| Enlisted 1914<br>Commissioned May 1915<br>Captain (at end of war)<br>[[Royal Welch Fusiliers]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Charles Hamilton Sorley (For Remembrance) cropped and retouched.jpg|100px]]
| [[Charles Sorley]] <sup>†</sup>
| 1895
| 1915
| 19
| Enlisted 1914<br>Captain (at time of death)<br>[[Suffolk Regiment]]
| ...
|-
| [[File:Edward Thomas.jpg|100px]]
| [[Edward Thomas (poet)|Edward Thomas]] <sup>†</sup>
| 1878
| 1917
| 36
| Enlisted July 1915<br>[[Artists Rifles]]<br>Commissioned November 1916<br>[[Royal Garrison Artillery]]
| ...
|}

The <sup>†</sup> symbol indicates poets who died during the war.

==Royal Ballet==
The stone slab floor memorial to the four founders of the Royal Ballet was dedicated on 17 November 2009.
[[File:Royal Ballet floorstone, Westminster Abbey.jpg|250px|thumb|Founders of the Royal Ballet floor stone]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="unsortable"| Image
! Name
! Born
! Died
! Age at death
! class="unsortable"| Notes on<br>Royal Ballet role
|-
|
| [[Ninette de Valois]]
| 1898
| 2001
| 102
| ...
|-
| ...<!--Do not use the non-free file:File:Frederick-Ashton.jpg-->
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| 1904
| 1988
| 84
| ...
|-
| [[File:Constant Lambert by Christopher Wood.jpg|100px]]
| [[Constant Lambert]]
| 1905
| 1951
| 45
| ...
|-
| [[File:Margot Fonteyn - 1960s.jpg|100px]]
| [[Margot Fonteyn]]
| 1919
| 1991
| 71
| ...
|}

==Elsewhere in the Abbey==
Poets and writers commemorated elsewhere in Westminster Abbey, but not in Poets' Corner proper.<ref>''Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey'' (James Wilkinson, 2007), inside back page</ref><ref>''Treasures of Westminster Abbey'' (Tony Trowles, 2008)</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! class="unsortable"| Image
! Name
! Born
! Died
! Age at death
! Year<br>commemorated
! class="unsortable"| Details of<br>memorial
! class="unsortable"| Notes on<br>artistic career
|-
| [[File:Robert Ayton memorial, Westminster Abbey 02.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert Aytoun|Robert Ayton]]
| 1570
| 1638
| 67–68
|
| Bronze bust with figures of Apollo and Athene in south anbulatory<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/robert-ayton|title=Robert Ayton |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=16 September 2022}}</ref>
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Aphra Behn by Peter Lely ca. 1670.jpg|100px]]
| [[Aphra Behn]]
| 1640
| 1689
| 48
|
| Gravestone
| Author and playwright
|-
| [[File:Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton by Henry William Pickersgill.jpg|100px]]
| [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]]
| 1803
| 1873
| 69
|
| Gravestone
| Author and poet
|-
| [[File:John Bunyan by Thomas Sadler 1684.jpg|100px]]
| [[John Bunyan]]
| 1628
| 1688
| 59
| 1912
| Memorial window
| Author
|-
| [[File:Mary Lucas.jpg|100px]]
| [[Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne]]
| 1623
| 1673
| 69–70
|
| Monument
| Author and poet
|-
| [[File:Monument to William & Margaret Cavendish, Westminster Abbey.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne]]
| 1592
| 1676
| 84
|
| Monument
| Playwright and poet
|-
| [[File:William Congreve.jpg|100px]]
| [[William Congreve]]
| 1670
| 1729
| 58
| c.1730
| Monument
| Playwright and poet
|-
| [[File:Noel Coward Allan warren edit 1.jpg|100px]]
| [[Noël Coward]]
| 1899
| 1973
| 73
| 1984
| Floor stone
| Playwright and composer
|-
| [[File:Print William Cowper (BM 1915,0508.129).jpg|100px]]
| [[William Cowper]]
| 1731
| 1800
| 68
| 1876
| Memorial window
| Poet and hymnodist
|-
| [[File:4thEarlOfRoscommon.jpg|100px]]
| [[Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon]]
| 1637
| 1685
| 47–48
|
| Grave not marked
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Statue of Benjamin Disraeli, Westminster Abbey 02.jpg|100px]]
| [[Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield]]
| 1804
| 1881
| 76
| 1884
| Statue by [[Joseph Boehm]]
| Author and politician
|-
| [[File:George Herbert.jpg|100px]]
| [[George Herbert]]
| 1593
| 1633
| 39
| 1876
| Memorial window
| Poet and orator
|-
| [[File:Sir Robert Howard.jpg|100px]]
| [[Robert Howard (playwright)|Robert Howard]]
| 1626
| 1698
| 72
|
|
| Playwright
|-
| [[File:James Russell Lowell - 1855.jpg|100px]]
| [[James R. Lowell]]
| 1819
| 1891
| 72
|
| Tablet and window
| Poet
|-
| [[File:Anne Oldfield from NPG.jpg|100px]]
| [[Anne Oldfield]]
| 1683
| 1730
| 47
|
| Gravestone
| Actress
|-
| [[File:Henry Spelman2.jpg|100px]]
| [[Henry Spelman]]
| c.1564
| 1641
| 76–77
|
| Gravestone
| Antiquarian
|-
| [[File:Arthur Penrhyn Stanley by Lowes Cato Dickinson.jpg|100px]]
| [[Arthur P. Stanley]]
| 1815
| 1881
| 65
| 1884
| Tomb and effigy
| Author
|-
| [[File:Sybil Thorndike.jpg|100px]]
| [[Sybil Thorndike]]
| 1882
| 1976
| 93
|
| Gravestone
| Actress
|-
| [[File:Vaughan-Williams-by-Rothenstein.jpg|100px]]
| [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]]
| 1872
| 1958
| 86
| 1958
| Floor stone
| Composer
|-
| [[File:Isaac Watts from NPG.jpg|100px]]
| [[Isaac Watts]]
| 1674
| 1748
| 74
| 1779
| Monument
| Hymnodist
|-
| [[File:P.G. Wodehouse, 1930.jpg|100px]]
|[[P. G. Wodehouse]]
|1881
|1975
|93
|2019
|Stone plaque designed by Stephen Raw and carved by Annet Stirling, unveiled in the south choir aisle in 2019 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/3280beb6-db02-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211/https://www.ft.com/content/3280beb6-db02-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17 |archive-date=11 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=PG Wodehouse commemorated with Westminster Abbey plaque |website= Financial Times |date= 20 September 2019 |access-date=22 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/pgwodehouse|title=P.G Wodehouse |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date= 14 September 2022}}</ref>
|Humourist, novelist, lyricist, playwright
|}

== In literature ==
''Poets' Corner'' is also the title of a play by James Huntrods,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theatre-studies.co.uk/2009/09/04/two-4-star-reviews-for-poets-corner/|title=Two 4-star reviews for Poets' Corner}}</ref> and ''[[The Poets' Corner]]'' was a book of [[caricatures]] of famous poets by [[Max Beerbohm]] published in 1904.

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist|35em}}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline}}

{{Westminster Abbey}}

[[Category:British poetry]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in London]]
[[Category:Westminster Abbey]]