John Betjeman
John Betjeman (1906-1984) was a prominent English poet known for his accessible and widely read poetry throughout the twentieth century. His career peaked with the publication of "Collected Poems" in 1958, which sold over 100,000 copies and solidified his reputation, culminating in his appointment as poet laureate in 1972. Born into a wealthy family in North London, Betjeman's upbringing exposed him to the intricate class divisions within English society, a recurring theme in his work. He pursued his passion for poetry from a young age, studying at notable institutions where he was influenced by figures such as T.S. Eliot and C.S. Lewis.
Betjeman's literary contributions include not only poetry but also influential works on architecture and topography, where he critiqued English architectural norms and reflected on the connection between people and their environments. His poetry is characterized by themes such as social class, introspection, and a gentle satire of upper-middle-class life. Throughout his life, he continued to evolve as a poet, with later collections showcasing deeper reflections on mortality and personal experiences. Betjeman passed away in Cornwall, where he had spent much of his youth, and he is remembered as an important figure in English literature.
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John Betjeman
English poet
- Born: August 28, 1906
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: May 19, 1984
- Place of death: Trebetherick, Cornwall, England
Biography
John Betjeman (BEHCH-uh-muhn) became one of the most popular and widely read English poets of the twentieth century. HisCollected Poems, published in 1958, reportedly sold more than 100,000 copies, and he won many awards for his poetry. In 1972 he was named poet laureate.
![Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984). By Daily Herald Archive at the National Media Museum Edited & Uploaded By MediaJet [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons 89313017-73478.jpg](https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/ers/sp/embedded/89313017-73478.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84xNvgOLCmsE2epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS)
Betjeman was born to a wealthy family who lived in the suburbs of North London. The family had many upper-class acquaintances, but Betjeman’s father’s Dutch origin and career in manufacturing prevented the family from forming any intimate ties within this class. From an early age Betjeman learned about the complex class divisions in English society, a theme that appears frequently in his poetry. As a child he decided he would be a poet, and his refusal to continue in the family business distanced him from his father. As a scholar at Highgate School in London, he had as a teacher T. S. Eliot, newly arrived from the United States. Betjeman later recalled giving Eliot a homemade book of his first attempts at poetry.
From 1917 to 1920 Betjeman attended the Dragon School at Oxford, where he developed an interest in architecture from one of his teachers, Gerald Haynes. His interest in places and architecture not only provided him with a steady income as a writer but also with subject matter for poetry. As a scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, he neglected his studies, to the chagrin of C. S. Lewis, his tutor; during this time he joined a sophisticated group of undergraduates that included Evelyn Waugh, who would be one of Betjeman’s lifelong friends. Betjeman depicts his irreverent Oxford life in one of his best-known poems, “The ‘Varsity Students’ Rag,” written while he was a student.
Betjeman left Oxford without a degree and, after a short stint of teaching, became an editor for Architectural Review. At the same time he published his first book of poetry, Mount Zion: Or, In Touch with the Infinite. This collection, an extension of Betjeman’s Oxford life, is characterized by aestheticism, irreverence, and wit. It also contains many of the themes that preoccupied Betjeman throughout his life and his career as a writer: a fear of death, a sensitivity to social class, and an interest in places and architecture. This first collection shows Betjeman’s particular talent for light verse and satire.
In 1933 Betjeman left the Architectural Review to edit the Shell guides to English cities. He also crossed class boundaries to marry Penelope Chetwode, the daughter of Sir Philip Chetwode, who was commander-in-chief for India. In 1937 Betjeman’s second collection of poetry, Continual Dew: A Little Book of Bourgeois Verse, appeared. This volume focuses directly on issues related to social class, and in it the poet gently satirizes the manners of upper-middle-class London society. Although he thought of himself primarily as a poet, Betjeman also became well known during this time for his books on topography and English architecture. In these works he criticizes the thoughtlessness of English architecture, and he analyzes everything from churches to railway stations, arguing that architecture does not merely apply to particular buildings but to the complete and complex relationships between people and the places in which they live. English Cities and Small Towns and First and Last Loves are the most popular of his works on places and architecture.
During World War II Betjeman worked in radio as a broadcaster for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and, later, for the books department of the British Council. After the war he became an extremely popular broadcaster for BBC television. During the war years Betjeman also completed two more books of poetry, Old Lights for New Chancels: Verses Topographical and Amatory and New Bats in Old Belfries. These collections demonstrate greater maturity in theme and style than the earlier collections as well as showing Betjeman’s indebtedness to Victorian and Romantic writers such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson; George Crabbe; and Thomas Hardy.
Betjeman’s later collections increasingly show personal introspection and a nervousness about death. These themes are particularly evident in A Few Late Chrysanthemums, a collection that many critics consider Betjeman’s most artistic. In 1958 Betjeman’s tremendously popular Collected Poems was published, followed by a blank-verse autobiographical poem Summoned by Bells, which covers Betjeman’s childhood and adolescence to the point when he left for Oxford. After the success of his collected poems, Betjeman published two further collections, High and Low and A Nip in the Air and continued his popular works on architecture. He died in 1984 in Trebetherick, Cornwall, where he had vacationed as a boy, and is buried in the village churchyard, near the sea.
Bibliography
Betjeman, John. Letters. Edited by Candida Lycett Green. 2 vols. London: Methuen, 1994. This comprehensive collection reveals many intimate details about the life of Betjeman, including the depth of his affection for his friends, his religious sentiment, and his relationships with his wife and with longtime mistress Elizabeth Cavendish. Covers letters written between 1926 and 1984.
Delany, Frank. Betjeman Country. London: John Murray, 1983. This remarkable travel book combines biographical commentary on Betjeman with excerpts from the poet’s poems and numerous photographs of the places connected with the poems of Betjeman. Includes a primary bibliography.
Harvey, Geoffrey. “John Betjeman: An Odeon Flashes Fire.” In The Romantic Tradition in Modern British Poetry. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986. This provocative, informative study rejects the assessment of Betjeman as a minor establishment poet. Harvey views him as a “consistently subversive force in modern verse”—a committed writer mindful of a real audience.
McDermott, John V. “Betjeman’s ‘The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel.’” The Explicator 57, no. 3 (Spring, 1999): 165-166. McDermott argues that Betjeman’s poem, which seems at first to be a singular assault on the character of Oscar Wilde, proceeds, by subtle implication, to condemn the society that held Wilde up to scorn.
Peterson, William S. John Betjeman: A Bibliography. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Peterson gives a thorough account of all of Betjeman’s works, both published and unpublished, including contributions to periodicals, lectures, musical settings, recordings, radio and T.V. broadcasts, and dramatic adaptations of his poetry. There are 17 sections, providing thorough discussions about each work, including information about contents and publication histories. This biography provides a wealth of information and contains an index complete with annotations.
Taylor-Martin, Patrick. John Betjeman: His Life and Work. London: Allen Lane, 1983. This excellent study of Betjeman is a useful balance of critical commentary and biography. Taylor-Martin views Betjeman as a serious writer, not a light versifier. The text is supplemented by a select bibliography—primary texts, secondary books, and articles—and a list of his recordings. No index.
Vestey, Michael. “Betjeman Recalled.” The Spectator 278, no. 8793 (February 8, 1997): 52-53. Vestey reminisces about an interview with Betjeman which took place in the 1970’s. The article follows on the heels of a Radio Two program Softly Croons the Radiogram, in which Betjeman’s collaboration with composer Jim Parker to set his poetry to music was discussed.
Wilson, A. N. Betjeman: A Life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. This biography takes a close look at the private life of John Betjeman, painting a portrait of his lifestyle, interests, and idiosyncracies. Wilson draws on correspondence between Betjeman and his wife to shed light on their relationship and to give readers an accurate picture of his personality. This is an enlightening study that delves into a side of Betjeman that few biographers have examined.