Try these to practice your pronunciation. These are poems used by the British Council to help their students. These are classic 'English' Poems from across the United Kingdom. Poems that Native Speakers have grown up listening to and studying. Try your hand at these.
There are some additional poems written by British Council students that are of particular interest. Enjoy the list!
Scroll down to choose a poem or select a letter from the list to move more quickly.
A
About Getting the Exact Word in English
Miguel Ángel Muñoz Lobo is a young learner of English from Madrid in Spain. Read his poem which is about what it is like to find the exact word in English. Have you ever felt the same way?
Address to the Haggis
This famous poem by the great Scottish poet Robert Burns is regularly recited during celebrations throughout the world, whenever Haggis makes an appearance on the menu.
AIDS poems
Three poems about AIDS sent to us by users.
Alfie and Me
A poem about seafaring sent to us by one of our users.
The Alphabet
This poem was written by Eduardo González Chillón, who is a student at the British Institute for Young Learners in Madrid, Spain.
Animal poetry
Poems about horses and other animals sent to us by users
Anthems
The anthems or national songs of the UK, Australia and Canada, with activities.
To Autumn
Autumn, or "fall" as it is called in the USA, often arouses feelings of loss and melancholy. However, in his ode To Autumn, John Keats, the great poet of the early nineteenth century whose own life was so brief, the end of summer is not a cause for sadness but for celebration, of the wonderful fruitfulness of nature on the brink of decay.
B
A Ballad of John Silver
In this poem the John Edward Masefield fondly reminisces about the ‘good old days’ when there were pirates on the seas!
Banyan Tree
This poem is by Nobel Prize for Literature winner Rabindranath Tagore, from India. Tagore once said ‘To study a banyan tree, you not only must know its main stem in its own soil, but also must trace the growth of its greatness in the further soil, for then you can know the true nature of its vitality’.
Bathtub Disaster
This funny poem by Peter Wyllie is about what happens when a patient in a hospital has a bath that goes wrong…
The Blind Boy
In this short poem, Poet Laureate Colley Cibber describes the feelings of a boy who has never been able to see.
The Bright Dresses
This poem by Robert Seatter is about teaching English and conveys powerful emotions through observation of impersonal details which in a different context would be trivial or even banal; here we have shoes in shoe shops, bright dresses, the artificial language of an English lesson. Somehow, they resonate with strong feelings.
Canada
Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts was the first Canadian to be knighted for his work as a writer. According to one source: "Those of his poetical compositions that are distinctively Canadian are regarded as being specially excellent”.
The cat that walked by himself
Rudyard Kipling used to tell his daughter stories in which he invented funny answers for such questions as "How did the camel get his hump?". The stories end in amusing poems that summarise the stories themselves. This poem tells us the reasons why many people prefer dogs to cats.
Charity: Embankment at Night, before the War
In this short poem D.H: Lawrence describes an experience where he tried to be charitable.
Childhood
Five poems about childhood sent to us by users.
On Chloris being ill
In this poem (written as a song), the great Scottish poet Robert Burns laments the illness of his loved one.
Circus
This poem by Vine McCasland provides a different, very interesting view of the circus as seen from the audience.
D
Dance poetry
Two poems about dance sent to us by users.
Danger in the Wet
Some people in North Queensland (Australia) love having tourists visit them so much, that they tell them this tale...
Disaster poetry
Two poems about disasters sent to us by users.
England
Poems by William Wordsworth, William Ernest Henley, Henry Newbolt, William James Linton and Charles Leonard Moore, all of who are "singing the praises" of England.
English Lesson
Robert Seatter, who has been an English teacher, an actor and a journalist, now works with the BBC. His poem English Lesson takes us vividly into the midst of an English lesson for adult learners. Read the poem, listen to the poet reading it and say it aloud. How does it compare with your own English lessons?
The Einstein and the Eddington
This nonsense poem (which is based on Lewis Carroll’s "The Walrus and the Carpenter" in "Through the looking-glass") was written by Dr. W. H. Williams for a faculty club dinner on the eve of the physicist Eddington's departure from Berkeley in 1924.
Eye Halve a Spelling Chequer
In this amusing poem the correct words have been substituted by homophones (two or more words that are spelt differently, but pronounced the same). It proves that computer spelling checkers are not infallible!
Family poetry
A poem about families sent to us by a user.
The Flatulence Tax
This funny poem explores what would happen if we stopped farming sheep and cattle and started cultivating beans instead!
Food poetry
10 short poems about food from famous and not so famous poets, and an activity in which you compare them.
Funny poetry
A funny poem sent to us by a user.
Gambling poem: Tom Beatty
This poem by Edgar Lee Masters from his acclaimed Spoon River Anthology compares gambling and life.
A Glass of Wine
Andrew Motion became the UK's Poet Laureate in 1999. Listen to Motion read his poem and then describe the feelings that inspired it. "It's about sitting in the garden with my wife at the end of the summer, in other words a poem I wrote very recently. Feeling happy.."
The Good Old Days
This amusing poem compares the meanings of words and expressions as they are used nowadays when speaking about computers, and in their original contexts.
When Greenville Turned Brown
A small town called Greenville was a nice place to live,
With forests and ponds, it had lots to give.
The people were happy in this little town,
Until something happened and Greenville turned brown.
H
Heat
This poem by Archibald Lampman conjures up vivid images of a sweltering summer’s day. Phew!
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
This famous poem by William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was inspired by the Spring flower, the yellow, or golden daffodil.
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
According to encyclopedia.com “William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939, Irish poet and playwright ... (was) the greatest lyric poet Ireland has produced and one of the major figures of 20th-century literature”. This poem graphically illustrates how it felt to be an Irishman fighting for the Allies.
It Wouldn't Do
This poem was written by John Kay, who was the winner of the White Adder International EFL Poetry Competiton. He teaches English and trains teachers in Bournemouth, England. His poem treats an important theme in a humorous way. It also links the theme to a well-known point of English grammar. What is the theme and what is the grammar point?
Land-locked
This poem by Celia Thaxter, who during her lifetime and briefly thereafter, was one of the better known women poets in America, vividly portrays the feelings of someone who yearns for the sea.
Learning a Language
What does learning a new language feel like to you? Writer and English language teacher Olivia McMahon, who lives in Scotland, is also a poet. Read and listen to her poem. Say it aloud. Is this how it feels to you?
Let America Be America Again
This poem, whose title was chosen by John Kerry as the slogan for his 2004 US Presidential campaign, was written by Langston Hughes, particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties.
Lord's Prayer
This is probably the most frequently recited prayer among Christians, and originates from a Latin prayer, the "Pater Noster". Learn the prayer and do some fun activities connected to it.
Love and Illness
The Poem by Mireille Moukarzel of Lebanon, and Just a Job They Say by Sherry Blaylock.
Love Poems: 1
Read two love poems sent to us by Lina Al-Adnani from Jordan.
Love Poems: 2
Read three more love poems sent to us by learners in Lebanon, Austria and the USA.
Love Poems: 3
Read five love poems sent to us by learners from Croatia, Egypt, Pakistan and China.
Love Poems: 4
Read three love poems sent to us by learners from Pakistan, the Lebanon and Tanzania.
Love Poems: 5
Read five love poems sent to us by learners from round the world.
Love Poems: 6
Read three love poems sent to us by learners from round the world.
Man Hunt
This poem by Madison Cawein, who was one of the leading American nature poets of his day, tells of the terrifying ordeal of a man on the run.
Mountain Fable
In this fable by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American essayist, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement, a squirrel and a mountain have an argument!
Mulga Bill's Bicycle
This funny ballad by one of Australia’s favourite poets, ‘Banjo’ Paterson (whose most famous work is undoubtedly Waltzing Matilda), is typical of his work in that his love for the bush and its colourful characters are very apparent.
Murder
This poem was sent to us by Lisa Chen from China. Is it possible to kill the sun?
Night's Mardi Gras
In this poem Edward J. Wheeler compares the night to the Mardi Gras, where nothing is quite what it seems ...
No
This poem by Thomas Hood takes a negative view of winter in a cold, urban climate, but expresses it with a nice sense of humour.
Online Auction
In this funny poem by Peter Wyllie we find out about a man's experience putting in a bid for something on e-Bay.
Ozymandias
This poem was written in 1818 by the famous Romantic poet Shelley. In this poem Shelley reflects on the nature of political power, and those who hold it.
Pasta with Breadcrumbs
This is a poem by Elisabetta Zezza from Italy, which explains why “The wayfarer eats what's offered him in exchange for a tale or a song”.
Poetry as a Foreign Language
In this poem by Mike Ramsden the author says that he is in a big hall with a crowd of people who are standing and clapping. Why do you think the people are there? What do you think comes next in the poem? Finish the poem yourself.
Pronunciation poem
This clever and amusing poem explains why English pronunciation is so very difficult.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
This famous poem was written by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797–1799 and published in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads (1798). It is Coleridge's longest major poem. Along with other poems in Lyrical Ballads, it was a signal shift to modern poetry, and the beginnings of British Romantic literature.
Ring Out Wild Bells
One of Tennyson's most famous poems - partly due to its association with New Year's Eve.
Science poetry
Four poems about science sent to us by users.
The Seven Ages of Man
The famous lines from Shakespeare's play As You Like It.
The Sick Child
In this sad little poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, a mother spends the night at her sick child's bedside.
Smoking poetry
Two poems about smoking sent to us by users.
Spring
Two seasonal poems from Hiroko Okawa of Japan - a poem dedicated to the cherry blossoms and another poem called Jade.
Star-gazers
In this interesting poem William Wordsworth explores what goes through people's minds when they look at the stars through a telescope.
Stars and Moon
In this poem, Nikita Atreya from India shows us how the stars and the moon have a celestial party every night!
Starshine and Non-Being
This Taoist poem describes how language and logical classification cannot encompass reality. Trying to label something can make a non-existent thing wrongly seem as if it had concrete or material existence, as Starshine finds out when he asks questions to Non-Being, the darkness.
The Tay Bridge Disaster
The most famous poem from William Topaz McGonagall, who is renowned as one of the worst poets in the English language!
Town & Country
In Progress, Osbert Sitwell provides negative images of the city and conjures up fond memories of the country. In The City, Charles Hanson Towne does the opposite. Compare them!
To Travel
Edjane Harris comes from Brazil, has worked in Senegal and now lives in Thailand. She paints and teaches dance, Spanish and English. Read her poem and listen to it. Pretend you are the speaker and say it aloud. Do you agree with what the speaker says about language and travel?
Travelling Post Office
This ballad by ‘Banjo’ Paterson shows what an enormous task it was delivering mail in a country as vast as Australia before modern technologies existed.
A Trip without End
A learner of English from Spain, Ana Jiménez Martín, has written a poem about what it is like to learn a new language. Her poem describes it as making a journey that doesn't have an end.
The Tyger
This famous poem by William Blake conjures up amazingly vivid images of the mighty tiger.
U
Utenzi wa Shufaka
Read all about this poem, whose title translate from Swahili as "Poem of Mercifulness", is an utenzi (classical narrative poem) in Swahili literature.
A wall in Naples
This poem by Andrew Motion was inspired by a Thomas Jones painting in London's "National Gallery" in which Motion reflects upon the enduring value of artistic creation.
We Loved The World Together
This funny poem by Gordon Taylor describes a love affair of epic proportions: "It's great when you meet at first, but then after the money's gone you have to pay the price ..."
Welsh Landscape
This grim poem by R. S. Thomas, the pre-eminent Welsh poet writing in the English language is typical of his work, which is uncompromising: images like slate - hard and sharp; his style spare, unflinching, honest."
The White Room
This lovely short poem was written by a learner of English, Irene Soriano Flórez, a student at the British Institute for Young Learners in Madrid.
The Wild Colonial Boy
This ballad tells the story of the rise and fall of an Australian outlaw, Jack Doolan.
Wolf poetry
Three poems about wolves by Rudyard Kipling, Cynthia Minde and Tamara Smith. Howoooool!
The British Council
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
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1 comment:
how about using a love poem?
http://www.lovepoems-lovepoetry.com/
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