Beauty
Beauty- John Edward Masefield About the Author Having lived a life of both profound hardship and celebrated artistry, John Masefield (1878-1967) became one of England’s most cherished and accessible poets. His story reads like one of his own adventure tales. Orphaned as a boy, he was sent to sea at 13, a brutal apprenticeship that gifted him the nautical language and yearning for the horizon that would make him famous. He famously deserted his ship in New York, living a hand-to-mouth existence while educating himself in public libraries—an experience that grounded his later work in the realities of struggle. He returned to England determined to write, and his deep, resonant voice, which spoke of salt spray and the human spirit, eventually earned him the highest poetic honor: he was appointed Poet Laureate in 1930, a role he served with dedication for 37 years. Masefield’s genius lay in his ability to speak to both the common reader and the literary critic. He is best remembered for a h...