20 poems you should learn by heart...or at least know of (Part 2: #8-14)

Whey – I told you all I’d be back with part two. In the second part of this three blog series, I’ll be going through 20 poems that you should definitely know of and maybe, try learning by heart. If you haven’t read part 1, WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE and give it a read before you look further. If you have, then let’s continue...

Jabberwocky – Lewis Carroll
Let’s start with a childhood classic. My first memories of this one was acting  it out as a project in my drama club. I had the crucial part of a Jubjub bird. It mainly involved me walking around in a bird mask going “jub jub”. I am a man of many talents – what could’ve been? 

​Teach this one to children – its sheer wackiness will make them spellbound. 

Sonnet 18 – William Shakespeare
Now time for a romantic classic – one to woo the blushing maids in the village. The poem compares his beloved to the season of summer, and how she far excels it in every way. If Shakespeare is referring to a British summer, then this is not that flattering a poem. An American summer however...

I hear America singing – Walt Whitman
‘I hear America singing’ is a great poem about being unique, but also about being united. It’s a love song to America and by god, it brims with patriotic optimism. It’s almost as American as Uncle Sam riding a bald eagle, whilst choruses of cowboys bang out ‘Amazing Grace’ surrounded by cheeseburgers. The American Dream ladies and gentlemen.

Let me die a youngman’s death – Roger McGough
Despite how sadistic this poem appears, you do find yourself enjoying it because of its light tone and gnarly, unique grit. It urges you to grow old distastefully and live la vida loca. Not in a cheesy Ricky Martin sort of way though... 

Remember – Christina Rosetti
Crumbs - I should really stop with the poems about death, especially with a summer bank holiday coming up. I’m such a killjoy...

But his one clutches the heartstrings too – it’s about wanting to live on within someone’s memory after death. It’s almost as sad as...

Funeral Blues – W H Auden
Okay last sad one I promise! Like many of you I’m sure, I first heard it in the classic film 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'.  If you haven’t seen it, watch it and feel. And I cannot end this blog on a sad note, therefore...

On the Ning Nang Nong – Spike Milligan
This nugget is stupidly stupendous. You could probably say any sort of nonsense and you would have probably recited ‘On the Ning Nag Nong’ without realising it. Apparently it is also one of the most taught poems to primary school children in the UK. And so it should be. Kids love silly stuff like that. 

Right, hopefully we are all in happy place after all the doom in the second half. But tell me, have I missed anything out that should be on this top 20 list? Let me know in the comments section or on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t forget to follow me if you do pop in on either of those. But for now, have a great bank holiday and go large people!
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