On the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who held the post between November 1850 and October 1892, there was a break of four years as a mark of respect
I heard it was because all the front runners were ruled out for various reasons, and Lord Salisbury appointed Austin as a reward for helping him to win the general election of 1895. Valetude (talk) 23:29, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
I wish to tidy up the final sentence of the introduction on this page (where it states that Carol Ann Duffy is the first ever female Poet Laureate of the UK), and also change the reference attached to one that is in English (like a British newspaper article). However, I'm not sure whether or not this reference change will violate any rules. Can anyone help me out here? Bluebird207 (talk) 11:10, 22 September 2009 (UTC)
Also, the introduction... "The Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom ... is the poet laureate of the United Kingdom." That really could be handled better. --Golbez (talk) 12:34, 7 July 2010 (UTC)
Role and Functions
It would be helpful if this page could elaborate on the role and functions of the poet laureate; a sort of job description. For example, how political is the role, how is subject matter chosen, are there guidelines as to appropriate subjects, or are the poems 'commissioned' in some way, and by who? etc. etc. Drobba (talk) 08:27, 10 August 2009 (UTC)
Early laureates?
The early laureates named are not supported by any evidence or references. The British royal family's official website says that Dryden was the first official laureate[1]. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.41.14.1 (talk) 12:14, 20 April 2010 (UTC)
No source for the entire list
Most of the list isn't sourced. Examples: Daniel, Jonson, Davenant, Shadwell, Rowe, Eusden, and many more. I couldn't find a proper source, but this needs to be fixed. Shilton (talk) 14:51, 2 December 2012 (UTC)
All of the list before William Davenant is extremely doubtful. Hadfield, quoting Broadus (The Laureateship. OUP. 1921), says that the post was only officially established in 1668, with the appointment of Dryden. Before that it seems to have been a term of compliment rather than anything else. --Martin Wyatt (talk) 21:37, 19 August 2013 (UTC) As a source, there is a list in the Oxford Companion to English Literature. I have not checked this against the list given here. Unless there is some (reasonable) objection within the next four weeks, I propose to alter the article completely, in line with the comments above, giving the source of the information.--Martin Wyatt (talk) 19:46, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
Portraits
Does anyone know why there are comments in the place of photos of Ted Hughes and Cecil Day-Lewis, asking users not to add images that are not in Wikipedia Commons? These poets' photos on their own pages are non-free, so what is wrong with using them here? Ml242 (talk) 13:12, 13 May 2019 (UTC)
Because neither of the photos of Hughes and Day-Lewis are on Commons. Neither are free to use - and doing so here would breach the WP:NFCC policy. - SchroCat (talk) 13:56, 13 May 2019 (UTC)
I found some. I have placed these two images of Cecil Day-Lewis and Ted Hughes in the article, which are on Commons.
