Literary notes about laureate (AI summary)
The term "laureate" has been used in literature to evoke a sense of prestigious honor and official recognition as well as to offer opportunities for satire and playful subversion. In many works, such as those by William J. Long and Ben Jonson, being named poet laureate is portrayed as a formal appointment that brings both acclaim and tangible rewards—often highlighting the office’s state or royal patronage ([1], [2], [3]). At the same time, authors like Byron and Timothy Dexter employ the title in a more ironic or tongue-in-cheek manner, referencing the poet laureate’s elevated status for purposes ranging from emblematic representation of artistic achievement to self-serving vanity ([4], [5], [6], [7]). Collectively, these examples show that "laureate" functions not only as a marker of high artistic and cultural esteem, as noted in the praises of official appointments ([8], [9]), but also as a term ripe for literary wit and critique ([10], [11]).
- His work, meanwhile, was rewarded by large financial returns, and by his being appointed poet laureate and collector of the port of London.
— from English Literature by William J. Long - In this same year Jonson was made poet laureate with a pension of one hundred marks a year.
— from The Alchemist by Ben Jonson - On the death of Southey (1843) he was made poet laureate, against his own inclination.
— from English Literature by William J. Long - You're a poet, poet laureate, And representative of all the race.
— from Don Juan by Baron George Gordon Byron Byron - Meantime, Sir Laureate, I proceed to dedicate In honest simple verse this song to you.
— from Don Juan by Baron George Gordon Byron Byron - To gratify his vanity he selected in imitation of European princes, a poet laureate.
— from A Pickle for the Knowing Ones by Timothy Dexter - In the capacity of ballad maker and monger he attracted the notice of Dexter, in whose service he entered for a small salary as poet laureate.
— from A Pickle for the Knowing Ones by Timothy Dexter - By the influence of the Duke of Newcastle, then Lord Chamberlain, he was made Poet-laureate, upon the death of Rowe.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - By the influence of the Duke of Newcastle, then Lord Chamberlain, he was made Poet-laureate, upon the death of Rowe.
— from The Spectator, Volume 1 by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele - To bow to the Laureate, and to hear his opinion of Racine's last tragedy, or of Bossu's treatise on epic poetry, was thought a privilege.
— from All About Coffee by William H. Ukers - Among them towers the Poet Laureate, to whom perhaps Higgins may owe his Miltonic sympathies, though here again I must disclaim all portraiture.
— from Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw
