On National Poetry Day, Head of Senior School Library (and poetry fanatic) Mr Clement shares a special reading on the RGC Podcast. 

Reading his favourite poem ‘Ulysses’ by Alfred Tennyson, Mr Clement said, “To celebrate National Poetry Day 2021, the Senior School Library is encouraging all pupils to take time out to read and engage with a poem of their choosing. 

“Poetry has the curious ability to calm, console, and perhaps above all, connect us to the minds and feelings of others. We all hold on to and often return, at times of joy or sorrow, to a poem that has some special meaning that has stirred the soul in some way. 

“A poem that I have often returned to when the occasion arises, was penned by the inimitable Victorian poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Ulysses was first published in 1842 in response to the untimely death of Tennyson's close friend Arthur Henry Hallam. Imagining Ulysses, the hero of classical literature, Tennyson explores the emotions he feels on returning to his island home of Ithaca after many adventures, where he becomes bored of the routine of life and yearns to set out once again on a voyage of discovery. 

“All of us can relate to the feeling of isolation that the past year has brought and hopefully, we might find solace in the final line of the poem - “To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.””

Listen to Mr Clement’s reading below.