What do Ted Hughes, Alan Bennett, W H Auden, Tony Harrison, Simon Armitage and the Bronte sisters have in common?
Besides the glaringly obvious answer that they are all famous poets, the answer I’m looking for is Yorkshire. All of these writers were born in Yorkshire, and have used their birthplace in their prose.
Since today is National Poetry Day (October 4th) I thought it would be timely to explore some of Yorkshire’s poetic and literary roots.
The Yorkshire Moors | Bronte Sisters
“I struck straight into the heath; I held on to a hallow I saw deeply furrowing the brown moorside; I watched knee-deep in its dark growth; I turned in its turnings, and finding a moss- blackened granite crag in a hidden angle, I sat down under it”
Jane Eyre
In late autumn and winter, a gothic type of beauty transforms the landscape. A walk through the Moors reveal the grey slate of sky, brooding abbey ruins, and desolate fields broken up by the skeleton of black trees.
The Yorkshire Moors has been so immortalised by the Bronte sisters, it has become popularly known as the Bronte Moors. I, too, use these terms interchangeably.
It became the setting for Emily’s Wuthering Heights and Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, two of the greatest novels of all time. Head to Haworth, the birthplace of the Bronte Sisters and experience the landscape that they drew inspiration from.
In Haworth you can explore the home they grew up in, which is now the Bronte Parsonage Museum, as well as visit the church where they were laid to rest.
Read more: A Bronte Journey through Haworth
Heptonstall | Sylvia Plath
Ted Hughes brought Sylvia Plath to his birthplace of West Yorkshire, and where she now rests in St Thomas A Beckett churchyard in Heptonstall located near Hebden Bridge.
Due to their publicised stormy relationship and her tragic death, the choice of Sylvia’s resting place in West Yorkshire is an unpopular decision among her fans. As a result her headstone has been vandalised on numerous occasions in an attempt to remove Hughes’s name because some of her fans believe he was responsible for her premature death.
However well-intentioned this might be, I personally think this behaviour is disrespectful. While it’s probably not an ideal resting place, I feel better knowing she’s in good company in Yorkshire. A location of wild beauty and rich literary tales.
When I arrived at her gravestone I was surprised not only by how modest it is but also the tens upon tens of pens and pencils left as a token by those who have been inspired by her writings.
I suspect a few people more make the pilgrimage to her grave on National Poetry Day.
North Yorkshire | The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett also capitalises on Yorkshire’s landscape in The Secret Garden. The main character, a young, tempestuous girl called Mary, discovers her sickly, house-bound cousin, Colin. After spending time in the Yorkshire countryside she becomes happier and Colin becomes healthier: their improvements credited to being out in nature. I mean, how can it not with all that fresh air?
In the film adaptation, both the grounds of Allerton Castle and Fountains Hall in North Yorkshire were used.
Final thoughts
It’s easy to forget Yorkshire when it retires early for winter, and the greenness we love soon disappears. But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll uncover its beauty laid bare. The kind of beauty that captivated the likes of the Brontes, Sylvia Plath, and Frances Hodgson Burnett.
So there you have it, there really is no better place than Yorkshire to celebrate National Poetry Day.
Read more: Take a look at my list of literary locations around the world.
One Response
Are there any poetry events in South Yorkshire for NATIONAL POETRY DAY??