Original version

BBC Four

BBC 4

A Poet's Guide to Britain

Owen Sheers

Fiona Morris

Rupert Edwards

A Poet's Guide to Britain: Episode 6: Louis MacNeice

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Louis MacNeice

Episode 6

Episode 6: Louis MacNeice

BBC Four - A Poet's Guide to Britain, Louis MacNeice

Owen Sheers heads into the trees to explore Louis MacNeice's poem Woods.

Owen Sheers explores poetry set in the British landscape. He looks at Louis MacNeice's poem Woods, in which the middle-aged MacNeice takes stock of who he has become.

Poet and author Owen Sheers presents a series in which he explores six great works of poetry set in the British landscape. Each poem explores a sense of place and identity across Britain and opens the doors to captivating stories about the places and the lives of the poets themselves. 

Louis MacNeice was one of the big guns of British poetry in the 1930s and 40s but is less well known today. Sheers takes a stroll into one of his finest poems, called simply Woods, a brilliant evocation of one of the most English landscapes but also a poem that takes you into the life and mind of a fascinating poet.  

MacNeice was born and brought up in Ireland until the age of nine, when soon after the death of his mother he was sent to school in England. His split identity was to become a major preoccupation for the rest of his life.  

In Woods, the middle-aged MacNeice takes stock of who he has become, unsure that he taken the right path. It is wonderful lyrical, melancholic writing that makes a powerful case for the restoration of this poet's reputation

Includes contributions from poets Dannie Abse and Paul Farley as well as actress Jill Balcon, who knew MacNeice and was married to another great poet of the era, Cecil Day-Lewis.

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

Owen Sheers explores six great works of poetry set in the British landscape.

Poet and author Owen Sheers presents a series in which he explores six great works of poetry set in the British landscape.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

A Poet's Guide to Britain

Episode 6: Louis MacNeice

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Series

BBC Four

About BBC Four