What is the most popular piece of poetry in Great Britain?
The most widely read poem in the English language, is supposed to be “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” by Fitzgerald. Most of today’s youth probably never heard of it, but it still is considered “the” most widely read poem in the English speaking world. Some of the most “popular” poems that I know are of American origin (The Raven, The Road Less Travelled, etc.), but technically “Kipling” was a member of the British Empire, so you might also consider “IF”, a poem he wrote for his son who had gone off to WWI…and who died about three months after the poem was written when a stray shell hit the hospital tent in which he was working. Both the Rubaiyat (I’d recommend the first version…I believe it has 75 quatrains) and “IF” are available for free if you “google” them…as are the works of Poe, Frost, and many other poets, contemporary and famous. If you’ve never heard of or read the Rubaiyat, I’d highly recommend it for yourself, even if you choose not to recommend it to your students…it
