poet laureate

noun

, plural poets laureate.

1. (in Great Britain) a poet appointed for life as an officer of the royal household, formerly expected to write poems in celebration of court and national events.
2. a poet recognized or acclaimed as the most eminent or representative of a country or locality.
3. (formerly) a poet whose efforts were officially recognized, as by a sovereign, university, etc.

poet laureate

noun

1. the poet appointed as court poet of Britain who is given a post as an officer of the Royal Household. The first was Ben Jonson in 1616

poet laureate

1. The national poet in Britain . Historically, the poet laureate's duty has been to compose official poetry for the king's or queen's birthday and for great public occasions, such as victories in war, coronations, and births and weddings in the royal family. The poets laureate of Britain have included Geoffrey Chaucer , William Wordsworth , and Alfred, Lord Tennyson .

Notes

The largely ceremonial position of poet laureate was created in the United States in 1985.

Word History and Origins

Origin of poet laureate¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Elsehwere, poet laureate Simon Armitage contributed a new work, simply called Proms Poem, that rhapsodised the magical and mysterious power of music.

From BBC

In recent years the role has a fixed term of 10 years, and is comparable to the position of poet laureate.

From BBC

The former youth poet laureate of Los Angeles, who now holds that position at the national level, wrote a poem for the occasion.

From Los Angeles Times

The National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman rose to acclaim when she read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration in 2021.

From Los Angeles Times

As Solnit, poet laureate of hope, writes, “The grounds for hope are in the shadows, in the people who are inventing the world while no one looks, who themselves don’t know yet whether they will have any effect.”

From Slate