Show Eng engird lisla poets poet laureate Liu reat the origin of the poet of england Is involved in obscurity in early days daya the word laureate came to mean in english eminent it was thus thug generally although not always applied lo in a literary tense sense medieval kings had poets or minstrels attached to their households who received pensions although their appointment was not off official iclal in this way ben jonson was looked upon as the first laureate but the title seems never to have been really conferred on him john dryden was the first english poet to receive the title by letters patent in 1670 1170 from that time the post became a regular institution |