Who is Francis Thompson

Francis Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer and poet. He spent three years on the streets of London, supporting himself with menial labour, becoming addicted to opium which he took to relieve a nervous problem.

In 1888 Wilfrid and Alice Meynell read his poetry and took the opium-addicted and homeless writer into their home for a time, later publishing his first volume, Poems, in 1893. In 1897, he began writing prose, drawing inspiration from life in the countryside, Wales and Storrington. His health, always fragile, continued to deteriorate and he died of tuberculosis in 1907. By that time he h...
Read Full Biography of Francis Thompson


Francis Thompson Poems

  • Beginning Of End
    She was aweary of the hovering
    Of Love's incessant tumultuous wing;
    Her lover's tokens she would answer not--
    'Twere well she should be strange with him somewhat: ...
  • Messages
    What shall I your true-love tell,
    Earth-forsaking maid?
    What shall I your true-love tell,
    When life's spectre's laid? ...
  • Dedication To Coventry Patmore.
    Lo, my book thinks to look Time's leaguer down,
    Under the banner of your spread renown!
    Or if these levies of impuissant rhyme
    Fall to the overthrow of assaulting Time, ...
  • To A Child
    Whenas my life shall time with funeral tread
    The heavy death-drum of the beaten hours,
    Following, sole mourner, mine own manhood dead,
    Poor forgot corse, where not a maid strows flowers; ...
  • Penelope
    Love, like a wind, shook wide your blosmy eyes,
    You trembled, and your breath came sobbing-wise
    For that you loved me.
    ...
Read All Poems


Top 10 most used topics by Francis Thompson

Sweet 54 Love 41 I Love You 41 Heart 40 Heaven 39 Soul 32 Earth 30 Song 28 God 28 Great 28


Francis Thompson Quotes

Read All Quotes


Comments about Francis Thompson

Mitchbannon: not to mention starters/swing guys like bowden francis, zach thompson and vets jay jackson, luke bard, casey lawrence, drew hutchison. hagen danner, if healthy, could be an mlb impact guy this year, too.
Mokdeworldo: incompatibility of democrat party positions with his christian faith, former democratic francis thompson announced friday he will change parties to the gop. this gives louisiana republicans a supermajority in the state’s house for the first time in the state’s 210-year history.
Vveeveeanna: relates to that, but thank the universe etc...just a little contemplation... but the weird thing is, it was long, longer than i wanted to type out, so i thought it would probably be on the internet, and it was, nit not the same as what is in my book here.
Rozvistate: below is a picture of 3 main characters that facilitated in the final colonisation and subsequently occupation of zimbabwe. charles rudd, a close business associate of rhodes francis thompson and rochfort maguire negotiate with lobengula and his council of izinduna
Momc98765: citing the incompatibility of democratic party positions with his christian faith, formerly democratic state rep. francis thompson announced friday he will change parties and join the gop.
Read All Comments


Write your comment about Francis Thompson


Poem of the day

Edgar Albert Guest Poem
The Killing Place
 by Edgar Albert Guest

We're hiking along at a two-forty pace
We 're making life seem like a man-killing race,
With our nerves all on edge and our jaws firmly set
We go rushing along; with our brows lined with sweat
And our cheeks pale and drawn every minute we dash,
And the goal that we 're after is merely more cash.

We 're out for the money, the greenbacks and gold,
...

Read complete poem

Popular Poets