Creative people naturally tend to be more susceptible to mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. It’s therefore little surprise to note that many of the famous poets in history suffered from anxiety disorders of one kind or another.
As a poet and past anxiety sufferer, I was interested in finding out more about these famous poets who were afflicted with nervousness, fear, panic attacks and the various related conditions many of you will be all too familiar with. I’ve selected 4 famous poets and brought together a little information on their lives and how their anxiety made an impact on them.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
Who? – One of the major English Romantic poets and widely considered one of the greatest lyric poets in the English language. His second wife was the novelist Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.
Shelley’s anxiety story – In the early part of the year 1892, Shelley began to suffer from what were then referred to as “nervous attacks” (what we would now call panic attacks). For this condition he took doses of laudanum (opium). During especially difficult moments during his life he would also experience frequent sleep-walking episodes. Later in his young life (he died when only 29 years of age) he suffered from disturbing recurring nightmares and hallucinations, most likely brought on by his drug habit and various bereavements.
Well-known works: Ozymandias; Ode to the West Wind; To a Skylark; When Soft Voices Die.
Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809 – 1892)
Who? – Tennyson is one of the most well-known and popular poets in the English language. Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria’s reign many of his poetic verses have become common phrases in English usage.
Tennyson’s anxiety story – Tennyson had always suffered from a nervous disposition but after separating from his wife and losing most of his money, his anxiety difficulties increased dramatically. So much so that at times he could not even write. In 1843, he wrote to a friend ” … the perpetual panic and horror of the last two years had steeped my nerves in poison: now I am left a beggar but am or shall be shortly somewhat better off in nerves.”
Tennyson also suffered from hypochondria and a doctor who tried to treat his conditions said: “…this really great man thinks more about his bowels and nerves than about the laureate wreath he was born to inherit…”. He tried various remedies, including Hydropaths treatment, but none reduced his anxiety and he suffered from nervous illness until his dying breath.
Well-known works: The Charge of the Light Brigade; Break, Break, Break; Idylls of the King; Ulysses.
Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886)
Who? – Very little is actually known about the reclusive American poet Emily Dickinson. She was a prolific poet writing nearly 1,800 poems of which fewer than a dozen were published during her lifetime. Despite her lack of fame during her life, Dickinson is now regarded as one of America’s greatest ever poets.
Dickinson’s anxiety story – Although purely speculation owing to Dickinson’s rigid privacy, it is generally believed the poetess suffered from anxiety. In later life she rarely ventured outside the perimeter of her property in Amherst, Massachusetts, not even showing her face to local children who she would give treats to via an upstairs window (via a basket and rope). Visiting guests would have to speak to her from behind a closed door. It’s most likely that Dickinson suffered from agoraphobia, as well as hypertension.
Well-known works: Because I could not stop for Death; Wild nights! Wild nights!; “Hope” is the thing with feathers.
Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)
Who? – Robert Burns is considered to be the national poet of Scotland and his poetic prowess has reached all four corners of the globe since his death. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic Movement and has become a cultural icon amongst his modern-day countrymen who in 2009 voted him as the ‘Greatest Scot’. Many of his poems were written in the Scots language (Lowland Scots not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic) but much of his poetry was also written in Standard English albeit with some gentle Scottish dialect.
Burns’ anxiety story – “Canst thou minister to a mind diseased? Canst thou speak peace and rest to a soul tost on a sea of troubles without one friendly star to guide her course, and dreading that the next surge may overwhelm her?” said Robert Burns to a Mr Alexander Cunningham. Domestic troubles, physical illness and piling debts made the poet’s anxiety increasingly worse and like many anxiety sufferers of his day and ours, he sought treatments far and wide.
He was even said to have bathed in the freezing waters of the Solway Firth estuary in an attempt to rid himself of his nervous affliction.
“For these two months I have not been able to lift a pen. My constitution were, ab origin, blasted with a deep incurable taint of hypochondria, which poisons my existence.”
Well-known works: Auld Lang Syne; Scots Wha Hae; A Red, Red Rose; Tam o’ Shanter; Ae Fond Kiss.
Do you know of any other famous poets who suffered from an anxiety disorder? Has writing or reading poetry helped you deal with yours?
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