author
Thomas Hood
1799–1845
Remembered for wit as sharp as his compassion, this English poet and humorist could turn from playful wordplay to powerful social protest. His best-known poems include "The Song of the Shirt" and "The Bridge of Sighs," works that helped fix his place in 19th-century literature.
4 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in London in 1799, he first trained as an engraver before moving into writing and editing. He became known for comic verse, puns, and lively magazine work, building a reputation as one of the great literary humorists of his day.
His writing also had a serious, humane side. Poems such as The Song of the Shirt and The Bridge of Sighs are remembered for their sympathy toward poverty and suffering, and they gave his work a lasting emotional force beyond its humor.
Ill health and money troubles shaped much of his later life, but he continued to write prolifically until his death in London in 1845. Today he is often valued for the unusual range of his work: light verse that still feels clever and energetic, alongside socially minded poems that spoke strongly to Victorian readers.