Great literature should do some good to the reader: must quicken his perception though dull, and sharpen his discrimination though blunt, and mellow the rawness of his personal opinions.

Through its song-setting the poetry became closely associated with that era and with Shropshire itself. : /ˈhaʊsmən/; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) usually known as A. Housman was counted one of the foremost classicists of his age and has been ranked as one of the greatest scholars of all time.