Who made the world I cannot tell; 'Tis made, and here am I in hell. My hand, though now my knuckles bleed, I never soiled with such a deed.

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.