Binyon, Laurence (1869-1943), was a British poet and dramatist. He was also an art historian who became a pioneer in the study of Asian painting.
Binyon wrote a famous elegy for the people killed in World War I called “For the Fallen,” which was published in 1914. The poem expresses disillusionment and a sense of change and decay, which are themes in much of his verse. The poem contains the frequently quoted lines:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
Binyon’s book Collected Poems was published in 1931. He also wrote the verse plays Attila (1907), Arthur (1923), and The Young King (1934). Binyon wrote several widely praised books on Asian art, including Painting in the Far East (1908), The Flight of the Dragon (1911), and The Spirit of Man in Asian Art (1935).
Binyon was born on April 10, 1869, in Lancaster, England, and educated at Trinity College, Oxford University. He worked from 1893 to 1933 at the British Museum in London, first in the Department of Printed Books and then as keeper of the Department of Oriental Prints and Books. Binyon died on March 10, 1943.
