The Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley once said, ‘Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.’
Poetry gives us fresh ways of seeing the world and often reveals truths we instinctively recognise but haven’t yet put into words. One mark of a great poem is that it rewards multiple readings, offering new insights each time.
So, with National Poetry Day coming up on 2 October, here are three financial planning lessons inspired by some of the world’s greatest poems.
1. If – and the value of keeping cool in a crisis
If – is a Victorian-era poem by Rudyard Kipling that celebrates the resilience and self-discipline associated with the stiff-upper-lip ethos of the time.
Kipling presents a series of hypothetical challenges – ‘If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs’ and ‘If you can dream—and not make dreams your master’ – before concluding that if the reader can meet these ideals, then ‘yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.’
So, if you can keep a cool head in times of difficulty and if you can aim high but not so high that you lose sight of your goal, then you shall reap the rewards. While this applies to any walk of life, it is certainly the case in financial planning.
For example, in April this year, Donald Trump announced a series of sweeping US trade tariffs on what he dubbed ‘Liberation Day’. NBC reports that in the following week, the S&P 500 lost more than 12%, and also saw the fifth-worst two-day percentage decline since the second world war.
However, 32 days later and the market had recovered to pre-Liberation Day levels, and the latest data from JP Morgan reveals that all major global markets have posted strong returns in 2025 so far. So, if you had exited the market and not kept calm during the turbulence, you would have likely missed out on the swift recovery and possible gains in the weeks after.
Conversely, it’s also important not to chase the latest high-performing stocks in the hope of a quick win – that is, do not make dreams your master. Chasing trends in search of quick returns can be risky, as many top performers struggle to sustain their success and often slip into weaker performance over time. You can read more about this in our previous article on the topic.
So, if you heed Kipling’s advice and keep cool while others are not and don’t let lofty ideals take over calm rationality, you will have a better chance of achieving long-term financial success.
2. Ozymandias and succession
Ozymandias is a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley. It tells of a traveller who visited an ancient land and found the ruins of a colossal statue of a once great king, Ozymandias.
The statue has an inscription beneath it that says, ‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
The traveller then notes that the land around the statue is barren and empty, and all of Ozymandias’ kingdom has decayed, with nothing left to show but the irony of the statue’s inscription.
The poem speaks to the transience of power and the inevitability of decline. While none of us can escape these truths, careful estate planning can ensure your legacy endures well beyond your lifetime.
Strategies such as keeping your will up to date, making use of trusts, considering intergenerational gifting, and putting a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place can help protect your assets, preserve family harmony, and pass on your legacy in line with your wishes.
So, by avoiding the hubris of Ozymandias and planning for a future when you’re not here, you can help ensure that what you leave behind has a lasting impact.
3. The Waste Land and diversification
The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot is widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century.
Divided into five sections and running 434 lines, The Waste Land doesn’t follow a single narrative or feature a consistent style or structure. The poem shifts between voices and features abrupt changes of narrator, location, and time, and alludes to a wide range of cultures and literatures.
The sprawling poem comes together to create an epic patchwork of voices, references, and poetic styles, spread over time and across space. It is this richness of form and content that makes The Waste Land such a powerful work – and, in the same way, strength through diversification is equally valuable in financial planning.
Diversification refers to spreading your wealth across different asset classes, regions, and sectors. By not relying on a single source or market, you reduce the risk that poor performance in one area will derail your overall plan. At the same time, diversification allows you to capture gains from a wider range of opportunities, supporting more stable and sustainable long-term growth.
So, in the same way that the range of voices, forms, and imagery gives The Waste Land its lasting power, it’s the variety within a portfolio that helps ensure resilience and growth over time.
Get in touch
To speak to a financial planner, get in touch.
Email us at hello@vwmwealth.com or call us on 0141 229 4004.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning, cashflow planning, tax planning, trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney, or will writing.
The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
