Poem 1: 'Elegy for Himself' - Chidiock Tichbourne

Poem 2: 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me' - Maya Angelou

Poem 3: 'Vitaļ Lampada' - Henry Newbolt

Poem 4: 'Song of the Worms' - Margaret Atwood

Poem 5: 'The world is a beautiful place' - Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Simon Armitage introduces the programme from a derelict clothing factory in Manchester. The first poem, 'Elegy for Himself', is read by Andrew Lincoln from the Tower of London, where the poem is thought to have been written in 1586. After the reading, Dave Bryant, a yeoman warder or 'Beefeater' from the Tower, gives his response to the tragic circumstances of its composition, and Simon Armitage talks about the curious contrast between the poem's style and its subject matter. Maya Angelou's poem 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me' is read by a fellow black American, the Texan soul singer Carleen Anderson, who then describes her personal feelings about the poem and its author. The ITN newsreader Trevor McDonald reads Henry Newbolt's 'Vitaļ Lampada' from the playing fields of Eton College; boys from Eton and a group of Asian girls from a school near Halifax discuss the poem. Margaret Atwood's poem 'Song of the Worms' is read by the actress Lia Williams from the Crystal Palace Eco Village protest camp, and some of the young 'eco warriors' share their impressions of the poem with Simon Armitage. The final poem in the programme, Lawrence Ferlinghetti's 'The world is a beautiful place', is read together by many of the poets, actors and participants who have taken part in the Passwords series.