Classic Poetry

Four more delightful tales from one of the most entertaining storytellers of all time. Though writing in the thirteenth century, Chaucer’s wit and observation comes down undiminished through the ages, especially in this accessible modern verse translation. The stories vary considerably from the uproarious Wife of Bath’s Tale, promoting the power of women to the sober account of patient Griselda in the Clerk’s Tale.

William Wordsworth was born on the 7th of April, 1770 and is rightly regarded as a major English poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature. His words have been proffered by many a tongue around the world. They stir, they inspire they create lyrical pictures and feelings as few others can. Wordsworth's was also Britain's Poet Laureate from his appointment by Queen Victoria in 1843 until his death in on the 23rd of April 1850.

William Cowper was born 26th November 1731 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Traumatically he and his brother, John, were the only siblings, out of seven, to survive infancy. His mother died when he was six. In 1763 he was offered a Clerkship of Journals in the House of Lords. With the examinations approaching, Cowper had a mental breakdown. He tried to commit suicide three times, and a period of depression and insanity seemed to settle on him. The end of this unhappy period saw him finding refuge in evangelical Christianity, becoming the inspiration behind his much-loved hymns.

A short masterpiece by the visionary English romantic poet, William Blake. The poem follows Thel, a young shepherdess who wanders through a fantastical pastoral world called the Vales of Har, yearning to understand her purpose. Primarily concerned with her own mortality, various natural entities in her environment, including a cloud and a clod of dirt, offer her insights. The poem is significant for its animistic-natural representation of divinity and its direct handling of the question of existence.

In this epic poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of the king of the Danes whose great hall is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel bare-handed and goes on to kill Grendel's mother with a giant’s sword that he recovers from her lair. Later, as king of the Geats, Beowulf confronts a dragon that terrorizes his kingdom. J.R.R. Tolkien said of Beowulf that it is in fact so interesting as poetry, that the poetry quite overshadows the historical content in places.

The largest collection of poetry ever assembled in English by “the most important Spanish-language writer since Cervantes” (Mario Vargas Llosa) A Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition with flaps and deckle-edged paper Though universally acclaimed for his dazzling fictions, Jorge Luis Borges...

A powerful, timely, dazzling new collection of poems from Terrance Hayes, the National Book Award–winning author of Lighthead—to be published simultaneously with his latest work of literary criticism, Watch Your Language The three sections of Terrance Hayes’ seventh collection explore how...

This is a tribute to the work of Emily Dickinson and Sara Teasdale, two of the greatest representatives of female American literature. It is a carefully crafted selection of 150 poems, all of them eight lines in length, which are presented face-to-face in pairs—one per author—and with matching themes. In this way, the listener can compare and enjoy the magic of these poets.

Experience the stunning Greek poetry of Homer in this collection of his two major works: The Iliad and The Odyssey. These epic poems are beloved for their presentation of Greek history and belief systems, their strong theming and lessons on Greek virtues, and their continued influence on the literary canon.

Harold Bloom surveys with majestic view the literature of the West from the Old Testament to Samuel Beckett. He provocatively rereads the Yahwist (or "J") writer, Jeremiah, Job, Jonah, the Illiad, the Aeneid, Dante's Divine Comedy, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, the Henry IV plays, Paradise Lost, Blake's Milton, Wordsworth's Prelude, and works by Freud, Kafka, and Beckett.

Are you looking for a short story for your children? This one has a good moral and teaches not to trust strangers. "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy-tale about a young girl and a big bad wolf. Its origins can be traced back to the 10th century to several European folk tales, including one from Italy called "The False Grandmother". The best known version was written by Charles Perrault.

The Madman: His Parables and Poems, Gibran's first book published in English, is a collection of approximately 35 inspirational parables and poems on God, animals, human nature, and the meaning of life. These brief but memorable pieces serve as sources of contemplation and include "How I Became a Madman", "The Two Hermits", "The Wise Dog", "The Good God and the Evil God", "Night and the Madman", "When My Sorrow Was Born", and “When My Joy Was Born".

Today Byron is regarded as the ultimate romantic - a rebel, a Casanova, and a man of intense, brooding passion. He was the most famous literary man of his time, and his poetry, endlessly witty and often insightful, was immensely popular and hugely influential. From the delicate romanticism of "She Walks in Beauty" to the evocative reflections of "So We’ll Go No More a Roving", Byron’s poems were unrivaled in their power and potency.

The quartercentenary of John Milton (1608-1674) is celebrated next year. This selection of his finest poetry includes sections from "Paradise Lost", "Samson Agonistes", the masque "Comus", as well as sonnets and other poems. They are read by two of Britain's leading classical actors.

This poet of Victorian times was held in awe for his magnificent works, including "In Memoriam", "Morte D'Arthur", and "Charge of the Light Brigade". His language and command of vocabulary seem particularly in keeping with the grand sweep of Victorian ambition. Many selections are asembled here and read with great character by Dame Sybil Thorndike, Sir Edward Casson, and Robert Speaight.

Richard Burton, the multi-award winning actor, reads the finest work of Thomas Hardy.

Beowulf the Warrior is an outstanding modern version of the oldest epic in the English language. Ian Serraillier has retold in verse the story of the hero Beowulf and his three memorable exploits - first, his rescuing of Hrothgar the Dane from the ravages of monstrous Grendel; next, his victory over Grendel's strange and horrible mother; and finally, in Beowulf's old age, his saving of his own people, the Geats, from the horrors of a dragon at the cost of his life. Beowulf's heroism and noble heart communicate to any modern listener.

Li Po (AD 701-762) lived in T'ang Dynasty China, but his influence has spanned the centuries: the pure lyricism of his poems has awed readers in China and Japan for over a millennium, and through Ezra Pound’s translations, Li Po became central to the modernist revolution in the West. However ethereal in spirit, his poems remain grounded in the everyday experience we all share. He wrote 1,200 years ago, half a world away, but in his poems we see our world transformed.

A stunning collection of work from beloved poet John Ashbery, his first posthumous book Renowned for his inventive mind, ambitious play with language, and dexterity with a wide range of tones and styles, John Ashbery has been a major artistic figure in the cultural life of our time. Parallel...

A classic tale of doomed romance, Longfellow's classic epic poem reminds us that man's inhumanity to man and refugees have been with us many centuries. The story of how the Cajuns came to Louisiana is only a part of this moving, evocative poem. Two lovers separated by a cruel fate stand against a canvas of America in the making.