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The Poems of T. S. Eliot

Written by: T. S. Eliot
Narrated by: Jeremy Irons,Dame Eileen Atkins
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Publisher's Summary

Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Jeremy Irons' perceptive reading illuminates the poetry of T. S. Eliot in all its complexity. Major poems range from 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' through the post-war desolation of 'The Waste Land' and the spiritual struggle of 'Ash-Wednesday', to the enduring charm of 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'. 

The Spectator praised Jeremy Irons' interpretation as 'so accessible, reading Eliot as if finding his words for the first time, grappling with them, relishing them, using them to express feelings that we all share as we struggle to accept, to recognise or relinquish'. Dame Eileen Atkins also appears alongside Jeremy Irons in the reading of 'The Waste Land'. 

UPDATED EDITION WITH POEM TITLES FOR EASY NAVIGATION.

©2015 BBC (P)2016 BBC

What the critics say

"For such a major poet, Eliot left a fairly sparse body of work, and all his mature poems are here. And while many consider him to be a fairly austere modernist, these readings by Jeremy Irons bring out the human passion (and sometimes the intellectual passion) that lurks in the poems.... His versions are simply more human, as beautifully crafted as the poems themselves." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Poems of T. S. Eliot

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    4 out of 5 stars

Wasteland should be cat-free zone

Amazing rendition of The Wasteland, but I could easily have done without the cat poems that constitute the final quarter or so of this title's runtime.

1 person found this helpful

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  • AVS
  • 2018-06-18

Horribly Frustrating to Follow

I love these poems and Jeremy Irons’ interpretation of them, but the Audible version is too frustrating to follow with no chapter titles /- at the very LEAST — identified. I’m so disappointed.

86 people found this helpful

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  • Virginia Scott
  • 2018-07-28

Not really an audio book - it’s a radio broadcast

A repeated complaint is that the poems are not identified. It just says “chapter 1, chapter 2...). Given that there are over 70 “chapters” this is annoying. You might just want to hear Wasteland, or a particular cat poem. I wondered why. I’d also tried to find the actual boom that Jeremy Irons was reading from, and couldn’t. There is no identification. At the end of the audio the answer is clear. This isn’t from an actual book, it is a 2015 radio reading Irons did for the BBC.
Irons did a nice job (does everything sound better with a British accent?). But, the absence of chapter titles is a big deal. It will make it unlikely I will return to this audio to brush up on Eliot poetry. Also, for simply being a recording of a radio broadcast, this Audible price ($12 when I bought it) is a rip off.

66 people found this helpful

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  • pinelady
  • 2018-10-30

No way to listen to poetry

Jeremy Irons is a masterful interpreter of T.S. Eliot. He gets the sounds and rhythms. He gets the feeling. He plays the poems with the fine instrument of his voice and makes the meaning clear. Why do I give his overall two stars? Because there is no way to navigate among the poems. There are only chapter numbers, not poem titles. You can’t skip a poem, go to a favorite poem, find a poem you want to hear again. This is simply unforgivable. To do a collection of poems properly, the titles of the poems must be the dividers, not meaningless numbers.

60 people found this helpful

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  • Terlen
  • 2018-05-20

Ironsis wonderful but Book is hard to Navigate

Jeremy Irons readings are wonderful. However chapters have been assigned numbers but NO TITLES: consequently a reader cannot go directly to a poem. A puzzling omission since poetry collections of this type (classics) are seldom read (listened to in this case) cover to cover. I hope this deficiency is an oversight that will be rectified. It also would have been nice to include a printable text since at times one wants to read along with Irons. These poems are available with some research but it would have been convenient to have them at hand even for a nominal charge.

34 people found this helpful

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  • Natalya
  • 2018-04-05

Finally!

Where does The Poems of T. S. Eliot rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is easily one of my top 5 favorite audiobooks. I've been searching audible for the last year waiting for them to finally make this wonderful performance available.

Which scene was your favorite?

I really enjoyed Macavity the Mystery Cat. It was my first favorite poem and holds a special place in my heart.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I originally heard Jeremy Iron (and Dame Eileen Atkins) read T.S. Eliot on BBC and had tears in my eyes from their performance.

Any additional comments?

My only nick-pick is the very occasional "singing" that happens at moments. It's different than how I read the text, but not off-putting.

21 people found this helpful

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  • Mary K Foster
  • 2018-07-03

DEVASTATINGLY BEAUTIFUL

Both TS Eliot and Jeremy Irons are great immortal favorites of mine, and the pairing of their talents is unparalleled. Refracted through the dazzling, prismatic performance of Irons, Eliot's abstract modernist verses shine, and filled with the light of Eliot's verses, Irons is entirely illuminated, vivid and achingly lovely as a stained glass window. I cannot recommend this collection enough to those who are passionate about great poetry and enthralled by wondrous, rolling performances of marvelous verses.

7 people found this helpful

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  • Paul M. Floyd
  • 2018-05-27

Accessible and enjoyable....

Jeremy Irons narration is so spot on... to the tone, tenor and feel of T.S. Elliot's poetry that I re-listened to many of the poems.
Yes, it takes a bit of life experience to enjoy Elliot and yes, he writes from his time and from his insights and passions, but much of good literature and poetry takes some care and attention to digest..... still, it is so good the soul. Your life is richer for taking the time while driving in the car, in the kitchen, in the garage, out on a walk or sitting in a good chair by the fireplace. I strongly recommend this audible book. I have 200 plus audible books and this one ranks in my top 10.

7 people found this helpful

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  • Daniel R.
  • 2020-04-29

No poem titles in the chapters? Really?

A perfectly fine reading of incredible poems. But the BBC or Audible couldn’t be bothered to label the chapters? So you have no idea what you’re about to hear, nor can you get back to a particular poem. A little pride in craft, please.

6 people found this helpful

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  • Raymond Kingsley
  • 2019-12-07

No chapter titles

I was drawn to this edition by the allure of Iron’s voice and I was not disappointed.
However if I were to want to find one particular place in the book, one particular poem, I would be out of luck. There are no titles in the table of contents. Now that is disappointing!

5 people found this helpful

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  • Dolph Pun
  • 2018-12-13

No poem titles?

If they had included the poem title in the "chapters", It would have bee n a 5 star.

5 people found this helpful