Showing titles in Poetry

One of the finest German medieval epic poems, The Lay of the Nibelungs is perhaps best known now as one of the principal sources for Wagner’s four-part music drama The Ring of the Nibelung. It is easy to see how Wagner was enthralled by the story and the poetry for the power of the tale drives the narrative: intense love, loyalty, jealousy, murder, duty, honour and massacre are all interwoven into a classic.

A towering epic of adventure, cunning, and the longing for home, The Odyssey follows the journey of Odysseus after the fall of Troy. Cursed to wander for ten years across a treacherous sea, the king of Ithaca confronts monsters and gods alike—outwitting the Cyclops, resisting the Sirens’ song, and braving the wrath of Poseidon—while his wife Penelope fends off suitors determined to claim his throne. Rich with suspense, humor, and lyric beauty, Homer’s poem explores what it means to be human: the bonds of family, the cost of pride, the power of endurance, and the pull of memory and home.

Gérard Labrunie dit Gérard de Nerval, est né le 22 mai 1808, à Paris. Il décida d'y terminer volontairement ses jours et on le retrouva pendu, rue de la Vieille Lanterne, à l'aube du 26 janvier 1855. L'existence entière de Nerval fut dominée par l'obsession d'une autre vie dont seuls les rêves nous rendent compte. Aurélia est l'adorable créature surgie de ce monde invisible. Comme il l'a dit à Alexandre Dumas, Nerval était doué de la faculté de s'identifier à des personnages réels ou légendaires.

The Iliad, set 9 years into the Trojan War, tells the story of the wrath of Achilles. The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus as he wearily travels home from the war. The two epics provide the basis of Greek education and culture in the classical age. They have long remained among the most significant poems of European tradition. Produced here in full cast arrangement and narrated by Rob Goll, one can experience these age-old stories in a brand new way.

Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a collection of narratives written between 1387 and 1400, tells of a group of 30 people from all layers of society who pass the time along their pilgrimage to Canterbury by telling stories to one another, their interaction mediated (at times) by the affable host - Chaucer himself. Naxos AudioBooks’ third volume presents the tales of six people, here in an unabridged modern verse translation (by Frank Ernest Hill, 1935).

William Butler Yeats's early poetry is suffused with the radiant lyricism of Irish folklore and myth; the yearning romance and distinctly Irish voice of these first works of the Nobel laureate have inspired scores of poets. This splendid selection offers a distinctive sampling of the Yeatsian voice.

The great poetic tradition of pre-Christian Scandinavia is known to us almost exclusively though the Prose Edda, a collection of narrative literature, and its companion, the Poetic Edda. The poems originated in Iceland, Norway, and Greenland between the ninth and 13th centuries, when they were compiled in a unique manuscript known as the Codex Regius. The poems are primarily lyrical rather than narrative.

Virgil's Georgics ranks as one of the most precious pastoral poems ever written, and it has served as a model for its type ever since. Georgics means "of or relating to agriculture or rural life" and it comes from the Greek word, "georgicus". Virgil's main theme in this, his second great work after The Eclogues, was the importance of peace both in the spiritual and physical sense.

In this new edition Musa views Dante's intention as one of cruel and comic commentary on the shallowness and self-pity of his protagonist, who only occasionally glimpses the true nature of love. "...the explication de texte which accompanies [Musa's] translation is instructively novel, always admirable..." his present work offers English listeners a lengthy appraisal which should figure in future scholarly discussions." (Choice)

A mysterious knight all in green arrives at King Arthur's court and issues a bizarre challenge. Gawain answers the knight - but at what cost? This new translation keeps all the poetic power of the original's extraordinary alliteration. One of the greatest stories of English literature from any period, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a magical, medieval combination of the epic and the uncanny.

Jalaluddin Rumi, a spiritual mystic of the Islamic world, is recognized as one of the most influential poets in history. His words are charged with an unequalled blend of literary genius and spiritual wisdom. No matter how often we listen to Rumi, each time is always the first time. Like This is a compilation of more than twenty of the beloved Persian poet's most beautiful verses. Narrator Coleman Barks' warm and sensitive reading combines with the world-renowned musicianship of Hamza El Din and Steve Coughlin to create an enthralling listening experience.

Doreen is a verse-novel by renowned Australian poet, C.J. Dennis (1876-1938). As one of the sequels to the 1915 verse-novel, The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, it continues to follow the family capers of Bill and Doreen along with their young son. Originally published in 1917, Doreen is a classic work of Australian poetry.

The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke is a classic Australian work of poetry composed by renowned poet, C.J. Dennis (1876-1938). This verse-novel chronicles Bill's coming-of-age through romance, love, and fatherhood. From rambunctious street-strolling youth to settled, responsible father, Bill's story unfolds with keen Aussie larrikinism and humour. This work is narrated as a duet by Denis Daly (Bill) and Sarah Bacaller (Doreen).

Paul Valéry est né à Sète le 30 octobre 1871 ; il est mort à Paris le 19 juillet 1945. Essayiste et poète, il est aussi exceptionnel ici que là. C'est un écrivain qui méprise les prestiges faciles de la littérature : l'inconscience bavarde et la satisfaction de parler de soi. Poète, Valéry l'est comme rarement on le fut : froidement. Un poème est pour lui une savante machine verbale plutôt destinée à provoquer une émotion qu'à exposer celle de l'auteur.

Victor Hugo is one of the best-known French writers, and is part of the greatest literary figures of all time. His poetry made him famous very early, cementing his reputation as one of the greatest lyric poets when he was only 20 years old. He was also a novelist and a dramatist, and furthered the cause of Romanticism, this exalted artistic movement which toyed with Sublime and soared on the winds of emotion.

This is a story from the Canterbury Tales I: Modern Verse Translation collection. Chaucer's greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of "The Knight's Tale" to the joyous bawdy of the Miller's; all are told with a freshness and vigor in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to hear.

Author of more than 30 books of poetry and prose, Donald Hall performs dozens of his best-loved poems, together with excerpts from 6 of his works of prose. Bursting with the passion of living, yet reverent of time and place, Hall's evocative style has made him one of America's foremost poets. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Robert Frost Medal of the Poetry Society of America, and the New England Book Award for nonfiction, and former Poet Laureate of New Hampshire, he gives each listener this gift of words - words painstakingly entwined with energy and love.

A short section from Milton's epic poem, expressing how much sweeter the world is when you are with the one you love, read by Jenny Agutter.

Vis and Ramin is one of the world's great love stories. It was the first major Persian romance, written between 1050 and 1055 in rhyming couplets. This remarkable work has now been superbly translated into heroic couplets (the closest metrical equivalent of the Persian) by the poet and scholar Dick Davis. Vis and Ramin had immense influence on later Persian poetry and is very probably also the source for the tale of Tristan and Isolde, which first appeared in Europe about a century later.

Purgatory is the second part of Dante's The Divine Comedy. The listener finds the Poet, with his guide Virgil, ascending the terraces of the Mount of Purgatory inhabited by those doing penance to expiate their sins on earth. There are the proud - forced to circle their terrace for eons bent double in humility; the slothful running around crying out examples of zeal and sloth; while the lustful are purged by fire.