The Nation's Favourite Love Poems (Poetry) |
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Daisy Goodwin
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Pages: 192 (Paperback)
ISBN: 056338378X
Pub: BBC Books
Pub date: 1997-10-02
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 61107
Editorial Review:
No subject was ever more suited to verse than love as proven yet again in The Nation's Favourite Love Poems, a selection of the 100 most popular poems for romantics of all ages. The first flush of adoration is enough to turn the most hardened cynic into a poet, at the very least to have them rushing to their bookshelves to find the perfect poem to impress their new-found love.
BBC Books have simplified the search--not just for love's young things, but for star-crossed lovers and those who have loved and lost. You're bound to find whatever you're looking for in The Nation's Favourite Love Poems. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" is the one most of us reach for: Elizabeth Barrett Browning romped home in pole position in The Bookworm's 1997 poll to find the nation's most popular love poems. Shakespeare, obviously, fared well, taking fifth and seventh positions with Sonnets 116 and 18 respectively. And Yeats, Auden, Burns and Marvell are way up there too. Although Christina G. Rossetti and Alice Meynell are the only female representatives in the Top Ten, women poets figure rather more prolifically in the book at large. Alongside the greats, Sylvia Plath with "You're" (albeit an odd choice), Emily Dickinson and Bront&235;, there are lighter moments too, thanks to Dorothy Parker and the modern triumvirate, Wendy Cope, Carol Ann Duffy and Jenny Joseph who know how to drown their sorrows in style (helped by a packet of fags and a bottle of gin).
Traditionalists are more than adequately served with the likes of Wordsworth, Tennyson, Shelley, Blake and Byron. Entries from Edmund Spenser, Sir Thomas Wyatt, and John Donne--with a record nine entries!--prove that love, and the poetry of love, transcends time itself.
For lovers in every corner of the kingdom, this is a book to treasure! Keep it close to hand, for, at every page, there's a line for the moment. Love hurts, but we can all draw comfort from the words of Adrian Mitchell:
When I am sad and weary When I think all hope has gone, When I walk along High Holborn I think of you with nothing on
--Carey Green
Reader Reviews:
"Oh tell me the truth about love" - Auden (2/2 people found this helpful)
This BBC anthology of poems was first published in 1997, ten years ago now. When it first came out, I was in my late teens, coming to the end of my A-Levels. It reflects the sort of poetry I was studying at the time and so it has a certain place in my heart.
The anthology is divided into six sections:-
1. Love's beginnings
2. Celebration and Adoration
3. Love in Absence
4. Love Fulfilled
5. In Warning of Love
6. Love Lost and Remebered
These sections are self-explanatory. Love in all of its forms, states and passions is discussed. From those who are crazy and happy in their love, to those who see love as more of a dangerous, miserable place to be, as their heart's desire may not return their affections.
The poets included range from Shakespeare and John Dunne to modern poets of our day such as Carol Ann Duffy. Because of this range, there are bound to be poems you remember as well as those that shall be new to you. You may even discover a new poet whose work you fall in love with.
For someone who may not read a lot of poetry, this anthology may be a good place to start. The subject matter is something all of us can relate to, so empathy and understanding for their pain may be easily stirred.
Hopefully, this anthology shall encourage people to explore the diverse world of poetry, a world where every emotion is allowed and celebrated.
A broad selection of varied love poetry (27/29 people found this helpful)
This BBC book is a fantastic selection of short to medium length poems about the different aspects of love. It is a good introduction both to poetry in general and to love poetry specifically. It is divided into sections; "Love's beginnings" and "Love Fulfilled" are two, which help you to find a selection of poems that suit the moment or mood. It contains old favourites (Shakespeare, Tennyson, etc.) and some modern surprises (Wendy Cope's "Valentine" will make you laugh). Wholeheartedly recommended.
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Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
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