Classic Poetry

Die "Ilias" ist das älteste nahezu vollständig erhaltene Zeugnis der europäischen Literatur. Sie entstand im 8. Jahrhundert v. Chr...

All children love traditional rhymes. Popular rhymes make Books with Holes a must for every child. Download this audiobook version now!

Award-winning narrator and audiobook producer, Mike Vendetti reads The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the experiences of a sailor who has returned from a long sea voyage. The mariner stops a man who is on his way to a wedding ceremony and begins to narrate a story. The wedding guest's reaction turns from bemusement to impatience to fear to fascination as the mariner's story progresses.

"Tamerlane" is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe when he was only 17 years old. Based on a fictionalized account of the 14th century conqueror known as Tamerlane, it was first published in the 1827 collection Tamerlane and Other Poems. The choice of an eastern figure by a western writer was unusual for that era. In the poem, the protagonist sacrifices his love for a young woman in order to pursue a life of conquest, but on his deathbed he regrets the decision.

This is a story from the Chilling Ghost Stories collection. The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe, tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere.

Where does inspiration originate? Some find it in flowers, true love, the ocean, or perhaps a scenic mountain. For Thomas Gray the inspiration for this story poem originated - elsewhere. In this piece Thomas wrestles with his mortality and invites the listener to join the journey. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

In seiner berühmten Dichtung durchschreitet Dante das Jenseits: von der Hölle über das Fegefeuer bis hin zum Paradies. An der Seite des römischen Dichters Vergil und seiner Jugendliebe Beatrice begegnet er auf seiner Reise Sündern und Gerechten, spricht mit den Seelen berühmter Verstorbener und ist am Ende dem Sinn des Lebens ganz nah. Dante Alighieri, geboren 1265 in Florenz, schuf mit seiner "Göttlichen Komödie" nicht nur die erste herausragende Dichtung in italienischer Sprache, sondern zugleich eines der bedeutendsten Werke der abendländischen Literatur.

Even though the poet Allen Tate called our era "[T]he age of Eliot", Eliot's poetry has been little assimilated by the 20th and early 21st century as was Dante's by the 14th and 15th. In this presentation, Gil Bailie explores what many believe to be Eliot's poetic masterpiece.

Two hundred years since Jane Austen completed her last novel, Alison Larkin, a witty and always original voice, brings Persuasion and a selection of lesser-known poems by Jane Austen to a new audience.

The author reveals his craft in the structure of story, the creation of Beauty, the role of the critic, and the mechanics of verse - including a complete, step-by-step explanation of how he wrote his most famous poem, The Raven.

There have been many translators of Chinese literature and poetry over time, but Arthur Waley stands out as one of the best known and most loved. This is perhaps because he had an attribute that most others lacked, which is his poetic abilities. Waley was as much a poet himself as a translator, and while his scholarly erudition was matched by a few others at his time, none ever managed to bring out the true character of Chinese poetry quite so well.

Warrior-prince Rama is about to be crowned Young King, when he hears the devastating news that his father, king of Ayodhya, has been tricked into banishing him to the forest. His devoted wife, Sita, insists on accompanying him in exile, but the evil 10-headed Lord Ravana has fallen deeply in love with the beautiful princess and steals her away. Aided by Hanuman, mighty captain of the monkeys, Rama sets out across the world to find her and destroy Ravana in a deadly battle.

El cuento del Caballero de Geoffrey Chaucer es una obra maestra poética dentro de Los cuentos de Canterbury. Ambientada en la antigua Grecia, sigue el triángulo amoroso de los primos nobles Arcite y Palamon, ambos compitiendo por el afecto de la bella Emily. Rica en romance medieval y espíritu caballeresco, la narrativa profundiza en temas de destino, amor y honor. Los vívidos personajes de Chaucer y su intrincada narración brindan una visión cautivadora de las complejidades de las relaciones humanas, creando una obra atemporal que continúa resonando en los lectores a lo largo de los siglos.

The first of Homer's epic poems tells of the counsel of Nestor, Achilles' slaying of Hector, and the defeat of the Trojans by the Greeks.

The tales tell the stories of children whose disobedience or bad habits lead them to a sticky end. No childhood is complete without characters like Shock-Headed Peter who never cuts his fingernails or combs his hair, or Suck-a-Thumb or Fidgety Philip? The comically gruesome fates which befall the children is partly what makes Struwelpeter so appealing to young listeners.

The narrator is in deep sorrow, mourning his lost love, and is slowly sinking into despair when he is visited by a talking raven from whom he seeks comfort and hope, but whose only utterance is a single portentous word - "nevermore."

Burkhard Wolk legt mit dieser Darbietung auch die erste Gesamteinsprechung der "Göttlichen Komödie" als Hörbuch vor. Wie in der Live-Rezitation wird auch beim Hörbuch der deutsche Wortlaut Karl Wittes verwendet, der der Erhabenheit der Danteschen Dichtung wohl am nahesten ist.

The spectrum of all of human life, as portrayed in the poem, will unfold with breathtaking variety, drama, thought, and beauty: In the middle of the journey of our life / I found myself in a dark wood, where the straight path was lost. The process of listening to Dante’s Comedy is a journey into not just literature but into the mysteries of human nature and its capacity for unhappiness and happiness, folly and wisdom, rejection and wonder over the miracles of creation and existence.

The Paradiso is a culminating aspect of a journey from Inferno to Paradiso, and it is also Dante’s vision of the variety, the paradoxes, and the wonder that human beings have any existence at all. The process of listening to Dante’s Comedy is a journey into not just literature but into the mysteries of human nature and its capacity for unhappiness and happiness, folly and wisdom, rejection and wonder over the miracles of creation and existence.

Dante's Purgatory is the second of the three cantos of the Divine Comedy, and is divided into "Antipurgatorio", "Purgatorio", and "Earthly Paradise". It consists of seven frames, in which the seven deadly sins are expiated: pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust. The sinners who complete purgatory move to paradise.