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81 Famous Poems cover art

81 Famous Poems

By: William Shakespeare, John Donne, Robert Herricks
Narrated by: Alexander Scourby, Nancy Wickwire, Bramwell Fletcher
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Summary

Listen to the sound of English as it was meant to be heard.

This collection of timeless British and American poems is an experience to be treasured. The readings, by brilliant classic actors Alexander Scourby, Nancy Wickwire, and Bramwell Fletcher, are presented in the order they appear in The Norton Anthology of Poetry, Third Edition, and are selected for their ability to delight. The poetry is also among the most anthologized verse in the English language.

Included are such best-loved works as Shakespeare's "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?", John Donne's "Go and Catch a Falling Star", Robert Herrick's "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", Robert Burns' "A Red, Red Rose", John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn", Walt Whitman's "O Captain, My Captain", and William Butler Yeats' "The Wild Swans at Coole", a total of 81 major poems from 39 poets. It is simply a collection of the best.

Public Domain (P)1992 The Audio Partners

Critic reviews

"The readings are seamlessly and expertly delivered with sensitive interpretations." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about 81 Famous Poems

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great readings, but why no list of the poems?

Any additional comments?

The audio is divided into chapters, but they are just numbered, it does not list the poems, which is frankly ridiculous.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

recited beautifully but .....

pros. recited beautifully and is a treasure because of it.

cons. There is a intro giving the title. so why then is this not a positive? Rather than the narrator giving the intro its an ascended that starkly contrasts the tone and I would love to get rid of it but don't think you can do that with audible. Who ever produced this needs there head examined.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful poetry

The poetry is beautiful but sometimes interpreted gloomily by the reader., or not in the rhythm and spirit of the poem.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Marred product

Another lazy product from Audible. Employ an Editor so that listeners are able to navigate the product

I'm not sure why the narrator up to #50 or so has the same urgent declamatory hectoring phrasing.

Just awful

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Calming Story Telling

Love listening to these stories with my toddler. Love the brevity of the poems and performances.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well known poems

A great anthology- hard to judge it as a story as such because it is a collection of well loved poems, some told better than others but that is often fine to interpretation. I like the female readers more than the male ones but that could be in part due to the selection.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb Narration

The readings helped me to follow and enjoy many of the poems I've previously found difficult to fully appreciate.Thank ypu.

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