favourite poems?

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
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Aedh Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven - W.B Yeats

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.
How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.

Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.

Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total darkness sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.
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The More Loving One - W.H Auden

Poetry is the only literature I seem to be enjoying at the moment, I guess I'm feeling a bit burnt out by having to read up to three novels a week for uni.
 
Castiel said:
My favourite poem, I wrote a huge essay on it at A level, as well as attempting a plain English translation which my English Tutor was quite astounded at, even if it was less than brilliant by academic standards (I do get a little over enthusiastic about stuff I am interested in sometimes)

I was considering posting all 12 books, or even posting a thread with the entire text, but it would be horrifically long, even if I broke it up into books....also to really appreciate the poem you need a guide and annotation.

If anyone is really interested then a reasonable starter is this site:

PARADISE LOST
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Indeed. It is incredible. Would hate to do a plain English translation though!
Although saying that, after studying Chaucer which we liked to call 'welsh' I've managed to understand most poems.....

But yeah, Paradise Lost, If and Atlas, are my favourite three poems of all time by a long way, which considering how many I was forced to study, is quite a testimony to them xD - Saying that I did miss out on some of the 'greats' - Wordsworth/Byron and Shelley to name a few. I did Keats as my Romantic, and it was certainly not a good introduction into the age...

kd
 
King Damager said:
Indeed. It is incredible. Would hate to do a plain English translation though!
Although saying that, after studying Chaucer which we liked to call 'welsh' I've managed to understand most poems.....

But yeah, Paradise Lost, If and Atlas, are my favourite three poems of all time by a long way, which considering how many I was forced to study, is quite a testimony to them xD - Saying that I did miss out on some of the 'greats' - Wordsworth/Byron and Shelley to name a few. I did Keats as my Romantic, and it was certainly not a good introduction into the age...

kd
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My attempted Plain English translation was a personal project, which tbh at 17 years old was a bit ambitious, if not presumptous to say the least......(now after this, I'm considering another shot at it....:eek:)

Kipling is another great, By Atlas are you refering to The Witch of Atlas by Shelley?

Bryon and Shelley were in my opinion more accessible than Keats, also a little more interesting personally also. I have some C19th Shelley on my bookshelf.
 
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King Damager said:
Saying that I did miss out on some of the 'greats' - Wordsworth/Byron and Shelley to name a few. I did Keats as my Romantic, and it was certainly not a good introduction into the age...

kd
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If you enjoy poetry but missed out on the Romantic Poets I would strongly recommend reading some Shelley. If you can get hold of 'Shelley's Poetry and Prose'(i think it was called, i used it for English Lit), it has some great criticism as well.
 
Nitefly said:
I would, but that would require reading it :eek:
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But next time you're bored with work, you could think of the epic scale:
He scarce had ceased when the superior Fiend
Was moving toward the shore; his ponderous shield
Ethereal temper, massy, large and round,
Behind him cast; the broad circumference
Hung on his shoulders like the moon, whose orb
Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views
At evening from the top of Fesole,
Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands,
Rivers or mountains in her spotty globe.
His Spear, to equal which the tallest pine
Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast
Of some great admiral, were but a wand,
He walked with to support uneasy steps
Over the burning marle, not like those steps
On Heaven’s azure, and the torrid clime
Smote on him sore besides, vaulted with fire;
Nathless he so endured, till on the beach
Of that inflamed sea, he stood and called
His Legions, angel forms, who lay entranced
Thick as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks
In Vallombrosa, where the Etrurian shades
High overarched embower; or scattered sedge
Afloat, when with fierce winds Orion armed
Hath vexed the Red Sea coast, whose waves overthrew
Busiris and his Memphian chivalry,
While with perfidious hatred they pursued
The sojourners of Goshen, who beheld
From the safe shore their floating carcasses
And broken chariot wheels, so thick bestrown
Abject and lost lay these, covering the flood,
Under amazement of their hideous change.
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Or next time you're trying to create some resounding, convincing rhetoric....

He called so loud, that all the hollow deep
Of Hell resounded. Princes, Potentates,
Warriors, the flower of Heaven, once yours, now lost,
If such astonishment as this can seize
Eternal spirits; or have ye chosen this place
After the toil of battle to repose
Your wearied virtue, for the ease you find
To slumber here, as in the vales of Heaven?
Or in this abject posture have ye sworn
To adore the Conqueror? who now beholds
Cherub and seraph rolling in the flood
With scattered arms and ensigns, till anon
His swift pursuers from Heaven gates discern
The advantage, and descending tread us down
Thus drooping, or with linked thunderbolts
Transfix us to the bottom of this gulf.
Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen.
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P.s. I cut bits down to size for you :p More incredible is that those two parts follow on from one another.


Castiel said:
Kipling is another great, By Atlas are you refering to The Witch of Atlas by Shelley?

Bryon and Shelley were in my opinion more accessible than Keats, also a little more interesting personally also. I have some C19th Shelley on my bookshelf.
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Atlas - U.A. Fanthorpe. I posted it above, it's not famous, it's not well known, but I just like the message and the thought. Well by not well known, I mean not the first thing that comes to mind when you think Atlas... Post #23 for reference.

Pighardia said:
If you enjoy poetry but missed out on the Romantic Poets I would strongly recommend reading some Shelley. If you can get hold of 'Shelley's Poetry and Prose'(i think it was called, i used it for English Lit), it has some great criticism as well.
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Yeah, when I finally have time to start reading poetry again, Shelley is at the top of my list to start xD

kd
 
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Read the majority of that 'Ancient Mariner'. I quite enjoyed what I read but it wasn't gripping enough for me to finish.

I don't think I can really appreciate poetry.

Maybe later in life.
 
Castiel said:
Ha! That is less than a tenth of the length....I was going to post the lot...:eek:


There is a link to it all in a later post if you are interested, I would recommend it, everyone should read Paradise Lost at least once in their lifetime.
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I actually have to admit that whilst owning the 12 books, and loving the poetry, I still think I've only read to book 4.... despite being able to quote good chunks of the snippets I just cut out xD

kd
 
Castiel said:
I did read it, it is good.

Give the Shelley poem a shot when you have time, it is very good.

THE WITCH OF ATLAS
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I'll take a look tomorrow - if I have time - busy exam/interview schedule this week... talking of which, should really be off to bed so I'm prep'd for phone interview tomorrow...

Also, I'm currently wondering how many people came into this thread without realising poems could even be as long as PL xD

kd
 
King Damager said:
I'll take a look tomorrow - if I have time - busy exam/interview schedule this week... talking of which, should really be off to bed so I'm prep'd for phone interview tomorrow...
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good luck.:)

King Damager said:
Also, I'm currently wondering how many people came into this thread without realising poems could even be as long as PL xD

kd
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I suspect most were shocked at the length of Kubla Khan, let alone Paradise Lost.......;)


Still, it should keep Pate occupied during his train journey.
 
Thanks so much, battery is dying so have to turn 3G off now, but will reply properly tomorrow. Some of these poems make me regret my degree choice so much. :(


Later. :)
 
Pate said:
Thanks so much, battery is dying so have to turn 3G off now, but will reply properly tomorrow. Some of these poems make me regret my degree choice so much. :(


Later. :)
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You don't need a degree to appreciate or learn good literature....a degree is simply a confirmation, not a necessity to learning.
 
Pate said:
Thanks so much, battery is dying so have to turn 3G off now, but will reply properly tomorrow. Some of these poems make me regret my degree choice so much. :(


Later. :)
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You don't need to do an English degree to appreciate poetry, in fact all you really need is The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker which discusses a lot of technical stuff in a very accessible way (my poetry Professor makes every first year read it) and a copy of the Norton Anthology of Poetry. The Norton has pretty much every major poet since the beginning of time, plus some really useful glosses and explanations on each page. From there you can just explore the styles you like.
 
My name is Fred Fernakapan.
I wander through the town.
Sometimes with my trousers up,
And sometimes, with them down

And when they were up, they were up.
And when they were down, they were down.
But when they were only halfway up.
I was arrested.

~Spike Milligan.
 
Castiel said:
You don't need a degree to appreciate or learn good literature....a degree is simply a confirmation, not a necessity to learning.
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Pate said:
Thanks so much, battery is dying so have to turn 3G off now, but will reply properly tomorrow. Some of these poems make me regret my degree choice so much. :(


Later. :)
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I doubt you'd have loved an English degree. I may be completely wrong, but I actually find that good literature works best in snippets. Otherwise you hate the overload of love/religion/death/light/dark/nature....
What's more sometimes it is nice to just read something for the joy of reading it, rather than having to do a comprehensive review of the whole thing...

kd
 
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