Poems
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1830-1889
- Form
- Lyric poetry
- Language
- English
- Length
- Long · 400 pp300 to 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendSelected PoemsPenguin Classics, 2007Christopher Ricks's selection, drawn from his complete edition, includes In Memoriam entire and the best of the Idylls; the Harvard Classics volume contains a different selection.
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The poems of the Victorian laureate, from the early lyrics of the 1830s such as Mariana and The Lady of Shalott to the dramatic monologues Ulysses and Tithonus, the elegy In Memoriam A. H. H. on the death of his friend Arthur Hallam, the public verse of The Charge of the Light Brigade, and the twelve Arthurian Idylls of the King that occupied his last decades. The selections usually read pair the doubt and faith of In Memoriam with the musical narratives, and Crossing the Bar closes most collections at the poet's request.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Poems are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.