Customer Reviews

The Complete Poems

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The Earl of Rochester lived a life worthy of Tom Jones. He was indeed a deabauched libertine, slightly less worthy of censure than the Marquis de Sade. Yet he was something that De Sade was not, a great wit. Though nowhere near the range or genius of Pope or Swift, he nevertheless compiled a great body of satirical poetry in the Juvenalian tradition. His "Satyre Against Mankind," Like Swift's Houyhnhnms chapters, present human beings in their true place in nature, despite all the panegyrics and biblical references placing us at the top of the chain. If you are lover of satire, as I am, and don't mind observations that place us amongst the lower orders rather than atop some Parnassian peak, give this volume a try.

The 2nd Earl of Rochester (John Wilmot) is one of our greatest love poets in the English language. He and his work have been neglected in previous times because of the debauched lifestyle he had led and what was once perceived as the obscene nature of some of his poetry. Today, these poems are recognized as some of the most beautiful erotic verse ever written. They speak of every kind of sexual love, from unrequited love to fulfilled love, from young love to the nastalgia of remembering long-ago love, from ethereal love to barnyard lust--it's all there. Many of his more racy poems have been lost down the centuries through lack of publication, censorship and other similar factors, but much of his best work survives.

I like Rochester's poems for the colorful use of language they possess, the depths of passionate sentiment they convey, and the understanding of eroticism that is so characteristic of this great poet's work[...]

David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"

Very old book, I think I could not find it in any bookstore (you have to look for it very intensely). Thanks for the service!!!

It's only in the past deacade that we have re-discovered the fine English art of swearing, and here we have a classic wrighter to remind us how its done. Rochester's poetry is both funny and irrevirent, and his genuine hatred of mankind is tangible and heart warming. And he's not afrade of calling someone a c##t either! The perfect antidote to all that crap about love they made you read in school

This collection of poetry is exactly the starting block I was looking for to begin my dissertation on the work of Rochester. Unfortunely I was sent another book to begin with but the company replaced it quickly and allowed me to keep "Saints and Sinners" by Eamon Duffy for free. Not perfect but I realise that mistakes are made and this was corrected to my satisfaction