Customer Reviews

Lyric Poems (Dover Thrift Editions)

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The poetry of John Keats is a remarkable discovery for the reader unfamiliar with his works. His poetry is timeless. I have read this small Dover edition innumerable times and with each reading I gain further pleasure from his works. I find it almost inconceivable that Keats only lived 25 years. His early death, due in part to an extended hiking tour, is almost without parallel. It is as though Shakespeare had died after producing only a few plays.

The Dover edition, priced only at a dollar, represents much of Keats' better known, shorter poems. They are arranged chronologically (the best are not at the beginning) and illustrate his growth as a poet. If you are new to Keats, I suggest that you skip around, maybe focusing on the shorter poems in the beginning. But don't wait too long to delve into the longer The Eve of St. Agnes. And sample the Odes of Keats, possibly his best lyric poetry.

I found it helpful to make a few notes in the margin for unfamiliar words and expressions, particularly archaic terms. My notes assisted me considerably in second and third readings.

I knew of John Keats, but had not read his poetry. But some time ago I happened to read Perinne's Sound and Sense, an excellent guide to reading poetry, and developed some interest in Keats. You might find this text a useful reference.

I also recommend an audio tape (ISBN 0-8045-0868-2), Treasury of John Keats, read by Robert Spaeight and Robert Edison. The readings are quite exceptional. I especially enjoyed The Eve of St. Agnes.

Keats is after Shakespeare perhaps the most musically rich of all the English poets. He sees and feels and hears the world in lines of incredible beauty. "Truth is Beauty, Beauty Truth, That is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know." are the lines of Keats which best describe his own work.
This edition contains what are arguably Keats greatest work, the Odes. Their richness may not always be easily understood, but the feeling which runs through them is of art at its most abundantly wondrous.

Lyric Poems is a small book containig several beautiful writings about the world. It seems to plant ideas and imagination into even the most un-imaginative people. There are a few poems I didn't care for, but don't let that stop you from purchasing this book. I liked it (and I'm pretty picky!) ... I bet you'll ike it too!