Customer Reviews

William Wordsworth: Poems (Highbridge Classics)

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Wordsworth's poetry, at times, seems to be the most beautiful in English. This collection provides an ample audio companion to the text. There is a nice balance of selections from the "great" poems (1797-1807) that account for Wordworth's esteem, as well as juvenile and late works. Both versions of the Prelude are represented (1805 and 1850), some of the Lucy poems, Tintern Abbey, The Leech-Gatherer, the Immortality Ode, excerpts from ballads, and numerous short pieces as well. The reading of Tintern Abbey alone is worth the price of these cassettes: the unidentified male reader captures the music, the cloistered beauty, and the extraordinary depth of this poem. Bravo! Although the readers are named, one would hope that a future edition would specify who reads what.

It includes some of his most famous work, interspersed with biography and commentary on its origins, read well and entertainingly, by several different English actors. Good for those who prefer poetry read to them, but will inspire them to do further reading themselves.

This is an excellent recording of Wordsworth's poetry. It made me realize that his poetry is really meant to be heard, rather than read. All the vocal actors are very good, and I particularly enjoyed the narration of Wordsworth's life by Jeremy Northam. A very enjoyable set of audiotapes.