"La Vita Nuova" is the first of two collections of verse and prose written by the Italian poet, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). Since the Middle Ages, Dante has been cherished as the «Supreme Poet,» or simply il Poeta, of Italy, and is most widely recognized for his allegorical «Divina Commedia». «La Vita Nuova» contains works written over a period of ten years, from before 1283 to roughly 1293, and is the semi-autobiographical account of Dant ...
"The Aeneid" is considered by some to be one of the most important epic poems of all time. The story is as much one of the great epic hero, Aeneas, as it is of the foundation of the great Roman Empire. Aeneas, a Trojan Prince who escapes following the fall of troy, travels with others to Italy to lay the foundations for what would become the great Roman Empire. Virgil's Aeneid is a story of great adventure, of war, of love, and of the ...
With the first publication of «Leaves of Grass» in 1855, Walt Whitman was solidified as an American poet of undeniable importance. The poems contained in that slim volume candidly spoke of politics, slavery, sexuality, consciousness, and the spiritual world. His content was as radical as his form; he utilized free verse unlike anyone before, creating a poetic tongue that was unique and personal yet universal and cosmic. Born in New York in 1819, ...
This collection of extant odes by the Greek poet Pindar (c. 581-438 BC) presents a comprehensive look at the odes that define his poetic career. Along with Sappho, Pindar is one of the esteemed nine lyric poets of Ancient Greece. These extant odes are also representative of Greece's cultural and artistic trends at the beginning of the dynamic classical period (5th cen. – 4th cen. BC). Primarily in the mode of his famed victory odes, or ...
"The Fasti" was believed to have been left incomplete when Ovid was exiled to Tomis by the emperor Augustus in 8 AD. The work, which is structured based on the Roman calendar, is a series of elegiac couplets which present the first-hand accounts of vates, or «poet-prophets» with Roman deities regarding the origin of various Roman holidays and associated customs. The first six months of the year are all that is included in the work and it is ...
The English metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell is most commonly associated with his contemporaries, John Donne, George Herbert, and his colleague and friend, John Milton. His most famous poem «To His Coy Mistress» is a seductive chant to a would-be lover to seize the moment. «The Garden» is an ode to the tranquility of a retirement from public life. Marvell, who was himself a politician, opines for the simpler life of the garden. Also included in ...
"El Poema de Mio Cid", or «The Poem of the Cid», is the oldest preserved Spanish epic poem, thought to date to before the thirteenth century. The author of the poem is unknown, and there is some debate as to whether it can be attributed to one or many individuals. The story probably began as an oral tradition passed down by generation, recounting the exploits of an exiled soldier during the Spanish Reconquista who regained his honor in batt ...
One of Walt Whitman's most loved and greatest poems, «Song of Myself» is an optimistic and inspirational look at the world. Originally published as part of «Leaves of Grass» in 1855, «Song of Myself» is as accessible and important today as when it was first written. Read «Song of Myself» and enjoy a true poetic masterpiece. ...
When Robert W. Service was transferred to the Whitehorse Branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce in the Yukon Territory in 1904, six years after the Klondike Gold Rush, his career as a world-famous poet would soon begin. Inspired by the beauty of the Yukon wilderness, Service would write some of the most expressive poetry of the age depicting the trials and tribulations of the Yukon gold mining life. «Best Tales of the Yukon» collects together f ...
