Li Po (701-762) rivals Du Fu for the title of China's greatest poet, and is considered to be the great Romantic poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He grew up in Sichuan province, China, and set out at the age of twenty-five to travel in the country, writing poems. A well-read student of both Confucianism and Taoism in his youth, and later an unofficial court poet, Li Po is credited as the author of over one thousand poems about wine, frien ...
The nine lyric poets were a canon of archaic Greek composers esteemed by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria as worthy of critical study. The most famous of which is probably Sappho, who was born sometime between 630 and 612 BCE on the Greek island of Lesbos. The famous Library of Alexandria collected Sappho's poems into nine books; however these editions have been lost. Today only fragments of the poetess' work remains. These fragm ...
Born in 1572 in London England, John Donne was an English Jacobean poet of exceptional skill, whose poetry was known for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor. While Donne was well educated and his poetic talents considerable he struggled for much of his life to provide for his family. Having published only two volumes during his lifetime, he was not a professional poet. Despite this his legacy on the world of poetry is a signif ...
Hafiz was a Persian lyric poet (1315/17-1390) whose collected works, or «Divan», are as sacred to most Iranians as the Qur'an. He was highly acclaimed during his lifetime, and is by far the most popular poet in Iran, where they celebrate Hafiz Day on October 12. Although he was influenced by Islam, Hafiz is widely respected by Hindus, Christians and others for his beautiful turn of a phrase and for his regard of the universal soul. «The Col ...
This is the first edition of «Lyrical Ballads,» published in 1798, written by the English poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor. The collection is generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English romantic movement, and despite negative critical reception at first, subsequent editions were produced and the book has remained a staple in poetry and British literature studies for over two centuries. Wordsworth and Taylor sought ...
Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) was the oldest of 10 children being the successor to the patriarchal position of his family. From his earliest years, Ludovico was interested in poetry, but was obliged by his father, a commander of the Reggio Emilia citadel, to study law. In 1517, he served under the cardinal's brother, Alfonso, duke of Ferrara, and it was then that he began writing his masterpiece and romance epic «Orlando Furioso». The earlie ...
Referring to her olive-skinned complexion Robert Browning called his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, «his little Portuguese.» It is from this nickname that the title «Sonnets from the Portuguese» is derived. Sonnets from the Portuguese, a series of love poems from Elizabeth to her husband, is combined here with a collection of 60 of her other poems. ...
The youngest of the well-known Bronte siblings, Anne Bronte (1820-1849) grew up drawing and writing poetry in secret. As a child, Anne spent countless hours on the Yorkshire moors with her sister, Emily, creating an imaginary world called Gondal. Anne attended school at age fifteen, and there she experienced an episode of spiritual crisis, which is evidenced in many of her poems. She later worked as a governess before collaborating with her sist ...
Milton's «Paradise Lost» is considered to be one of the most classic epic poems ever written. It is a retelling of the biblical story of the Genesis of man, of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and of how Eve when tempted by Satan disobeyed God and ate from the tree of knowledge. Written in 1667 by the English Poet John Milton, «Paradise Lost» is a poetic and intriguing interpretation of ancient biblical legend. ...
