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The Great Poets – John Donne

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What to expect

Sophisticated wit and intense emotion, religious fervour and erotic sensuality, delight in life’s pleasures and fascination with death, are all to be found in the paradoxical poetry of John Donne. One of the foremost metaphysical poets, Donne’s ingenious metaphors and inspired use of language has earned him affection and reverence in near equal measure to Shakespeare. This collection of his finest poetry showcases the diverse range of his work, and includes Death Be Not Proud, A Hymn to God the Father, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Go Catch a Falling Star, The Flea and To His Mistress Going to Bed.

Critics Review

The best readers of poetry don’t recite it; they enact it, taking on the character of the narrator. The poetry of Metaphysical poet John Donne – once ranked with the works of Shakespeare and Milton – has at least two facets, so it’s fitting that this production has two narrators. Geoffrey Whitehead brings out the passion of Donne’s religious poetry, particularly the selections from the Holy Sonnets, and Will Keen specializes in the poems about love and sensuality. The two voices are very different, echoing the dualism that is one of Donne’s hallmarks. Both men remind us of the intense feeling that underlies the formalism of seventeenth-century English poetry at its best.

D.M.H., AudioFile
Author John Donne
Narrator Geoffrey Whitehead, Will Keen
Duration 1 hour and 9 minutes
ISBN 9789629549640
Format Audiobook
Publisher Naxos AudioBooks
Genre Poetry
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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