Classic poetry / poems

Book SynopsisSappho (c. 630-c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos famous for her lyric poetry. Also known by such names as the "Tenth Muse" and "The Poetess", Sappho was a prolific poet widely regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets of ancient times. As well as an extraordinary poet, she also represents a symbol of romantic love between women, the word lesbian and sapphic originating from her name and home island. The majority of Sappho''s work is lost and what remains only does so as fragments. Despite this, her work has and continues to influence that of others significantly. This pocket-sized volume contains 45 of Sappho''s existing poems and fragments, translated and interpreted by John Myres O''Hara and Henry de Vere Stacpoole. Contents include: "An Introduction by H. De Vere Stacpoole", "Sapphics by Algernon Charles Swinburne", "Poems Translated by John Myres O''hara", and "Fragments Translated by Henry De Vere Stacpoole". Wine Dark Press is proudly publishing this brand new collection of classic poems, now complete with an introductory essay by Charles Swinburne.

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Book SynopsisThis edition gives a side-by-side parallel translation of Dante''s Divine Comedy using Longfellow''s translation. The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is generally considered to be the preeminent work of Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem is written in the Tuscan dialect, and the poem helped establish this dialect as the standardized Italian language. The poem is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. At the superficial level, the poem describes Dante''s travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven; but at a deeper level, it is an allegory of the soul''s journey towards God. In order to articulate this journey towards God, Dante uses medieval Christian theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy and the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. Longfellow''s translation is considered to be the best translation, overall. Longfellow, being a poet himself, was able to create a flowing translation that has not been surpassed.

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Book Synopsis"Dante and Shakespeare divide the modern world between them. There is no third." - T. S. Eliot"Dante''s poem is, for many, the greatest single work of Western literature." - Ian Thompson."I love my Dante as much as the Bible. He is my spiritual food, the rest is ballast." - James Joyce.In the middle of our life''s journey, I found myself in a dark wood/Bewildered, and I knew I had lost the way: so opens Dante''s Divine Comedy, "the best book literature has achieved" as Jorge Luis Borges writes.Dante''s Inferno, one of the greatest works of European literature, and "the most original and audacious treatment of the afterlife in Western literature" dazzles with its vivid and inventive storytelling and imagery. However, it contains much more than poetry and theology; it displays Dante''s wide and comprehensive learning, and his deep understanding of contemporary politics and society. "All life is contained in the poem, for Dante''s was an all-encompassing imagination, that interwove classical philosophy with Catholic doctrine and contemporary politics," (Ian Thompson).The thirty-three cantos of Inferno follow Dante, as, guided by the epic poet, Virgil, he travels through the nine descending circles of a freezing Hell, until he meets Satan trapped at the bottom. The Inferno is the most gripping and engaging book of The Divine Comedy, as Dante meets those damned for forbidden love, and all manner of human vices. (The damned, amusingly, include many of Dante''s enemies!) Inferno is the logical conclusion of all that is worst in human life. It is bearable only because Dante eventually emerges.The Divine Comedy was written over a period of twenty years towards the end of Dante''s life. It was appreciated as a masterpiece soon after its completion, and it has captivated both readers and the Western imagination ever since.The Inferno is the most widely translated book after the Bible. This edition is translated by the celebrated poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.Dante Alighieri, (1265-1321) was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary critic, philosopher, and political thinker and adviser. He is regarded as the greatest Italian writer. As one of the earliest forerunners of the Renaissance, predating Chaucer, he set the stage for the explosion of creativity that was to follow. Dante is best known for The Divine Comedy, which remains the greatest work of Italian literature.

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Book SynopsisJohn Keats began writing at the age of 18, and by the time he died, seven years later in 1821, he had produced a substantial number of poems. This collection contains his work - his narratives, sonnets of discovery and his six odes - and culminates in "To Autumn".

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Book SynopsisIt has often been said that love, both sacred and profane, is the only true subject of the lyric poem. Nothing better justifies this claim than the splendid poems in this volume, which range from the writings of ancient China to those of modern-day America and represent, at its most piercing, a universal experience of the human soul.

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Book Synopsis

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