Poetry
The Lay of the Last Minstrel
An aging minstrel seeks who hospitality at Newark Castle and in recompense tells a tale of a sixteenth-century Border feud. In the poem, Lad…
An Essay on Criticism
An Essay on Criticism is a foundational work of literary criticism by Alexander Pope, blending poetry and philosophical reflection. Written …
Holy Sonnets
John Donne (1572 – March 31, 1631) was a Jacobean poet and preacher, representative of the metaphysical poets of the period. His works, nota…
The Raven and Other Poems
"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—While I nodded,…
Morning and Evening Thoughts
James Allen was a British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement. Alle…
The Freedmen's Book
Lydia Maria Child, an American abolitionist, compiled this collection of short stories and poems by former slaves and noted activists as an …
Pioneers of Science
This book takes its origin in a course of lectures on the history and progress of Astronomy arranged for Sir Oliver Lodge in the year 1887. …
Robert Browning Collection
Celebrate the legacy of Robert Browning with this curated collection of his poetry and prose, brought to life by LibriVox volunteers. This a…
Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern
The Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, is a work of enormous proportions. Setting out with the simple goal of offer…
From The Temple
George Herbert was a country minister and a protégé of the great metaphysical poet John Donne. In From The Temple, Herbert com…
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Collection
A collection to celebrate Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 200th birthday, on 27th February, 2007.
Paradise Regained
Paradise Regained is a poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671. It is connected by name to his earlier and more…
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is the first epic of English literature written in the classical style. John Milton saw himself as the intellectual heir of Ho…
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a lengthy narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. It was published between 1812 and 1818 and is de…
Absalom and Achitophel
John Dryden published Absalom and Achitophel: A Poem in 1681. It is an elaborate historical allegory using the political situation faced by …
The Island
Written late in his career, Byron's narrative poem The Island tells the famous story of the mutiny on board the Bounty, and follows the muti…
Diary of an Old Soul
George MacDonald, a Scottish pastor, wrote these short poems, one for each day of the year, to help him with the severer misfortune he was e…
Spirits in Bondage
Spirits in Bondage is C.S. Lewis’s first book and the first of his works to be available in the public domain. It was released in 1919 unde…
Don Juan
Don Juan is a long narrative poem by Byron, based very loosely on the legend of the evil seducer, Don Juan. The first and second of (eventua…
Poems on Various Subjects
Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American to publish a book of poetry in 1773. Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at age s…