Poetry
Maude
Maude is a novella by Christina Rossetti, written in 1850 but published posthumously in 1897. Considered by scholars to be semi-autobiograph…
The Cremation of Sam McGee
The Cremation of Sam McGee is a narrative poem that captures the stark realities and dark humor of life in the Yukon during the Gold Rush. T…
The Prelude
Among monuments of narrative poetry, The Prelude; or, Growth of a Poet's Mind, by William Wordsworth, occupies a unique place. Wordsworth pu…
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…
Psalms of David
Isaac Watts was a poet, hymn-writer and musician. He wrote many of what we regard as "classical hymns" such as "Joy to the Wo…
The Rape of Lucrece
The Rape of Lucrece (1594) is a narrative poem by William Shakespeare about the legendary Lucretia. Lucrece draws on the story described in …
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 New Life
One of Dante's earliest works, La vita nuova or La vita nova (The New Life) is in a prosimetrum style, a combination of prose and verse, and…
International Women's Literature
International Women's Literature is a rich anthology that celebrates the voices of women writers from across the globe, showcasing their con…
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…
The World’s Story
This is the second volume of the 15-volume series of The World’s Story: a history of the World in story, song and art, edited by Eva March T…
Hero and Leander
“Who ever lov’d, that lov’d not at first sight?”The wonder-decade of the English drama was suddenly interrupted in 1592, when serious plague…
Astrophil and Stella
Astrophil and Stella is a sonnet sequence written by Philip Sidney, an Elizabethan poet and courtier. It details the frustrated love of Astr…
Hymns to the Night
"Hymns to the Night" is the last published work of Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (1772-1801), the German philoso…
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…
The Diary of a Dead Officer
Published posthumously in 1919, this collection of diary entries presents a scathing picture of army life and is said to be one of the most …
Samson Agonistes
“The Sun to me is darkAnd silent as the Moon,When she deserts the nightHid in her vacant interlunar cave.”Milton composes his last extended …
Vintage Verse Rhapsody
A collection of poetry selected and performed by Bob Gonzalez, rhapsode. Rhapsodes of Ancient Greece were “song-stitchers,” performing selec…
Charles Dickens 200th Anniversary Collection
This year is the 200th anniversary of Dickens' birth. This is the second volume; the first volume of short works - fiction, essays, poetry a…
Short Poetry Collection
LibriVox’s Short Poetry Collection 002: a collection of 22 public-domain poems.