LITMIR.BIZ

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 earliest version appeared in 1516 but was not published in its complete form until 1532. The poem is a prolongation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's work, «Orlando Innamorato», and is separated into two volumes consisting of forty-six cantos in all. Volume II includes cantos 25-46 describing the adventures of Orlando, Charlemagne, and the Franks as they combat against the Saracens with diversions into many side plots. Ariosto includes many fantastical elements and creatures, yet the most important plot centers around Orlando's unreciprocated love for the pagan princess Angelica, which develops into the insanity of the title.

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Robert Service (1874-1958) dreamed of a life of adventure and freedom to live and write as he wanted, surrounded by nature and the beauty of the world. Born in Lancashire, England, he developed an urge early on to travel abroad, and set his sights on the rough and tumble «wild west» of Canada. Part journalist and part storyteller, he ventured up and down the west coast of the United States and wrote romantic stories of cowboys, gold prospectors and characters of the lush, wild backwoods. This collection of verse contains Service's famous story collections «Songs of a Sourdough», published in 1907 to wide success, «Ballads of a Cheechako», «Rhymes of a Rolling Stone», «Rhymes of a Red Cross Man», and «Ballads of a Bohemian». Service favored simple, rhythmic ballads that allowed the reader to get lost in the colorful descriptions and exciting tales of his imagination, which were inspired by his real world experiences.

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This selection from Baudelaire's 'The Flowers Of Evil' (Le Fleurs Du Mal) contains the following poems: Benediction, Echoes, The Sick Muse, The Venal Muse, The Evil Monk, The Enemy, Man and the Sea, Beauty, The Ideal, The Giantess, Hymn to Beauty, Exotic Perfume, La Chevelure, Sonnet XXVIII, Posthumous Remorse, The Balcony, The Possessed One, Semper Eadem, All Entire, Sonnet XLIII, The Living Torch, The Spiritual Dawn, Evening Harmony, Overcast Sky, Invitation to a Journey, Sisina, To a Creolean Lady, Moesta et Errabunda, The Ghost, Autumn Song, Sadness of the Moon-Goddess, Cats, Owls, Music, The Joyous Defunct, The Broken Bell, Spleen, Obsession, Magnetic Horror, The Lid, Bertha's Eyes, The Set of the Romantic Sun, Meditation, To a Passer-by, Illusionary Love, Mists and Rains, The Wine of Lovers, Condemned Women, The Death of the Lovers, and The Death of the Poor.

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Initially conceived by Longfellow after reading the works of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, «The Song of Hiawatha» is an epic poem based on the legends of the Ojibway Indians of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The beautiful descriptions of this part of the United States are intertwined with the story of the Native American Hiawatha. From his youth to his marriage, from his daily existence of gathering food to his participation in the traditions of his people, Longfellow weaves a tale of impressive scope in this lyric work. Ultimately, this poem tells the story of the American Indian, including his habitual life, fight for survival, and gradual disappearance at the arrival of white men.

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Born and educated in Dublin, Ireland, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) discovered early in his literary career a fascination with Irish folklore and the occult. Later awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923, Yeats produced a vast collection of stories, songs, and poetry of Ireland's historical and legendary past. This compilation includes a vast number of works, pieces that have earned Yeats the arguable rank of the greatest poet of his time. The Collected Poetry of William Butler Yeats includes the following collections: «Lyrical»," The Rose", «The Wind Among The Reeds», «In The Seven Woods», «The Green Helmet and Other Poems», «Responsibilities», «The Wild Swans at Coole», «Michael Robartes and the Dancer», and several other poems.

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"The Selected Poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay" is a collection of some of her most loved poems. Brought together in this volume are the individual works of «Renascence and Other Poems,» «A Few Figs From Thistles,» «Second April,» and «The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver.»

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The Madman: His Parables and Poems is an early collection of English poems written by Lebanese American author Kahlil Gibran. This volume includes the following poems: God, My Friend, The Scarecrow, The Sleep-Walkers, The Wise Dog, The Two Hermits, On Giving and Taking, The Seven Selves, War, The Fox, The Wise King, Ambition, The New Pleasure, The Other Language, The Pomegranate, The Two Cages, The Three Ants, The Grave-Digger, On the Steps of the Temple, The Blessed City, The Good God and the Evil God, Defeat, Night and the Madman, Faces, The Greater Sea, Crucified, The Astronomer, The Great Longing, Said a Blade of Grass, The Eye, The Two Learned Men, When My Sorrow Was Born, And When My Joy Was Born, and 'The Perfect World'.

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Omar Khayyam was a Persian astronomer and mathematician born in the later part of the 11th century. His poetry, which received very little notoriety in its day, achieved classic status when it was discovered and rendered into English verse by Edward Fitzgerald over seven hundred years later. Presented here are the traditionally collected first and fifth editions with the original notes and introduction by Edward Fitzgerald.

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Contained in this volume are two great works by the English Poet John Milton, «Paradise Lost» and «Paradise Regained». 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, «Paradise Lost» is a poetic and intriguing interpretation of ancient biblical legend. Following the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden in Milton's «Paradise Lost», Milton turns his attention to the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness by Satan in «Paradise Regained». In this work, a sequel to «Paradise Lost», Satan tests Jesus in a similar way to Eve in the Garden of Eden. However, Jesus is not seduced by the promises of Satan and passes his test. «Paradise Regained» is a poetic and intriguing tale that follows along in the spirit of Milton's masterpiece «Paradise Lost».

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Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë were successful poets and novelists in their own right; however, their careers began with several collaborative works of stories and poetry. They first wrote under male pseudonyms as they feared retribution by the male-dominated literary world if they published works under their own names. They attracted attention immediately, and soon after found success with works like Charlotte's «Jane Eyre» and Emily's «Wuthering Heights». This collection of poetry reveals the highly imaginative minds of these siblings, who grew up in the moors of Yorkshire and were greatly influenced by the deaths of their mother and two older sisters. Each sister displays a unique poetic voice and style, varying between passionate, melancholic, terse, melodic and symbolic. This is an excellent introduction to the siblings' highly original and influential writing, as well as a wonderful addition to any Brontë enthusiast's collection.

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