Love Poems

by Editors of Canterbury Classics

A collection of the world’s finest love poems—from ancient Greece to the twentieth century.

For thousands of years, poets across the world have expressed their thoughts on love with profound and memorable verses. Love Poems is a collection of works from more than fifty prolific poets, including Sappho, William Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost. This volume contains over a hundred works of poetry that have been cherished for generations, and that continue to stir modern readers’ hearts with their beauty.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

208 pages, Flexibound

Published December 3, 2019

Reviews

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher (Canterbury Classics) for promotional purposes.

This was a lovely collection of classic love poems!

The selection of authors was expected. It features classic love poets such as Shakespeare, Dickinson, and Byron. I’m not that familiar with classic poetry (I read more modern poetry), so I cannot speak too much on the selection of poems.

As with almost all poetry collections, some poems stood out more than others. Here were my favorites:

-Passion by Sappho (pg. 1)
-The First Kiss by Sappho (pg. 2)
-Sonnet 147 by William Shakespeare (pg. 22)
-Sylvia by George Etherege (pg. 37)
-A Cradle Song by William Blake (pg. 47)
-A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns (pg. 50)
-Surprised by Joy by William Wordsworth (pg. 64)
-Love’s Young Dream by Thomas Moore (pg. 79)
-When We Two Parted by Lord Byron (pg. 83)
-Remind Me Not, Remind Me Not by Lord Byron (pg. 86)
-And Wilt Thou Weep When I Am Low? By Lord Byron (pg. 87)
-To Caroline by Lord Byron (pg. 91)
-Love’s Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley (pg. 99)
-Sonnet 14 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (pg. 106)
-Sonnet 21 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (pg. 107)
-Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (pg. 110)
-A Dream Within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe (pg. 114)
-Till Death Us Part by Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (pg. 130)
-Are You the New Person Drawn Toward Me? by Walt Whitman (pg. 132)
-To a Stranger by Walt Whitman (pg. 133)
-As if a Phantom Caress’d Me by Walt Whitman (pg. 139)
-To One Shortly to Die by Walt Whitman (pg. 139)
-Bequest by Emily Dickinson (pg. 148)
-If You Were Coming in the Fall by Emily Dickinson (pg. 149)
-I Have No Life but This by Emily Dickinson (pg. 158)
-Wild Nights by Emily Dickinson (pg. 159)
-The Lost Jewel by Emily Dickinson (pg. 162)
-Longing by Emily Dickinson (pg. 168)
-When Will Love Come? by Pakenham Beatty (pg. 173)
-Patterns by Amy Lowell (pg. 176)
-Choice by Angela Morgan (pg. 184)
-A Dream Girl by Carl Sandburg (pg. 185)

Overall, this was a quick and romantic read! If you’re looking to get into classic poetry, consider this book.

[Maria Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still remember the first time I had this and I was laughing out loud because of its cover in pink and it was a christmas gift from a lover as we celebrated the Christmas day together.

Little did I know that it was a treasure trove of poetry from the old times. My most favorite piece here was Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breath and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breadth,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

[Fleur · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 It’s a solid anthology of very classical work by very famous British and Northern-American poets. So on that note its a worthy addition to my collection. That being said, I would have ✨ loved ✨ to see some lesser known works/poets in here. Some (translated) works from across the world would have definitely given this anthology more depth. Surely they could have yielded some of Emily Dickinson’s excessive page count to that? (I mean, she has 22 over Main Man Will’s 14?! Objection, Your Honour.) It’s quite heavy on the 18th/19th century Christianity infused and theatrical work typical for the area. In short: would’ve been nice to see more international, diverse and contemporary poetry included. Oh, and WHAT IS THAT COVER DESIGN?! Terrible decision.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I really loved about 20 poems, liked about 45, and marked around 5-6 others because they were so ridiculous or silly. There’s around 190 poems in the book. My favorite poem is on page 99 by Percy Bysshe Shelley “Love’s Philosophy.” I love the first verse so much! I also enjoyed “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes which I’d first heard as a song.

[Stephanie Dargusch Borders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Includes many of my favorite classic poems. However it’s super heavy with the well-known poets (did we really need so many of Shakespeare’s sonnets? Sorry, just not a huge fan.) Also I wish the collection were more focused on general love and not romantic love.

[The Gnome’S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute collection of poems that are perfect for a sunny day! While I didn’t love all of them, the collection contains some of my favorite poems. It exposed me to other poets whose work I hadn’t previously engaged with, and will now be seeking out. A nice, light read!

[Chloe Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely meet for people who love to read older poetry! I loved the old poems though!