--- product_id: 5455624 title: "The Complete English Poems (Penguin Classics)" price: "€ 44.10" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.sk/products/5455624-the-complete-english-poems-penguin-classics store_origin: SK region: Slovakia --- # The Complete English Poems (Penguin Classics) **Price:** € 44.10 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Complete English Poems (Penguin Classics) - **How much does it cost?** € 44.10 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sk](https://www.desertcart.sk/products/5455624-the-complete-english-poems-penguin-classics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The Complete English Poems (Penguin Classics) [Donne, John, Smith, A. J.] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Complete English Poems (Penguin Classics) Review: Enjoying poetry that sounds good when read out loud - Finally, I've found a poet I really like reading. Donne's poems suit me more than Shakespeare's sonnets or Poe's verse, and apart from someone like Yvor Winters, I just don't get modern poetry (apologies to Sylvia Plath fans). What rings well with me is, well, ringing well! Reading a poem out loud with a bit of drama should just sound good. That's why rap and hip hop can really be considered poetry (well, some rap and hiphop anyway). A great example of this is Shakespeare's sonnet 129 (The expense of spirit in a waste of shame/Is lust in action; and till action, lust...). Most (not all) of Shakespeare's sonnets are harder to understand than this one, which is why they don't resonate with me as well as I'd like. Donne on the other hand is different; most of what he writes in English sounds good and is immediately understandable. Not that I understand everything in these poems, there are many contemporary allusions that are lost on me, but there's enough in there that sounds very good to allow me to right away enjoy myself. Here are two great lines, which open the sonnet "Community", to illustrate what I mean by good sound. Good we must love, and must hate ill, For ill is ill, and good good still... There are problems, themselves interesting, that bring discord to a poem. For instance in Donne's England "love" rhymed with "prove" but because today these words don't, a couplet with this rhyme is marred to our 21st century ears. A personal note: I was in bed reading "Soul Made Flesh" about the discovery that the brain is the seat of consciousness, made by Oxford scholars in 17th century England. I had reached an account of how large audiences of curious onlookers gathered to see doctors perform autopsies. I put the book down and decided to dip into Donne before going to sleep. I flipped out when I read The Damp's opening lines: When I am dead, and doctors know not why, And my friends' curiosity Will have me cut up to survey each part... Talk about serendipity! Now if I had just read an explanation of these lines in the notes, they would not have meant much to me. But because reading "Soul Made Flesh" had transported me into Donne's England for a few moments, the dramatic effect of the opening was multiplied immensely. In a nutshell, I find that I love Donne and I recommend this comprehensive easy-to-carry well-annotated edition. My only negative comment is that the editing is a bit unimaginative: the editor places the sonnets in alphabetical order of title simply because there is no accepted canonical ordering... Oh well. Vincent Poirier, Tokyo Review: Functional Kindle version of a excellent collection - If you love John Donne's poetry, then this is a must have collection of his poetry. If you have a Kindle, this is a functional way to take this collection with you. I have the paper volume and it is significantly larger than a Kindle Fire. So, after a "look inside" I purchased this for my Kindle. The Kindle version is as accessible as the paper volume and it retains the same page layout and spacing for the poems. The five stars are weighted towards the contents, which consist of his religious, irreligious, social, insightful, and comical poetry - usually with multiple catagories coexisting in the individual poem you're reading. The fact that the Kindle version does a good job in retaining accessability and visual layout keeps the five star rating intact. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | 0140422099 | | Best Sellers Rank | #248,204 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #29 in Renaissance Literary Criticism (Books) #190 in British & Irish Poetry #347 in British & Irish Literature | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (212) | | Dimensions | 5.12 x 1.46 x 7.76 inches | | Edition | Revised ed. | | ISBN-10 | 9780140422092 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0140422092 | | Item Weight | 1.1 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 688 pages | | Publication date | August 25, 1977 | | Publisher | Penguin Classics | ## Images ![The Complete English Poems (Penguin Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61BGKM3DkVL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enjoying poetry that sounds good when read out loud *by V***R on November 30, 2006* Finally, I've found a poet I really like reading. Donne's poems suit me more than Shakespeare's sonnets or Poe's verse, and apart from someone like Yvor Winters, I just don't get modern poetry (apologies to Sylvia Plath fans). What rings well with me is, well, ringing well! Reading a poem out loud with a bit of drama should just sound good. That's why rap and hip hop can really be considered poetry (well, some rap and hiphop anyway). A great example of this is Shakespeare's sonnet 129 (The expense of spirit in a waste of shame/Is lust in action; and till action, lust...). Most (not all) of Shakespeare's sonnets are harder to understand than this one, which is why they don't resonate with me as well as I'd like. Donne on the other hand is different; most of what he writes in English sounds good and is immediately understandable. Not that I understand everything in these poems, there are many contemporary allusions that are lost on me, but there's enough in there that sounds very good to allow me to right away enjoy myself. Here are two great lines, which open the sonnet "Community", to illustrate what I mean by good sound. Good we must love, and must hate ill, For ill is ill, and good good still... There are problems, themselves interesting, that bring discord to a poem. For instance in Donne's England "love" rhymed with "prove" but because today these words don't, a couplet with this rhyme is marred to our 21st century ears. A personal note: I was in bed reading "Soul Made Flesh" about the discovery that the brain is the seat of consciousness, made by Oxford scholars in 17th century England. I had reached an account of how large audiences of curious onlookers gathered to see doctors perform autopsies. I put the book down and decided to dip into Donne before going to sleep. I flipped out when I read The Damp's opening lines: When I am dead, and doctors know not why, And my friends' curiosity Will have me cut up to survey each part... Talk about serendipity! Now if I had just read an explanation of these lines in the notes, they would not have meant much to me. But because reading "Soul Made Flesh" had transported me into Donne's England for a few moments, the dramatic effect of the opening was multiplied immensely. In a nutshell, I find that I love Donne and I recommend this comprehensive easy-to-carry well-annotated edition. My only negative comment is that the editing is a bit unimaginative: the editor places the sonnets in alphabetical order of title simply because there is no accepted canonical ordering... Oh well. Vincent Poirier, Tokyo ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Functional Kindle version of a excellent collection *by M***E on April 28, 2013* If you love John Donne's poetry, then this is a must have collection of his poetry. If you have a Kindle, this is a functional way to take this collection with you. I have the paper volume and it is significantly larger than a Kindle Fire. So, after a "look inside" I purchased this for my Kindle. The Kindle version is as accessible as the paper volume and it retains the same page layout and spacing for the poems. The five stars are weighted towards the contents, which consist of his religious, irreligious, social, insightful, and comical poetry - usually with multiple catagories coexisting in the individual poem you're reading. The fact that the Kindle version does a good job in retaining accessability and visual layout keeps the five star rating intact. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Really Great Edition. *by P***W on November 13, 2021* I bought this as a Christmas gift for my husband. The book itself looks very good and will make a great addition to his library of romantic poets. In looking it over I see that it is annotated, which I was happy to see. I may snitch this book after New Years and get acquainted with his poetry myself. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Complete English Poems (Penguin Classics) - The Complete Poetry - Pensées and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sk/products/5455624-the-complete-english-poems-penguin-classics](https://www.desertcart.sk/products/5455624-the-complete-english-poems-penguin-classics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Slovakia* *Store origin: SK* *Last updated: 2026-05-05*