Seven Ages: Anthology of Poetry with Music / Various by Various Artists

Seven Ages: Anthology of Poetry with Music / Various Reviews

• 
  Bárbara Costa

  Fancy famous british people declaiming fancy famous poems. Gandalf reading Shakespeare is perhaps only surpassed by Poirot's take on a poem about an evil cat.
• 
  Mockingbird

  10 stars if possible. It's WONDERFUL. Get yourself a copy and buy a copy for people you love. Michael Caine's rendition of "The Bleed'n' Sparrer" will have you laughing out loud. I listen to this in the car most days. Best British voices narrating a terrific anthology of poetry spanning the "seven ages" (think of the oft quoted section from Shakespeare's "As You Like It".)
• 
  Crystal Marie

  I really enjoyed this book. My favorite part of the book was the final age (facing death). I especially liked the poem by Christina Rossetti and I always love Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas. The pace is a little fast for my preference because I like to digest one poem before leaping to another one. Otherwise very enjoyable.
• 
  sch

  Mar 2021. High hopes, partially fulfilled. The recordings and recitations are of the highest quality. I prefer the first half.
  * The "Infant" and "Schoolboy" selections are appropriately fun and diverse and lengthy.
  * The selections for "Lover" are not entirely predictable.
  * "Soldier" could almost be retitled "Great War Poetry." This glass is half empty, with all the misery of war and none of the glory. Odd thing for such an old country; perhaps this is why the opening poem - the Prologue from Henry V - is whispered.
  * The "Wisdom" section is distressingly Romantic.
  * Half of "Sixth Age" (six of thirteen poems) is buffoonery, which seems fitting but hardly "poetry for a lifetime."
  * "Last Scene" is much shorter than the rest and powerful.
  
  In terms of eras, the glaring omission from the production is the long 18th century, with appearances only by outliers (Rochester, Blake, Burns). Where are Dryden and Pope and Johnson? They could have balanced out the romanticism of "Wisdom." In terms of human life, the omission is the supernatural; only 'secular' mystics make the cut (Dickinson and Lawrence, in addition to Blake).
  
  Still, I would listen to it again.
• 
  Victoria Roe (Reading Addict)

  Narration of some true classics by some legends, there were elements that could have been performed a little more dynamically. There was a monosyllabic feel to a lot of the pieces which I feel made said pieces a little underwhelming which is a real shame, some of the pieces I have studied from an educational point of view so there was a nice difference to hear it as it was supposed to be read. Overall enjoyable but could have been better in my opinion.
• 
  Benjamin Robinson

  Yeeeaaahhhh...poetry really isn't my thing. I did like a couple of the poems (Ian McKellan reading Shakespeare and a poem by Oscar Wilde being 2 of the highlights, surprising no one who knows me), but was more transfixed by the Vivaldi piece the audiobook started out with than any of the poems. So, yeah. Not for me.
  
  Rating: 2/5 (NOTE: This is only my experience of 7 Ages - I would imagine any poetry lover would give a very different rating)
• 
  John

  Excellent readings, and some surprise selections amongst the chestnuts.
• 
  Eliza Fitzgerald

  I really prefer listening to poetry to reading it. This was an interesting collection, but not all of the sections would be kid friendly.
• 
  Julia

  Fun to hear familiar voices reading some wonderful, flowery poems that provided a good backdrop for casual school work
• 
  Shannon McGarvey

  Beautiful and lovely. Great performance on audio.
• 
  Laura

  Some of the best British voices reading some of the best poetry on the universal theme of times of life. This is wonderful, I recommend it highly, if only to hear Michael Caine recite - and really just say the name Rudyard Kipling.
• 
  Jillian

  This was an incredibly wonderful poetry anthology. Each poem was a pleasure to listen to. I have watched many of these actors for years in various movies, so it was like listening to friends perform these poems. I will definitely listen to this again!
• 
  Heather

  This is an excellent 2-CD set with a wide variety of poetry read by some excellent British voices. I enjoyed it very much.
• 
  Sara Ponte

  Good medicine.
• 
  Mark Cerasaro

  Love how the many different voices read these classics.
• 
  Shawna Alpdemir

  Thoroughly enjoyed this collection of poetry. I agree with previous reviews - the performances were fabulous and Michael Caine's reading of "Bleed'n Sparrer" had me grinning widely.
• 
  Maggie

  really nice collection and excellent readings.