Scan barcode
scorpioangel's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
calarco's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
eagleshouse's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5
those... sure were words!
no but seriously, the only good poem here is The Ballad of Reading Gaol. all the others I either had no clue what he was talking about or were just boring. slightly disappointed, and hoping his novels are better.
no but seriously, the only good poem here is The Ballad of Reading Gaol. all the others I either had no clue what he was talking about or were just boring. slightly disappointed, and hoping his novels are better.
drkshadow03's review against another edition
4.0
Wilde’s poetry lacks the biting wit and cleverness you find in some of his other work, but are definitely worth reading if you enjoy poetry. A large portion of his shorter poems are dedicated to expressing the feelings and sensations of his travels through Italy. Another group of his poems might be described as his reflections of the degradation of modern democracies, especially the atrocious state of democratic politics in England without descending too deeply into the particulars. Wilde castigates the common people for not appreciating democracy, allowing themselves to be used and abuse by political demagogues. Nevertheless, these poems also celebrate the fight to achieve freedom and democracy; they are not anti-democratic, but rather speak out against how easily people in a democracy can lose their way.
The first lines of the poem “Sonnet of Liberty” suggest the children of liberty, those everyday people who live in Democracies, are dull, selfish, and dumb. Instead it celebrated the revolutionaries who fight for liberty for it is these people who like “Christ” are willing to “die upon the barricades” for their cause that understand the true worth of liberty. “To Milton” notes the glory of England resides on the surface, but the country and its democracy has fallen from glory since the days of Milton and Oliver Cromwell. While “Quantum Mutata” reiterates that in Cromwell’s and Milton’s day England was the great defender of liberty and democracy, but has since degenerated and replaced commerce and wealth for high ideals. “Theoretikos” claims that the only resistance against all this ignorance and greed taking over the English democracy is to take refuge in the arts and culture.
“The Ballad of Reading Gaol” is one of Wilde’s longer poems and his masterpiece. Although initially focused on a character condemned to hanging for killing his wife, the poem captures the hopelessness of life in prison and the way it kills not only bodies, but the souls of the men inside them. The poem argues that the institution is fundamentally unchristian and that Christ would be ashamed to see men doing such things to other men, noting that it was towards such sinners that his message was directed.
Another interesting poem is “The Sphinx.” Essentially it is an imaginative poem in which the speaker imagines all the ancient pagan deities that must have served as the Sphinx’s past lovers. It is a sensuous poems that luxuriates in its imagery and many references to obscure ancient myths. Indeed, this poem comes the closest to capturing the art-for-art’s sake that Wilde is associated with, but seems lacking in the other poems. The majority of the poem is just a catalogue of the Sphinx’s many ancient lover and lush imagery describing them and their trysts, but the end does present a message of sorts or at least a conflict. The speaker of the poem denounces his fascination with the Sphinx and other ancient pagan figures, feeing guilty for spending his time imagining the Sphinx in all her glory and her past lovers when his entire mind and soul should be focused on Jesus.
This tension between his interest in the Ancient Greek and Roman pagan world and Christianity reappears in a number of Wilde’s other poems. For example, in “Ave María Gratia Plena” the poet considers the annunciation where an angel tells the Virgin Mary that she will give birth to Jesus and finds it less exciting compared to famous scenes from Ancient Greek mythology such as Zeus visiting and impregnating Danae and Semele; yet he also recognizes a profound and unexplainable mystery in the scene that hints that it is just as impressive as the imaginative scenes from ancient mythology, but in a different way.
“Sonnet written in Holy Week at Genoa” also plays on this contrast between the external beauties of nature and the pagan world versus the internal spirit of the Christian world when the poet forgets about Easter and Jesus’s death momentarily while visiting a beautiful Italian retreat, then a feels a sense of guilt that he should have been contemplating God, the cross, and His pain.
One might also read a related theme of the beauties of the external material world versus the internal spiritual world. “Easter Day” contrasts the pomp and circumstance of the Pope and his procession on Easter with the experience of Jesus being abandoned, suffering, friendless, and homeless. While poems such as “Sonnet on Hearing the Dies Irae in the Sistine Chapel” tries to resolve this tension by noting that pondering the beauties of nature has given him a truer sense of religion and God then listening to warning of hell.
The first lines of the poem “Sonnet of Liberty” suggest the children of liberty, those everyday people who live in Democracies, are dull, selfish, and dumb. Instead it celebrated the revolutionaries who fight for liberty for it is these people who like “Christ” are willing to “die upon the barricades” for their cause that understand the true worth of liberty. “To Milton” notes the glory of England resides on the surface, but the country and its democracy has fallen from glory since the days of Milton and Oliver Cromwell. While “Quantum Mutata” reiterates that in Cromwell’s and Milton’s day England was the great defender of liberty and democracy, but has since degenerated and replaced commerce and wealth for high ideals. “Theoretikos” claims that the only resistance against all this ignorance and greed taking over the English democracy is to take refuge in the arts and culture.
“The Ballad of Reading Gaol” is one of Wilde’s longer poems and his masterpiece. Although initially focused on a character condemned to hanging for killing his wife, the poem captures the hopelessness of life in prison and the way it kills not only bodies, but the souls of the men inside them. The poem argues that the institution is fundamentally unchristian and that Christ would be ashamed to see men doing such things to other men, noting that it was towards such sinners that his message was directed.
Another interesting poem is “The Sphinx.” Essentially it is an imaginative poem in which the speaker imagines all the ancient pagan deities that must have served as the Sphinx’s past lovers. It is a sensuous poems that luxuriates in its imagery and many references to obscure ancient myths. Indeed, this poem comes the closest to capturing the art-for-art’s sake that Wilde is associated with, but seems lacking in the other poems. The majority of the poem is just a catalogue of the Sphinx’s many ancient lover and lush imagery describing them and their trysts, but the end does present a message of sorts or at least a conflict. The speaker of the poem denounces his fascination with the Sphinx and other ancient pagan figures, feeing guilty for spending his time imagining the Sphinx in all her glory and her past lovers when his entire mind and soul should be focused on Jesus.
This tension between his interest in the Ancient Greek and Roman pagan world and Christianity reappears in a number of Wilde’s other poems. For example, in “Ave María Gratia Plena” the poet considers the annunciation where an angel tells the Virgin Mary that she will give birth to Jesus and finds it less exciting compared to famous scenes from Ancient Greek mythology such as Zeus visiting and impregnating Danae and Semele; yet he also recognizes a profound and unexplainable mystery in the scene that hints that it is just as impressive as the imaginative scenes from ancient mythology, but in a different way.
“Sonnet written in Holy Week at Genoa” also plays on this contrast between the external beauties of nature and the pagan world versus the internal spirit of the Christian world when the poet forgets about Easter and Jesus’s death momentarily while visiting a beautiful Italian retreat, then a feels a sense of guilt that he should have been contemplating God, the cross, and His pain.
One might also read a related theme of the beauties of the external material world versus the internal spiritual world. “Easter Day” contrasts the pomp and circumstance of the Pope and his procession on Easter with the experience of Jesus being abandoned, suffering, friendless, and homeless. While poems such as “Sonnet on Hearing the Dies Irae in the Sistine Chapel” tries to resolve this tension by noting that pondering the beauties of nature has given him a truer sense of religion and God then listening to warning of hell.
itsdanixx's review against another edition
4.0
The last of Wilde’s work I had left to read, his poems. While he is much better known as a playwright, novelist and storyteller than he is a poet, his poems are - like all his work - incredibly well written.
I should clarify that I’m not really a poetry person and that I’ve read very little poetry in my life. So a lot of the poems in this collection - the religious ones, the ones about Ancient Greece and Rome, etc - were very ‘meh’ to me. But the poems in which he got more personal, the thinly-veiled metaphors for his relationships and sexuality and death and pain and heartbreak, those even I could tell were really very good. Especially his epic The Ballad of Reading Gaol, that was my favourite.
I should clarify that I’m not really a poetry person and that I’ve read very little poetry in my life. So a lot of the poems in this collection - the religious ones, the ones about Ancient Greece and Rome, etc - were very ‘meh’ to me. But the poems in which he got more personal, the thinly-veiled metaphors for his relationships and sexuality and death and pain and heartbreak, those even I could tell were really very good. Especially his epic The Ballad of Reading Gaol, that was my favourite.
ambdocksey22's review against another edition
challenging
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
ithinkitsme's review against another edition
3.0
The Ballad of Reading Gaol is my favorite poem, but the others just aren't as real.
ellisisreading's review against another edition
3.0
The first classic poetry collection I´ve ever read.
It is hard to rate this collection because the poems are so different. Some poems do not speak to me and I find them hard to understand. Some other poems, however, are excellent. I´ve started reading this collection way before January and it took some time to finish. If you just want the best poetry of Oscar Wilde I suggest you read the following three:
My 3 favorite poems from this collection:
1. The ballad of reading gaol (I got a bit emotional reading this out loud)
2. The Harlot´s house
3. To my wife
It is hard to rate this collection because the poems are so different. Some poems do not speak to me and I find them hard to understand. Some other poems, however, are excellent. I´ve started reading this collection way before January and it took some time to finish. If you just want the best poetry of Oscar Wilde I suggest you read the following three:
My 3 favorite poems from this collection:
1. The ballad of reading gaol (I got a bit emotional reading this out loud)
2. The Harlot´s house
3. To my wife