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The Sonnets

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The Sonnets

By: William Shakespeare
Narrated by: Alex Jennings
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About this listen

Everyone knows something of Shakespeare's sonnets, even if only in memorable fragments like "the darling buds of May," or "remembrance of things past," or "the marriage of true minds." For centuries these wonderfully crafted, intense lyrics have stood for something valued about youth, love, and the emotional complexities belonging to that time of life. This new recording presents all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets, using the New Cambridge Shakespeare texts.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©1997 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd. (P)1997 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd. European Literary History & Criticism Poetry Shakespeare

Editorial reviews

William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets on subjects ranging from love and beauty to time and mortality, and this audiobook presents them all, narrated with empathy and brio by Royal Shakespeare Company actor Alex Jennings. Groundbreaking and unusual at the time they were published, Shakespeare's sonnets are still thought-provoking today, with many lines that are oft-referenced in modern literature and popular culture, from "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" in Sonnet 18, to "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" in Sonnet 130. With their rolling cadence and dramatic subjects, these poems are at their best when performed live, as this compelling recording more than proves.

What listeners say about The Sonnets

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Profile Image for Lee

Naxos is always quality

Naxos recordings seem consistently good - this one is no exception. The poems are read well and the musical interludes are well chosen and well timed.

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Profile Image for M. R. Kaspar

The perfect reading of a perfect read

These sonnets by the greatest poet in the English language demands reading with flair and sensitivity delivered by a beautifully honed sonorous voice - all of which is found here. Love it! Love it! Love it!!!

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