Great Poets of The World - Episode 3: Poets of the European Continent
About this title: The opening segment explains that one of the many contributions Dante made to European and world literature, was the concept of the "Muse", the Beatrice he followed to the Gates of Hell in "The Divine Comedy". His use of "tercets" ...
Great Poets of The World - Episode 7: English-language Poets: 1923 - Present
About this title: In the 1930's, the English poets, Auden and Spender explored political and social themes, most noteably in their poetic tributes to those who died in the second World War. In 1950's America, Gwendolyn Brooks saw beauty in the lives...
Great Poets of The World - Episode 2: Spanish-language Poets
About this title: Contrasts the "art for art's sake" themes of Juan Ramón Jiménez's poetry with the social and political themes expressed in the poetry of Antonio Machado. In the turmoil of the 1930's, Frederico Garcia Lorca, a poet of the avant...
Great Poets of The World - Episode 4: English-language Poets: 8th Century A.D. - 1830
About this title: Traces England's long poetic tradition from the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf, through the transition from Old English to Middle English, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Moving to the Renaissance, the episode features Edmund Spense...
Great Poets of The World - Episode 1: The Poetry of Shakespeare
About this title: Explains that Shakespeare's poetry taps into all aspects of human nature. Traces the early life of the Bard and the influence of his classical education in the creation of Venus and Adonis and the Rape of Lucrece. In contrast, the ...
Great Poets of The World - Episode 5: English-language Poets: 1831-1894
About this title: This episode introduces a new wave in English poetry, when intimate, personal experiences, insights, or mental states were shared between the poet and the reader. From Poe's psychological thrillers to the love poems of the Browning...
Great Poets of The World - Episode 8: Poets of the Middle East and Asia
About this title: Begins with an exploration of the themes of poetry by Tang Dynasty master poets, Li Bai and Du Fu. Follows this with an introduction to the mystical writings of the Sufi poets, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, Omar Khayyam and Hafez. Th...
Great Poets of The World - Episode 6: English-language Poets: 1895-1922
About this title: This episode focuses on the modern sentiments and intellectual themes of poetry written at the turn of the Twentieth Century. In America, Paul Laurence Dunbar's phrase "I know why the caged bird sings" has echoed throughout contemp...