The Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume One
Jonathan Swift
Read by Arthur Krolman
Sit back and listen to these light-hearted witty rhymes and see the world Jonathan Swift saw -- and maybe recognize your own. Think there is such a thing as corrupt rich guys who pretend they're God's gift to the world? So did Swift. Think some of these types strut around as if calls of nature don't apply to them? So did Swift. In one hilarious poem, he even describes gold diggers fighting over the loaded gentleman's gaseous offerings! His poem On Poetry, A Rhapsody, censored for treasonous mocking of the royal family, is in its rare uncensored form here. As free as he himself is with his sharp tongue against the blackened rich and corrupt , he knows others might have to kiss up to eat. So he includes many verses of advice on how to go about lying for a living, for example, "Your interest lies to learn the knack Of whitening what before was black." Despite the decay and hypocrisy he sees all around him he stays upbeat throughout -- even making fun out of his own tragic onset of deafness. You already know this giant of English literature for the great feast of prose he left us. Think of these delicious poems here as your sinful dessert. - Summary by Arthur Krolman (9 hr 21 min)
Chapters
Ode to Doctor William Sancroft | 16:02 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Ode to Sir William Temple | 11:24 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Ode to King William | 3:12 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Ode to the Athenian Society | 17:43 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
To Mr. Congreve | 14:00 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Occasioned by Sir William Temple etc. | 10:16 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Written in a Lady's Ivory Table Book | 1:52 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Mrs. Frances Harris's Petition | 6:45 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Ballad on the Game of Traffic | 1:27 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Ballad to the tune of Cutpurse | 1:48 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Discovery | 2:23 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Problem | 3:41 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Description of a Salamander | 3:40 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
To Charles Mordaunt, Earl of Peterborough | 1:56 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On the Union | 1:16 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Mrs. Biddy Floyd | 1:03 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Reverse | 2:16 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Apollo Outwitted | 3:16 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Answer to Lines from May Fair | 1:10 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Vanbrugh's House ver.1 | 4:26 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Vanbrugh's House ver.2 | 6:16 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Baucis and Philemon ver.1 | 10:45 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Baucis and Philemon ver.2 | 8:28 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The History of Vanbrugh's House | 2:27 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Grub Street Elegy | 4:27 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Epitaph | 1:01 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Description of the Morning | 1:21 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Description of a City Shower | 4:20 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On the Little House | 3:10 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Town Eclogue | 5:07 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Conference | 3:45 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
To Lord Harley on his Marriage | 3:55 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Phyllis | 4:48 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Horace, Book IV, Ode ix | 1:31 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
To Mr. Delany | 5:19 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
An Elegy | 3:47 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
To Mrs. Houghton and Window Verses | 2:07 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Apollo to the Dean | 5:58 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
News from Parnassus | 4:24 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Apollo's Edict | 3:33 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Description of an Irish Feast | 3:00 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Progress of Beauty | 6:04 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Progress of Marriage | 7:43 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Progress of Poetry | 2:25 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The South Sea Project | 11:03 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Prologue on Stroller Licensing | 3:38 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Epilogue to Mr. Hoppy | 3:35 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Prologue for the Weavers | 2:43 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Epilogue for the Weavers | 3:15 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Answer to Prologue and Epilogue | 3:34 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Gaulstown House | 1:28 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Country Life | 6:21 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Dr. Delany's Villa and Delville Window | 3:06 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Carbery Rocks | 3:21 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Copy of the Birthday Verses on Mr. Ford | 5:07 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Dreams | 2:40 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Dr. Delany to Dr. Swift and The Answer | 4:02 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Quiet Life and a Good Name and Advice | 4:01 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Pastoral Dialogue | 5:09 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Desire and Possession | 2:45 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Censure | 1:35 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Furniture of a Woman's Mind | 2:41 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Clever Tom Clinch | 1:31 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Dr. Swift to Mr. Pope | 1:23 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Love Poem | 2:02 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Bouts Rimez | 1:52 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Helter Skelter | 2:09 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Puppet Show | 3:32 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Journal of a Modern Lady | 11:16 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Logicians Refuted | 2:40 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Elephant; or the Parliament Man | 1:45 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Paulus Epigram and The Answer | 6:42 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Dialogue | 2:40 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Burning a Dull Poem | 1:00 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
An Excellent New Ballad | 4:07 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Stephen Duck | 0:53 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Lady's Dressing Room | 5:41 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Power of Time | 0:42 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Cassinus and Peter | 5:29 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Beautiful Young Nymph | 4:11 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Strephon and Chloe | 14:02 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Apollo; or A Problem Solved | 1:41 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Place of the Damned | 1:15 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Day of Judgment | 1:22 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Judas | 1:41 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
An Epistle to Mr. Gay | 10:14 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
To a Lady | 10:37 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Epigrams on Busts in Richmond Hermitage | 1:36 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Swift's Birthday Presents | 4:41 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
An Invitation, by Dr. Delany | 1:04 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Beasts' Confession | 8:37 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Parson's Case | 1:51 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Hardship upon the Ladies | 0:45 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Love Song | 1:50 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Storm | 3:40 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Ode on Science | 2:15 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Young Lady's Complaint | 2:04 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On the Death of Dr. Swift | 21:53 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Poetry, a Rhapsody | 21:36 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Verses sent to the Dean on his Birthday | 2:59 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Epigram by Mr. Bowyer | 0:41 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Psyche | 1:05 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Dean and Duke | 1:26 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Swift on his own Deafness | 1:31 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Dean's Manner of Living | 0:47 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Verses for Fruit Women | 2:40 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Rover, a Lady's Spaniel | 2:36 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Epigrams on Windows | 4:44 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
To Janus, on New Year's Day | 1:34 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Miscellaneous | 10:03 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
An Apology to Lady Carteret | 7:15 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Birth of Manly Virtue | 6:24 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
On Paddy's Character | 1:46 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
An Epistle to Lord Cartaret by Delany | 5:36 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
An Epistle upon an Epistle | 5:40 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
A Libel on Dr. Delany and Lord Carteret | 8:27 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
To Dr. Delany on the Libels | 7:17 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Directions for a Birthday Song | 11:08 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
The Pheasant and the Lark | 10:58 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Dean Smedley's Petition to the Duke | 6:53 | Read by Arthur Krolman |
Parody on a Character of Dean Smedley | 2:21 | Read by Arthur Krolman |