Five poems each from the best poets to have been knighted

Read by David Rintoul, Robert Maskell, Ghizela Rowe(Unabridged: 01hrs 14mins)

Featuring stories by Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir John Suckling, William Davenant, Sir Francis Bacon, Sir John Harrington, Sir Richard Fanshawe, W S Gilbert & many more

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives. Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives.

But finding a starting point can be overwhelming, even off-putting, so in this series we offer up our Top 10 classic poets, who brim with talent and verse, on a range of subjects and themes that we can all enjoy.

In this volume we explore the Decadent movement which stated that art should exist for its aesthetic value, unburdened by moral or social obligations. It challenged the strict moral codes of the Victorian era, often exploring themes associated with eroticism, forbidden desires, death, decay and all things taboo.