Five poems each from some of the best poets to have been members of the clergy

Read by Richard Mitchley, Ghizela Rowe, Robert Maskell(Unabridged: 01hrs 33mins)

Featuring stories by John Donne, Gerard Manley Hopkins, George Herbert, Jonathan Swift, Robert Herrick, Thomas Traherne, Henry Alford, John Keble, William Lisle Bowles, Henry van Dyke & 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.