A Shropshire Lad was first published in 1896 at A. E. Housman's own expense. The collection of lyrical poems became hugely successful following the Second Boer War and World War I, with themes such as nostalgia for one's home and the patriotic celebration of the life of the solider striking a chord with English readers. This collection contains Housman's greatest works, demonstrating the lyrical precision and emotional depth of his writing. It includes 'To an Athlete Dying Young',...

A.E. Housman was one of the best-loved poets of his day, and A Shropshire Lad and Other Poems is a collection of poems whose elegant simplicity of form belies their hidden complexities. This Penguin Classics edition is introduced by Nick Laird with revisions by Archie Burnett and an afterword by John Sparrow.'What are those blue remembered hills,What spires, what farms are those?'In this collection, A. E. Housman's poems, including'To an Athlete Dying Young'...

A.E. Housman (1859-1936) was a man of many apparent contradictions, most of which remain unresolved 150 years after his birth. At once a deeply emotive lyric poet and a precise and dedicated classical scholar, he achieved fame in both of these diverse disciplines. Although his poetic legacy has received much scholarly analysis, and yet more attention has been devoted to reconstructing his private life, no previous work has focused on Housman the classical scholar; yet it is upon scholarshi...

HarperCollins is proud to present our range of timeless literary classics.What are those blue remembered hills,What spires, what farms are those?******First published in 1896, A.E. Housman’s best-loved collection of poetry is a poignant exploration of love, loss, the inevitable passage of time and the fragility of life. Using elegant melodic simplicity, Housman’s poems arouse profound emotional resonance through t...

A. E. Housman, being one of the most famous and widely read poets of the early twentieth century, is certainly worthy of praise. His 'Collected Poems' are therefore a valuable read because they allow readers to gain an impression of the author's mind, opinions and lifestyle. Furthermore, they simultaneously depict a man who was deeply pessimistic and obsessed with death, and, on the other hand, illustrate a man who was also very much concerned with love, youth, life and the fleetingness of...

This magical and poignant evocation of coming of age in the countryside describes lovers in secluded lanes, cricket and church bells, cherry trees hung with snow and woods full of bluebells. Yet in A Shropshire Lad the fields and hills are also places of loss and sorrow, where men die young or are sent far away to fight in foreign wars. Aching with longing for a vanished world, these exquisite verses are a meditation on the fleeting nature of love, youth and happiness.

First published in the year 1896, the present book 'A Shropshire Lad' is a collection of sixty-three poems by the English poet Alfred Edward Housman. After a slow beginning, it rapidly grew in popularity, particularly among young readers. Composers began setting the poems less than ten years after its first appearance. Many parodies have also been written that satirise Housman's themes and stylistic characteristics.

A.E. Housman (1859-1936) was both a celebrated poet and the foremost classicist of his day. His poetry was set to music by numerous composers including Arthur Somervell, Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Butterworth, Ivor Gurney, John Ireland and Samuel Barber. Housman's painstaking vocation, to restore classical manuscripts by correcting textual errors, took up virtually the whole of his working life. A seemingly inaccessible, aloof man, he never set out tobe a professional poet, yet poetry ...

A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Housman: Dive into the picturesque landscapes of rural England with "A Shropshire Lad" by A.E. Housman. This collection of lyrical poems transports you to the idyllic countryside, capturing the essence of nature's beauty and the fleeting moments that define life's journey. Through evocative verses, Housman delves into themes of youth, love, and the passage of time, creating a tapestry of emotions that resonate across generations.Why...

In A Shropshire Lad, A.E. Housman recreates a nostalgic world of lost love, lost youth, thwarted friendships, unfaithful girls, male bonding, untimely death and the uncertain glories of being a soldier. The poems deal with the exuberance of youth its aspirations and disappointments, its naïve certainties and tragic mistakes. Though written in 1895, it struck a chord with the generation of young men who fought in World War I. It was said that every ‘Tommy’ had a copy in his knapsack. It has...

Alfred Edward Housman was born on 26 March 1859 in a small village near Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, the eldest of seven children. His mother died when he was 12 and his father remarried. Despite a good formal education where he won prizes for his poetry and a scholarship to Oxford, Houseman failed to get his degree in Classics. Various reasons have been suggested for this; over confidence, a lack of interest in philosophy or the rejection by one of his roommates who was the love of his l...

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.A collection of the funny, curious verse written during the 19th and 20th centuries, read by some of Britain's most renowned actors.Humorous and whimsical verse ...