The Nation's Favourite Poems

Forty-five of Britain''s best-loved poems, read by John Nettles, Siobhan Redmond, Greg Wise and Emma Fielding.

In a national poll conducted to discover Britain''s favourite poem, Rudyard Kipling''s ''If -'' was voted number one. This unique anthology brings together over forty poems from the poll, including the top ten.

Here is poignant war poetry (Wilfred Owen''s ''Dulce et Decorum Est'' and ''Anthem for Doomed Youth'', Rupert Brooke''s ''The Soldier'' and Siegfried Sassoon''s ''Everyone Sang'' ); romantic verse such as Shakespeare''s ''Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer''s Day?'' and W. B. Yeats'' ''When You Are Old''; Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear''s great nonsense poems ''Jabberwocky'' and ''The Owl and the Pussy-Cat'', and much more. Classics such as Wordsworth''s ''The Daffodils'' and Tennyson''s ''The Lady of Shallot'' sit alongside contemporary poetry like Allan Ahlberg''s ''Please Mrs Butler'' and Wendy Cope''s ''Bloody Men''.

Superbly r