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Reading verse can be a great source of joy or comfort and can serve to express the feelings needed at special occasions. The world’s great classic love poetry reminds us of the power of language, whether it is in a traditional style or something more contemporary. There are many anthologies available with something to appeal to everyone.

The Nation’s Favourite Love Poems was compiled after a national poll of the British public invited them to vote for their most treasured poem. The poll was organized by the BBC TV network and an audio cassette version of the book was also published. Thousands of selections were sent in, many of which people remembered learning at school.

This example of classic love poetry is edited by poetry expert Daisy Goodwin and includes the 100 most popular poems. Poets featured include Wordsworth, Shelley, Tennyson, John Donne and Lord Byron. There is also W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden, William Blake, Andrew Marvell, Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Shakespeare’s sonnets are also here and more modern poets, such as Wendy Cope.

Love Poems from the Everyman’s Pockets Poet series edited by Peter Washington would make an ideal gift for Valentine’s Day or for an anniversary. The book is beautifully presented with gold stamping on the cover and spine and a silk ribbon marker. This collection gathers together the best classic love poetry from around the world. Different cultures are represented from ancient Greece and Rome, Japan and China through to contemporary works from the United States and Europe. 100 Best Loved Poems, edited by Philip Smith, contains poems from the Middle Ages to the present, including selections from Tennyson, and the Lakeland poets, Wordsworth and Keats.

When choosing a reading for a wedding, many people turn to classic love poems. Poems and Readings for Weddings edited by Julia Watson is a useful guide through the labyrinth of choices. There is an appropriate poem for every sentiment for the bride and groom. Works include A Spring Morning by John Clare, A Marriage by Mark Twain, Oh My Love’s Like a Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns, I Loved You First by Christina Rossetti, and I Love Thee by Thomas Hood.

The variety of romantic verse gives such a lot of pleasure and it is a type of poetry that remains popular, even in this more cynical age. Sooner or later, a poet, whether man or woman, will turn to it. The subject could be new love, the happiness of having a long life together, or loss of love.

There are certain poems that appear whenever classic love poetry is discussed. Perennial favorites include How Do I Love Thee by Elizabeth Barratt Browning, Life In a Love and Meeting at Night by Robert Browning, She Walks in Beauty and When We Two Parted by Lord Byron, Love and a Question by Robert Frost and Madonna of the Evening Flowers by Amy Lowell.

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