A Shropshire Lad (Thrift Editions)

Samuel West is a fine reader on the Naxos Audiobook compact disc edition of the complete A E Housman "A Shropshire Lad" poems. He is a highly distinguished actor who offers spoken versions of each verse with an appropriate amount of dramatisation without ever going too far in this regard - too much actorly emphasis would make repeated listening to the disc wearisome - and Sam West avoids making that mistake.However where I am critical of this compact disc is in relation to Samuel West reading the verse using a light "rustic" accent. Now it's not Joe Grundy, don't get me wrong, but I feel sure that the conception behind these poems involves the voice of the narrator being at some remove from the apparent subject matter of country lads betrayed in love and the precariousness of life as a soldier or yeoman. Indeed while the verse sometimes sounds like folksong it is not folksong. On the contrary Housman is adopting a disguise in order to be able to express his deepest emotions about love and the precariousness of life. The time in which he lived would not have allowed him to be open about these very personal feelings - or at least he felt that was the case.Likewise, Sam West reads out the number of each poem at its start. The director, David Timson, presumably instructed him to do this but it's a another mistake, and this time a bad one because it makes an otherwise fine spoken account sound like a catalogue. Perhaps a new edition could edit out the numbers. It would help enormously.

The poetry here speaks for itself: wonderful in any edition. What makes this particular book so very special is the wonderful wood engravings by Agnes Miller Parker, so wonderful that I have bought copies for multiple friends who are perhaps not so enthusiastic about poetry but have an interest in art and/or illustration. Parker enhances the effect of the poems quite beautifully: neither purely illustrative of the text nor merely decorative, but a somehow capturing the mood and tone of these deceptively simple lyrics which have a deep emotional impact.6 stars.

I don't do reviews of anything that I buy from Amazon, it's just too much of a hassle. Personally I don't pay much heed to them so I doubt if other folks do. TBH, I get sick and tired of Amazon continually emailing and asking for them. If I could just give a star rating that would be fine, but the review system won't allow that. So, here we go, a non review. If you want to read AE Housman's "A Shropshire Lad", then download it, if you don't, then don't bother. Either way it won't cost you as it's free.

Lovely book of the famous poems of A.E Houseman. Lightweight and neat enough to slip into handbag or case. This edition includes an index of first lines too. Very helpful. The price is so good too. Delighted in every way.

The content of the book is not in question, as it is one of Britain's best loved anthology of poems. The price of £3.00 undoubtedly makes it a worthwhile buy also. As a point of principle, however, it is worth mentioning that this item is described as having free postage & packing with Amazon Prime, yet the price shown on the back of the book is only £2 ! So, is P&P REALLY free, or is it just that it has been absorbed into the price of the product ? I realise we're only talking about £1, but I believe there is a principle at stake here. Just thought you should know !

If you've never read any poetry in your life or feel its a bit arty try picking up A Shropshire Lad by Alfred Housman.Housman writes in a simple style but still conveys a message,what that message is, is up to the reader,isn't all poetry?Housman looks back to a golden era which is something we all probably do or perhaps should do in this mad modern world.One piece of advice I would give is read the book aloud,you'll get a far better feel of the rhythm of the work.The dover thrift edition is a very cheap entry level into poetry and one you will not regret.

It took me years to get around to reading this and now wish I hadn't waited so long. A lovely volume though I found it useful to consult Wikipedia to get a sense of the "development" of the sequence as it does progress theme by theme. As English as Vaughan Williams and well worth the wait

A collection of poems penned by "A Shropshire Lad" in his words we can visualise the hills and dales of Old Shropshire, his experiences of life and yes also the agonies, the young men off to war, their untimely deaths. Best of all though are when the lines display the joy he had for his home county.