
The Poems of T. S. Eliot
Read by Jeremy Irons
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $16.16
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jeremy Irons
-
Dame Eileen Atkins
-
By:
-
T. S. Eliot
About this listen
Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Jeremy Irons' perceptive reading illuminates the poetry of T. S. Eliot in all its complexity. Major poems range from 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' through the post-war desolation of 'The Waste Land' and the spiritual struggle of 'Ash-Wednesday', to the enduring charm of 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'.
The Spectator praised Jeremy Irons' interpretation as 'so accessible, reading Eliot as if finding his words for the first time, grappling with them, relishing them, using them to express feelings that we all share as we struggle to accept, to recognise or relinquish'. Dame Eileen Atkins also appears alongside Jeremy Irons in the reading of 'The Waste Land'.
UPDATED EDITION WITH POEM TITLES FOR EASY NAVIGATION.
©2015 BBC (P)2016 BBCCritic reviews
"For such a major poet, Eliot left a fairly sparse body of work, and all his mature poems are here. And while many consider him to be a fairly austere modernist, these readings by Jeremy Irons bring out the human passion (and sometimes the intellectual passion) that lurks in the poems.... His versions are simply more human, as beautifully crafted as the poems themselves." (AudioFile)
Featured Article: The Best Poetry Audiobooks to Listen to for National Poetry Month
It’s a common turn of phrase that poetry is meant to be heard. Tone, pauses, cadence, and vocal inflections all serve to further the emotional pull of modern and historical poetic masterpieces. In audio, poems can be heard and enjoyed just as the poet meant them to be. Taking into account not only the words themselves but the way they are spoken, our list provides a look at the power behind a poem, celebrating those works which have touched our souls.
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Waste Land & Four Quartets
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Paul Scofield
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These are masterly readings, by renowned thespian Paul Schofield, of two substantial works of poetry by T.S. Eliot.
-
-
Help -- I can't stop listening to this
- By Louis on 05-19-10
By: T. S. Eliot
-
Great Poets of the Romantic Age
- By: William Blake, William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and others
- Narrated by: Michael Sheen
- Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a dynamic spirit, these great English poets made a conscious return to nostalgia and spiritual depth. Each chose a different path, but they are united in a love of moods, impressions, scenes, stories, sights and sounds. In this collection of more than forty poems are some of the finest and most memorable works in the English language.
-
-
Inspirational, beautiful and timeless
- By Elisa on 08-25-16
By: William Blake, and others
-
T. S. Eliot reading his poems and choruses
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: T. S. Eliot
- Length: 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A selection of poems and choruses read by T. S. Eliot himself, recorded in 1959. Poems : A song for Simeon, Ash wednesday, Family reunion Act II, Marina, Mr Eliot's Sunday morning, Murder in the cathedral Part I, O light invisible from the roc, Portrait of a Lady, Preludes, The love song of Alfred Prufo, Triumphal march from Coriolan.
-
-
Entrancing
- By CLAUDIA CHURCH on 07-19-21
By: T. S. Eliot
-
From Song of Myself (A Poem from The Poets' Corner)
- The One-and-Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family
- By: John Lithgow
- Narrated by: Morgan Freeman, Susan Sarandon, Helen Mirren, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Lithgow has compiled an outstanding collection of memorable poems and has gathered his famous friends to read them. The wide variety of carefully selected poetry in this audiobook provides the perfect introduction to reel in those who are new to poetry, and for poetry lovers to experience beloved verses in a fresh, vivid way. Lithgow offers insightful and sometimes poignant commentary to accompany each poem. His essential criterion is that "each poem's light shines more brightly when read aloud".
-
-
A Painless Crash Course in the Great Western Poets
- By Brazilgirl on 10-27-14
By: John Lithgow
-
The Waste Land and Other Poems
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Waste Land and Other Poems by T. S. Eliot, read by Edoardo Ballerini. To mark the centenary of the publication of The Waste Land, by T. S. Eliot, Faber & Faber, in association with the T. S. Eliot Foundation, commissioned this new recording of T. S. Eliot's major poems, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. Ballerini is widely regarded as the brightest star of the audiobook era, one of the finest narrators of literature today.
-
-
A beautiful but complex read.
- By Mariana Cg on 10-15-22
By: T. S. Eliot
-
The Essential T.S. Eliot
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Vijay Seshadri, Daniel Halpern, Willem Dafoe, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
T.S. Eliot was a towering figure in 20th-century literature, a renowned poet, playwright, and critic whose work - including "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915), The Waste Land (1922), Four Quartets (1943), and Murder in the Cathedral (1935) - continues to be among the most-read and influential in the canon of American literature. The Essential T.S. Eliot collects Eliot’s most lasting and important poetry in one career-spanning audiobook, with an introduction from Vijay Seshadri, one of our foremost poets.
-
-
As the Title Says: Essential
- By Tom on 06-10-22
By: T. S. Eliot
-
The Waste Land & Four Quartets
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Paul Scofield
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These are masterly readings, by renowned thespian Paul Schofield, of two substantial works of poetry by T.S. Eliot.
-
-
Help -- I can't stop listening to this
- By Louis on 05-19-10
By: T. S. Eliot
-
Great Poets of the Romantic Age
- By: William Blake, William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and others
- Narrated by: Michael Sheen
- Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a dynamic spirit, these great English poets made a conscious return to nostalgia and spiritual depth. Each chose a different path, but they are united in a love of moods, impressions, scenes, stories, sights and sounds. In this collection of more than forty poems are some of the finest and most memorable works in the English language.
-
-
Inspirational, beautiful and timeless
- By Elisa on 08-25-16
By: William Blake, and others
-
T. S. Eliot reading his poems and choruses
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: T. S. Eliot
- Length: 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A selection of poems and choruses read by T. S. Eliot himself, recorded in 1959. Poems : A song for Simeon, Ash wednesday, Family reunion Act II, Marina, Mr Eliot's Sunday morning, Murder in the cathedral Part I, O light invisible from the roc, Portrait of a Lady, Preludes, The love song of Alfred Prufo, Triumphal march from Coriolan.
-
-
Entrancing
- By CLAUDIA CHURCH on 07-19-21
By: T. S. Eliot
-
From Song of Myself (A Poem from The Poets' Corner)
- The One-and-Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family
- By: John Lithgow
- Narrated by: Morgan Freeman, Susan Sarandon, Helen Mirren, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Lithgow has compiled an outstanding collection of memorable poems and has gathered his famous friends to read them. The wide variety of carefully selected poetry in this audiobook provides the perfect introduction to reel in those who are new to poetry, and for poetry lovers to experience beloved verses in a fresh, vivid way. Lithgow offers insightful and sometimes poignant commentary to accompany each poem. His essential criterion is that "each poem's light shines more brightly when read aloud".
-
-
A Painless Crash Course in the Great Western Poets
- By Brazilgirl on 10-27-14
By: John Lithgow
-
The Waste Land and Other Poems
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Waste Land and Other Poems by T. S. Eliot, read by Edoardo Ballerini. To mark the centenary of the publication of The Waste Land, by T. S. Eliot, Faber & Faber, in association with the T. S. Eliot Foundation, commissioned this new recording of T. S. Eliot's major poems, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. Ballerini is widely regarded as the brightest star of the audiobook era, one of the finest narrators of literature today.
-
-
A beautiful but complex read.
- By Mariana Cg on 10-15-22
By: T. S. Eliot
-
The Essential T.S. Eliot
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Vijay Seshadri, Daniel Halpern, Willem Dafoe, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
T.S. Eliot was a towering figure in 20th-century literature, a renowned poet, playwright, and critic whose work - including "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915), The Waste Land (1922), Four Quartets (1943), and Murder in the Cathedral (1935) - continues to be among the most-read and influential in the canon of American literature. The Essential T.S. Eliot collects Eliot’s most lasting and important poetry in one career-spanning audiobook, with an introduction from Vijay Seshadri, one of our foremost poets.
-
-
As the Title Says: Essential
- By Tom on 06-10-22
By: T. S. Eliot
-
The Classic Hundred Poems
- By: William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, W.B. Yeats, and others
- Narrated by: Alfred Corn, Rita Dove
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adopting the methodology of the music charts, The Classic Hundred Poems presents the "top 100" poems of all time. The selections are illuminated by the informative notes of editor William Harmon and read by an ensemble of contemporary poets including Alfred Corn and Rita Dove.
-
-
A great selection of poetry
- By James on 07-13-04
By: William Shakespeare, and others
-
150 Most Famous Poems
- Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman and many more
- By: Poetry House
- Narrated by: Samuel Casey
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"150 Most Famous Poems: Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman and Many More" is a timeless anthology that brings together some of the most celebrated and influential poems in the English language.
-
-
Great poems; mediocre narrator
- By Milton Lewis on 04-13-25
By: Poetry House
-
Leaves of Grass
- The Original 1855 Edition
- By: Walt Whitman, American Renaissance Books
- Narrated by: Sam Torode
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Walt Whitman self-published "Leaves of Grass" in 1855, he rocked the literary world and forever changed the course of poetry. In subsequent editions, Whitman continued to revise and expand his poems - but none matched the raw power and immediacy of the first edition. This volume presents the 1855 "Leaves of Grass" in its entirety, unchanged, along with Ralph Waldo Emerson's famous letter to Whitman.
-
-
A brilliant classic
- By M.Biblioswine on 12-02-18
By: Walt Whitman, and others
-
The Best Poems of All Time, Volume 2
- By: Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Natalie Cole, D.B. Sweeney
- Length: 1 hr and 33 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This poetry companion puts favorite poetry and poets from around the world at your fingertips, enabling you to revisit the classics, encounter unfamiliar masterworks and rediscover old favorites.
-
-
Lines of rhymes Victorian times to modern climes
- By Marius on 04-21-04
By: Robert Frost, and others
-
The Great Poets
- John Keats
- By: John Keats
- Narrated by: Samuel West, Michael Sheen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Keats was largely unappreciated during his lifetime and died in Rome at the age of 26. Most of his 150 poems were written in just nine extraordinary months in 1819. This selection contains some of his finest works, including the principal "Odes", "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", "Old Meg", and "Much Have I Travelled".
-
-
Here is the list of poems in this collection
- By C. Cobb on 08-25-08
By: John Keats
-
The Waste Land
- By: T. S. Eliot
- Narrated by: Jon Waters
- Length: 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Waste Land is a seminal work of modernist poetry by T.S. Eliot. Written in 1922, this five-part poem is a portrait of its time, a work that expresses the disillusionment of the modernist era and the desperation that the generation of writers of that time was feeling....
-
-
Relevant
- By kackhurst on 06-03-24
By: T. S. Eliot
-
The Complete Collection of Emily Dickinson's Poems
- By: Emily Dickinson
- Narrated by: Elaine Sepani
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a reclusive poet whose only friendships were carried out in correspondence. Despite writing almost 1800 poems in her life, very few were published until after her death. Here, the poems are presented in chronological order in their original form, unaltered by editorial revision, in one volume. It offers a wide-angle view of Dickinson's poetic development, from the clunky rhyme schemes of her youth, through valentines she wrote in the early 1850s, to the gloomy, hell-obsessed writings of her last years.
-
-
It’s not Emily Dickinson’s Fault
- By Mary Beth Hammond on 04-04-21
By: Emily Dickinson
-
The Great Poets: Alfred Lord Tennyson
- By: Alfred Tennyson
- Narrated by: Michael Pennington
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 200th anniversary of the birth of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892), one of the most popular of poets, is celebrated in 2009. Works such as The Charge of the Light Brigade, Crossing the Bar and Tears, Idle Tears have made him an internationally famous figure, and the second most quoted writer of all time (after Shakespeare).
-
-
One of the most popular Victorian poets
- By ESK on 01-07-13
By: Alfred Tennyson
-
Seamus Heaney I Collected Poems (published 1966-1975)
- Death of a Naturalist; Door into the Dark; Wintering Out; North
- By: Seamus Heaney
- Narrated by: Seamus Heaney
- Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Volume one of the definitive collection of Seamus Heaney reading his own work, recorded in 2009 by RTE. Volume one contains four collections published between 1966 and 1975: Death of a Naturalist, Door into the Dark, Wintering Out and North.
-
-
Like nothing I've ever heard before oh, this is ar
- By DCinNM on 08-23-20
By: Seamus Heaney
-
The Essential Dylan Thomas
- By: Dylan Thomas
- Narrated by: Dylan Thomas, Richard Bebb, Jason Hughes, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This varied, well-chosen selection brings onto one audiobook the best of Dylan Thomas. Here is the legendary recording of "Under Milk Wood", with Richard Burton and Richard Bebb as narrators; but here also are two radio productions he wrote before that great classic, and though interesting in their own right, they show how "Under Milk Wood" grew gradually in his imagination.
-
-
As the swirling of water over pebbles in a stream
- By Lachlan on 11-07-09
By: Dylan Thomas
-
Poems by Walt Whitman
- By: Walt Whitman
- Narrated by: Mark Moseley
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of poems written by the revered American poet, essayist, and journalist. Included are selections from this most famous work, Leaves of Grass, as well as Drum Taps and Songs of Parting.
-
-
Sound
- By Alcina Magalhaes on 10-29-16
By: Walt Whitman
-
The Great Poets: W. B. Yeats
- By: W. B. Yeats
- Narrated by: Jim Norton, Denys Hawthorne, Marcella Riordan, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Naxos AudioBooks continues its new series of Great Poets, represented by collections of their most popular poems in one program. W. B. Yeats was one of the most beloved poets of the 20th century. He left a large legacy of outstanding poems, and the finest are collected here: "Down by the Salley Gardens," "The Lake Isle of Inisfree," "The Secret Rose," and "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven". They are read by a strong cast, led by Olivier award-winner Jim Norton.
-
-
My Favourite Poet
- By Allen Mahan on 07-19-15
By: W. B. Yeats
What listeners say about The Poems of T. S. Eliot
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paul M. Floyd
- 05-27-18
Accessible and enjoyable....
Jeremy Irons narration is so spot on... to the tone, tenor and feel of T.S. Elliot's poetry that I re-listened to many of the poems.
Yes, it takes a bit of life experience to enjoy Elliot and yes, he writes from his time and from his insights and passions, but much of good literature and poetry takes some care and attention to digest..... still, it is so good the soul. Your life is richer for taking the time while driving in the car, in the kitchen, in the garage, out on a walk or sitting in a good chair by the fireplace. I strongly recommend this audible book. I have 200 plus audible books and this one ranks in my top 10.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 05-09-24
Great
Jeremy Irons does a great job reading a great poet. Can’t think of a better voice for the Hollow Men.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MacBeth
- 01-31-22
Indexing has been corrected.
I was hesitant to purchase, given the number of complaints that the reading was one long item with no verbal titles or indexing of the individual poems. All the longer poems are now verbally introduced and all the poems are indexed and titled in the Chapters section.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Red
- 05-23-19
Beautiful performance, Great poems!
I love Eliot's poetry, and I deeply enjoyed hearing it read by such skilled voices! A fantastic recording!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mary K Foster
- 07-03-18
DEVASTATINGLY BEAUTIFUL
Both TS Eliot and Jeremy Irons are great immortal favorites of mine, and the pairing of their talents is unparalleled. Refracted through the dazzling, prismatic performance of Irons, Eliot's abstract modernist verses shine, and filled with the light of Eliot's verses, Irons is entirely illuminated, vivid and achingly lovely as a stained glass window. I cannot recommend this collection enough to those who are passionate about great poetry and enthralled by wondrous, rolling performances of marvelous verses.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marc
- 03-02-22
T.S. Eliot
This is my favorite poem by T.S. Eliot and Jeremy Irons does an amazing job narrating it. Narration is obviously important and I've added Irons to my list of favorites, topped by Scott Brick.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- David Kellogg
- 01-04-20
Worth it for The Waste Land's two voices
Obviously Eliot was a brilliant poet. This collection, which is pretty much the complete TSE poetry, includes a fantastic and illuminating reading of "The Waste Land" with make and female voices. It does more for that poem than many a critical article. The other poems area also very well read, with sometimes surprising but illuminating choices of emphasis.
Weaknesses: no table of contents! How difficult would this be? Audible is terrible about this kind of thing, especially with poems.
Another weakness: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Okay, I guess for completeness they have to include it, but it is just a waste of time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dolph Pun
- 12-13-18
No poem titles?
If they had included the poem title in the "chapters", It would have bee n a 5 star.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lauren
- 10-03-19
Jeremy Irons Voice = EVERYTHING
I listen for 15 to 20 minutes every night for the content and the fact Jeremy Irons' voice is the only soothing sound that can put me to sleep. Love it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Prof. Thomas Pfau
- 11-26-24
Enthralling & Profound
Jeremy Irons obviously has a mesmerizing voice, but in this recording he also puts it to constantly intelligently use. his grasp of the cadence of speech, of its oblique but insistent rhythm, and his unparalleled ability to give proper weight to the individual word and phrase are almost unparalleled.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!