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The PennSound Anthology of Restoration and 18th-Century Verse

edited and performed by John Richetti


This special project is part of PennSound Classics.

  1. John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, "The Imperfect Enjoyment" (4:26): MP3
  2. John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, "The Disabled Debauchee" (2:50): MP3
  3. John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, "Song" (0:52): MP3

  4. Aphra Behn, "The Disappointment" (6:36): MP3

  5. Sarah Fyge Egerton, "To One who said I must not Love" (1703) (2:45): MP3

  6. Anne Finch, "A Nocturnal Reverie"  (1713) (3:06): MP3

  7. Daniel Defoe, "The True Born Englishman" (1700), Part I (23:08): MP3

  8. George Berkeley, "Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America" (1726) (1:35): MP3

  9. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, "The Lover: A Ballad" (1747) (3:06): MP3

  10. Thomas Parnell, "An Elegy, To an Old Beauty" (1722) (4:00): MP3

  11. John Gay, from "Trivia: Or The Art of Walking the Streets of London," Book II (1713) (12:22): MP3

  12. Samuel Johnson, "The Vanity of Human Wishes" (1749) (21:47): MP3
  13. Samuel Johnson, "On the Death of Dr. Robert Levet"  (1782) (1:52): MP3
  14. Samuel Johnson, "To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age" (1:21): MP3

  15. Thomas Gray, "Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard" (1751) (7:30): MP3
  16. Thomas Gray, "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College"  (1753) (4:27): MP3
  17. Thomas Gray, "The Progress of Poesy. A Pindaric Ode." (1768) (6:05): MP3

  18. Christopher Smart, "A Song to David" (1763) (21:27): MP3

  19. William Collins, "Ode to Evening" (1747) (2:47): MP3

  20. Oliver Goldsmith, "The Deserted Village" (1770) (25:43): MP3

  21. William Cowper, "The Castaway" (1799) (3:03): MP3
  22. William Cowper, "The Task" (1785) (46:31): MP3



For more, listen to John Richetti readings the poems of Pope, Swift, and Dryden.

On PennSound Daily

These recordings are being made available for noncommercial and educational use. Those seeking commercial use should be in touch with John Richetti by writing pennsound [at] writing [dot] upenn [dot] edu. © 2009 These recordings are used with permission of John Richetti. Distributed by PennSound.