As the world marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, why not listen to members of the Faculty of English reading his complete poetry? Shakespeare’s plays are performed every day throughout the world. His poems are read everywhere too; but usually in silence.

In 2014, to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, we brought Shakespeare’s non-dramatic verse to audible life in a day of readings of all of his poems and songs, performed in the Drama Studio of the Faculty of English, and broadcast live online. His verse spans every mood and shade of love in the Sonnets, comedy in Venus and Adonis, tragedy in Lucrece, and the joyous, poignant, lyrical beauty of the songs. You can listen to the recordings on our web site.