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While novels are a great source of learning, plays and poems shouldn’t be neglected if
you want to be well-rounded in your knowledge of literature. These free selections
can be a great place to start.
1. Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson: Get a good background in the works of a great American
poet though this free collection.
2. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: With this complete collection of works, you’ll
be able to pick and choose the plays and poems you find most interesting.
3. The Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley: Learn more about the works of this Romantic
poet through this large collection of his works.
4. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw: While many people may have seen the film adaptation
of this play in My Fair Lady, the written version is just as full of wit and charm.
5. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri: Explore the depths of hell through this highly
important work of Italian literature.
6. Paradise Lost by John Milton: This epic poem follows the fall of Lucifer and his subsequent
seduction into sin of the human race.
7. The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe: One of the most well-known poems ever written, this work by
Poe is essential to any reading list.
8. Hedda Gabler by Heinrich Ibsen: In this play, a bored housewife dabbles in the lives of others
with disastrous results.
9. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde: With plot twists and turns about mistaken
identities, love triangles and romantic affairs this play is an entertaining way to spend an
afternoon.
Hopefully, you now have plenty to read without exploding your pocketbook.