Six Centuries of Verse

Six Centuries of Verse is a documentary series about English poetry and its development over the last half millennia. The series originally aired on public television in the early 1990s. It is hosted by the award-winning Sir John Gielgud and covers everything from Chaucer to Ted Hughes. While world famous authors such as Shakespeare and Milton are covered, the series also goes off the beaten paths of literature and brings you hidden gems of poetry that are not as well-known. It features celebrity guest readers such as Anthony Hopkins, Ian Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft, Lee Remick, and many others. For visual effect, the poems are read from locations of literary merit, such as Emily Dickenson's bedroom. There are sixteen 25-minute long episodes for a total runtime of nearly seven hours. Anyone interested in poetry or the history of the English language will find something to like about Six Centuries of Verse.