• Take Arms Against a Sea of Troubles

  • The Power of a Reader's Mind over a Universe of Death
  • By: Harold Bloom
  • Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
  • Length: 20 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (20 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Take Arms Against a Sea of Troubles  By  cover art

Take Arms Against a Sea of Troubles

By: Harold Bloom
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.79

Buy for $25.79

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The last book written by the most famous literary critic of his generation, on the sustaining power of poetry.   

This dazzling celebration of the power of poetry to sublimate death - completed weeks before Harold Bloom died - shows how literature renews life amid what Milton called a universe of death. Bloom reads as a way of taking arms against the sea of life's troubles, taking listeners on a grand tour of the poetic voices that have haunted him through a lifetime of reading. High literature, he writes, is a saving lie against time, loss of individuality, premature death. In passages of breathtaking intimacy, we see him awake late at night, reciting lines from Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Montaigne, Blake, Wordsworth, Hart Crane, Jay Wright, and many others. He feels himself edged by nothingness, uncomprehending, but still sustained by reading. Generous and clear-eyed, this is among Harold Bloom's most ambitious and most moving books.

©2020 Harold Bloom (P)2020 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Take Arms Against a Sea of Troubles

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Culmination of Bloom’s Wisdom

An excellent selection interwoven with insightful and wise commentary. Easy to navigate with the chapter headings. Narration is well done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful