Six Centuries of Great Poetry: A Stunning Collection of Classic British Poems from Chaucer to Yeats

By Albert Warren Robert Penn and Erskine

Book Overview

Uniquely comprehensive...highly readable...the definitive collection of classic lyric poetry. From Shakespeare's wise music to Marvell's profundity and wit...from the Romantics' passionate view of man and woman and nature to twentieth-centur poets' confused searching, this outstanding one-volume collection brings us the profound, soul-nourishing experience of great poetry. Brilliantly selected and arranged by renowned literary masters Robert Penn Warren and Albert Erskine, the poems here reflect the genius of six centuries of poets. It is the finest anthology of lyric poetry ever published. "Truth" by Geoffrey Chaucer "Ophelia's Song" by William Shakespeare "The Canonization" by John Donne "To Heaven" by Ben Jonson "Ode on Solitude" by Alexander Pope "The Tyger" by William Blake "The Solitary Reaper" by William Wordsworth "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats "God's Grandeur" by Gerard Manley Hopkins "Sailing to Byzantium" by William Butler Yeats and more than ninety additional classic poems.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440213835
• ISBN13: 9780440213833
• Release Date: October 1992
• Publisher: Dell
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Half a lifetime of learning pleasure

I first bought this at a school book fair while still in junior high. Half a lifetime later it is still a treasure to me, albeit a well-worn treasure. Time for a new copy. I only wish for Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV: Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God, and Hopkins' Hurrahing in Harvest ... "Up above, what wind-walks! what lovely behaviour/Of silk-sack clouds! has wilder, wilful-wavier/Meal-drift moulded ever and melted across skies? ..." This is missing, but there is still enough (and but the beholder wanting). I wish, also, there were more high school English teachers who are excited, passionate about the great poets, but they've become mired in the cult of relevancy. Such a loss. Such a loss.

A stromng introduction to "classic" poetry

This book should be in the collection of every person that desires to write poetry. Study it from cover-to-cover before beginning your own writing. I especially like the way it is arranged "historically" - chronologically - so you can more easily understand the changes that occurred during the English history of poetry.

Great Poetry at a Great Price

This is an excellent collection of British poetry, and all for the price of a paperback novel. A relatively large selection of poets are represented, focusing mostly on the Elizabethan poets up to the nineteenth century, wisely leaving most of the modern stuff out. Not only are the classic poets like Shakespeare, Herrick, Milton, and Wordsworth present, but also some of the more often overlooked poets such as Emily Bronte, Henry King, and Sir Walter Raleigh. If you are a lover of poetry you probably already own a larger collection of poetry and don't need a relatively small volume like this one. If, however, you are only just discovering the beauty of poetry, this is a worthwhile purchase. "Immortal Poems of the English Language" is also excellent for new poetry lovers. I just wish more people loved this beautiful and uniquely human form of emotional expression.

A Bargain

You'll find all of these poems elsewhere... in thick, expensive volumes. You know who to expect here, and, depending on your knowledge of poetry, might be, as I was, pleasantly surprised and introduced to unfamiliar poets. Buy this book because you can. Read it because the poems are great.One stop shopping for all your British poetry needs? Not quite. While that fellow Anonymous gets a few selections, as does his various collegagues and peers, consider this a sampler. A few selections from everyone. Yes, yes.. a 589 page sampler. That's the beauty of it.I'm a Hopkins fans, and was pleased to see his best pieces. I expected those. New to me were Marston, Oldys, Googe, and a myriad of others. Now I am intrigued to read more of their work.Portable, and easy to stuff in a coat or briefcase, you'll like the friendly size of the book. The poets are indexed by last name, but organized by chronology in the text itself. The typography is readable (not that teeny tiny stuff some publishers think is good for anthologies).What more could you want?I fully recommend this book.Anthony Trendl

An excellent anthology

If you want a good collection of "famous" English poetry, but don't want to spring for the pricey "New Oxford Book of English Verse," this is a very good choice. It's acceptably thick (589 pages), and covers over 120 poets. The editors allot 10-30 pages each to the big names, so you get a good overview of their work. The book has a good-sized, attractive typeface, and is well-indexed.Drawbacks are minor, but include its age. It was published in 1955, and includes almost no 20th century poets, women, or minorities. There's no biographical or critical data, just the poems themselves. But as a resource for classics, this is a great collection, and a real bargain.