The Oxford Book of English Verse

TREASURE HOUSE: FRESH: GENEROUS: WIDE-RANGING: MOVING: REWARDING: DELIGHTFUL: NEW First Edition O.U.P. hardcover (Orig. 1999) w/ full no. line showing First Printing: IMMACULATE smooth-cut text-block exterior, NEW handsomely-designed mylar-protected jacket w/ sharp NEW edges & corners, NEW library-durability-treated navy-blue linen-over-boards cover w/ titles gilt-stamped inside gilt rules on spine, IMPECCABLE distinctively manuscript-page illustrated light-card-stock end-papers, NEW sewn binding w/ tightly bound signatures-sheets, PRISTINE interior printed w/ handsome clarity on EXCELLENT unblemished archival paper * 5.72" x 8.75" x 1.62", 0.96 kg, lii+698 (750) pp * ABOUT THE BOOK: Here is a treasure house of over seven centuries of English poetry, chosen and introduced by Christopher Ricks, whom Auden described as "exactly the kind of critic every poet dreams of finding." "The Oxford Book of English Verse", created in 1900 by Arthur Quiller Couch & selected anew in 1972 by Helen Gardner, has established itself as the foremost anthology of English poetry: ample in span, liberal in the kinds of poetry presented. This completely fresh selection brings in new poems & poets from all ages, & extends the range by another half century, to include many 20th century figures not featured before, among them Philip Larkin, Samuel Beckett, Thom Gunn & Elaine Feinstein right up to Ted Hughes & Seamus Heaney. Here, as before, are lyric (beginning w/ medieval song), satire, hymn, ode, sonnet, elegy, ballad, but also kinds of poetry not previously admitted: the riches of dramatic verse by Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson, Webster; great works of translation that are themselves true English poetry, such as Chapman's Homer (bringing in its happy wake Keats's "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer"), Dryden's Juvenal, and many others; well loved nursery rhymes, limericks, even clerihews. English poetry from all parts of the British Isles is firmly represented. Henryson & MacDiarmid, for example, now join Dunbar & Burns from Scotland; James Henry, Austin Clarke, & J.M. Synge now join Allingham & Yeats from Ireland; R.S. Thomas joins Dylan Thomas from Wales & Edward Taylor & Anne Bradstreet, writing in America before its independence in the 1770s, are given a rightful & rewarding place. Some of the greatest long poems are here in their entirety Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey", Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", and Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market" alongside some of the shortest, haikus, squibs, & epigrams. Generous & wide ranging, mixing familiar w/ fresh delights, this is an anthology to move & delight all who find themselves loving English verse. * ABOUT THE EDITOR: The renowned writer, critic & scholar, Christopher Ricks is Professor of English at Boston University. His many books include "The Force of Poetry" & "Beckett's Dying Words" (both OUP, 1995). * SHIPPING: MNEMOSYNE carefully wraps, labels & custom-packages this fine book for FREE domestic shipment via USPS MEDIA MAIL or USPS PRIORITY MAIL for a nominal additional fee & via efficient USPS FIRST CLASS MAIL to all international shipments at our posted rates.…