The Oxford Book of Narrative VerseIona Opie, Iona Archibald Opie, Peter Opie Succinctly called "a book of tales of various kinds, romantic, humorous, ghostly, and gory, written at any time over the past six hundred years" by the compilers, Iona Opie and the late Peter Opie, this universally-appealing collection of 59 poems presents a comprehensive literary tradition of narrative verse from Chaucer to Auden. The anthology includes Pope's "The Rape of the Lock," Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott," Poe's "The Raven," and Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark," along with such twentieth-century narrative classics as G.K. Chesterton's "Lepanto," Robert Frost's "The Code," Marriott Edgar's "The Lion and Albert," and W.H. Auden's "The Ballad of Barnaby." Abridgements and extracts from book-length narratives such as Spenser's The Faerie Queen and Milton's Paradise Lost add to the richness and variety of the collection. The Opies also provide extensive notes which trace the source of the poet's inspiration, whether fact or fiction, and demonstrate how the creative process has transformed that source into a work of art. |
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Page 36
... fear me not , I am your bairn's father . ' They'll turn me to a bear sae grim , And then a lion bold ; But hold me fast , and fear me not , As ye shall love your child . ' Again they'll turn me in your arms To a red het gaud of airn ...
... fear me not , I am your bairn's father . ' They'll turn me to a bear sae grim , And then a lion bold ; But hold me fast , and fear me not , As ye shall love your child . ' Again they'll turn me in your arms To a red het gaud of airn ...
Page 47
... Fear to his first amazement , staring wide With stony eyes , and heartless hollow hue , Astonished stood , as one that had espied Infernal furies , with their chains untied . Him yet again , and yet again bespake 30 35 40 The gentle ...
... Fear to his first amazement , staring wide With stony eyes , and heartless hollow hue , Astonished stood , as one that had espied Infernal furies , with their chains untied . Him yet again , and yet again bespake 30 35 40 The gentle ...
Page 128
... fear thee and thy glittering eye , And thy skinny hand , so brown .'- ' Fear not , fear not , thou Wedding - Guest ! 230 This body dropt not down . Alone , alone , all , all alone , Alone on a wide wide sea ! And never a saint took pity ...
... fear thee and thy glittering eye , And thy skinny hand , so brown .'- ' Fear not , fear not , thou Wedding - Guest ! 230 This body dropt not down . Alone , alone , all , all alone , Alone on a wide wide sea ! And never a saint took pity ...
Contents
GEOFFREY CHAUCER c 13431400 | 1 |
ANONYMOUS c 1475 | 22 |
ROBERT HENRYSON ?14301506 | 37 |
Copyright | |
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anon arms ballad bell Bellman Betty blood blow Camelot Chanticleer cried cursed Cymon dark dead dear death Donostia door dread dream eyes face fair father fear fell fight goblin grace grey hair hand hast hath head hear heard heart Heaven horse hounds Inchcape Rock John of Austria Johnny King Arthur King Estmere knew Lady of Shalott land Laura lips Little John living looked Lord loud merry moon moonlight morning Nabara never night o'er Oxus pain poem poor pray quoth ride Robin Robin Hood rose round Rustum sails seemed ship Sir Bedivere slain smile Snark Sohrab soul spake spoke stood story sweet sword tale Tam Lin tell thee thing thou thought tide town turned Twas voice W. H. Auden wind word young