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 19
... gold y - coinèd round Well nigh an eightė bushels , as them thought . No longer thenne after Death they sought , But ... gold be carried from this place Home to mine house , or ellės unto yours- 8 105 I10 115 120 125 For well ye woot ...
... gold y - coinèd round Well nigh an eightė bushels , as them thought . No longer thenne after Death they sought , But ... gold be carried from this place Home to mine house , or ellės unto yours- 8 105 I10 115 120 125 For well ye woot ...
Page 20
... gold , and that full great plenty , That shall departed been among us three . But natheless , if I can shape it so That it departed were among us two , Had I not done a friendės turn to thee ? ' 150 155 That other answered , ' I noot ...
... gold , and that full great plenty , That shall departed been among us three . But natheless , if I can shape it so That it departed were among us two , Had I not done a friendės turn to thee ? ' 150 155 That other answered , ' I noot ...
Page 107
... gold that is under heaven , I dare not nigh him nigh . ' Then King Estmere pulled forth his harp , And played a pretty thing : The lady upstart from the board , And would have gone from the king . ' Stay thy harp , thou proud harper ...
... gold that is under heaven , I dare not nigh him nigh . ' Then King Estmere pulled forth his harp , And played a pretty thing : The lady upstart from the board , And would have gone from the king . ' Stay thy harp , thou proud harper ...
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