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 53
... hand : his hand did quake , And tremble like a leaf of aspen green , And troubled blood through his pale face was seen To come , and go with tidings from the heart , 285 As it a running messenger had been . At last resolved to work his ...
... hand : his hand did quake , And tremble like a leaf of aspen green , And troubled blood through his pale face was seen To come , and go with tidings from the heart , 285 As it a running messenger had been . At last resolved to work his ...
Page 141
... hand . And Betty o'er and o'er has told The boy , who is her best delight , Both what to follow , what to shun , What do , and what to leave undone , How turn to left , and how to right . And Betty's most especial charge , Was , Johnny ...
... hand . And Betty o'er and o'er has told The boy , who is her best delight , Both what to follow , what to shun , What do , and what to leave undone , How turn to left , and how to right . And Betty's most especial charge , Was , Johnny ...
Page 261
... hand to hand . Speak not to me of truce , and pledge , and wine ! Remember all thy valour : try thy feints And cunning : all the pity I had is gone : Because thou hast shamed me before both the hosts With thy light skipping tricks , and ...
... hand to hand . Speak not to me of truce , and pledge , and wine ! Remember all thy valour : try thy feints And cunning : all the pity I had is gone : Because thou hast shamed me before both the hosts With thy light skipping tricks , and ...
Contents
GEOFFREY CHAUCER c 13431400 | 1 |
ANONYMOUS c 1475 | 22 |
ROBERT HENRYSON ?14301506 | 37 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
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