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 122
... hear the merry din . ' He holds him with his skinny hand , " There was a ship , ' quoth he . The Wedding - Guest is spellbound by the eye of the old seafaring man , and constrained to hear his tale . The Mariner tells how the ship ...
... hear the merry din . ' He holds him with his skinny hand , " There was a ship , ' quoth he . The Wedding - Guest is spellbound by the eye of the old seafaring man , and constrained to hear his tale . The Mariner tells how the ship ...
Page 146
... hear The foot of horse , the voice of man ; The streams with softest sound are flowing , The grass you almost hear it growing , You hear it now , if e'er you can . 280 285 The owlets through the long blue night Are shouting to 146 ...
... hear The foot of horse , the voice of man ; The streams with softest sound are flowing , The grass you almost hear it growing , You hear it now , if e'er you can . 280 285 The owlets through the long blue night Are shouting to 146 ...
Page 156
... hear , ' said one , ' the breakers roar ? For methinks we should be near the shore . ' ' Now where we are I cannot tell , But I wish I could hear the Inchcape Bell . ' 55 They hear no sound , the swell is strong ; Though the wind hath ...
... hear , ' said one , ' the breakers roar ? For methinks we should be near the shore . ' ' Now where we are I cannot tell , But I wish I could hear the Inchcape Bell . ' 55 They hear no sound , the swell is strong ; Though the wind hath ...
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