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 31
... keep I be . ' Thus John gate Robin Hood out of prison , Certain withouten layn , When his men saw him whole and sound , 305 For sooth they were full fain . 310 They filled in wine , and made them glad , Under the leaves small , And ate ...
... keep I be . ' Thus John gate Robin Hood out of prison , Certain withouten layn , When his men saw him whole and sound , 305 For sooth they were full fain . 310 They filled in wine , and made them glad , Under the leaves small , And ate ...
Page 220
... keep the bridge with me ? ' Then out spake Spurius Lartius ; A Ramnian proud was he : ' Lo , I will stand at thy right hand , And keep the bridge with thee . ' And out spake strong Herminius ; Of Titian blood was he : ' I will abide on ...
... keep the bridge with me ? ' Then out spake Spurius Lartius ; A Ramnian proud was he : ' Lo , I will stand at thy right hand , And keep the bridge with thee . ' And out spake strong Herminius ; Of Titian blood was he : ' I will abide on ...
Page 370
... keep her afloat , no vessel now but a sieve— So jarred and scarred , the rivets starting , no inch of her safe From the guns of the foe that wrapped her in a cyclone of shrieking steel ! Southward the sheltering havens showed clear ...
... keep her afloat , no vessel now but a sieve— So jarred and scarred , the rivets starting , no inch of her safe From the guns of the foe that wrapped her in a cyclone of shrieking steel ! Southward the sheltering havens showed clear ...
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