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 117
... night , Tam had got planted unco right , Fast by an ingle , bleezing finely , Wi ' reaming swats , that drank divinely ; And at his elbow , Souter Johnnie , His ancient , trusty , drouthy cronie : Tam lo'ed him like a very brither ...
... night , Tam had got planted unco right , Fast by an ingle , bleezing finely , Wi ' reaming swats , that drank divinely ; And at his elbow , Souter Johnnie , His ancient , trusty , drouthy cronie : Tam lo'ed him like a very brither ...
Page 182
... night a peerless bride , While legioned fairies paced the coverlet , And pale enchantment held her sleepy - eyed . Never on such a night have lovers met , Since Merlin paid his Demon all the monstrous debt . ' It shall be as thou ...
... night a peerless bride , While legioned fairies paced the coverlet , And pale enchantment held her sleepy - eyed . Never on such a night have lovers met , Since Merlin paid his Demon all the monstrous debt . ' It shall be as thou ...
Page 322
... night When unco things betide , The skilly captain , the Cameron , Went down to that waterside . Canny and soft the captain went ; And a man of the woody land , 240 With the shaven head and the painted face , Went down at his right hand ...
... night When unco things betide , The skilly captain , the Cameron , Went down to that waterside . Canny and soft the captain went ; And a man of the woody land , 240 With the shaven head and the painted face , Went down at his right hand ...
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