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 132
... sounds rose slowly through their mouths , And from their bodies passed . Around , around , flew each sweet sound , Then darted to the Sun ; Now mixed , now one by one . 355 Slowly the sounds came back again , Sometimes a - dropping from ...
... sounds rose slowly through their mouths , And from their bodies passed . Around , around , flew each sweet sound , Then darted to the Sun ; Now mixed , now one by one . 355 Slowly the sounds came back again , Sometimes a - dropping from ...
Page 137
... sound was heard . 545 The ship suddenly sinketh . Under the water it rumbled on , Still louder and more dread : It reached the ship , it split the bay ; The ship went down like lead . The ancient Mariner is saved in the Pilot's Stunned ...
... sound was heard . 545 The ship suddenly sinketh . Under the water it rumbled on , Still louder and more dread : It reached the ship , it split the bay ; The ship went down like lead . The ancient Mariner is saved in the Pilot's Stunned ...
Page 157
... sound could the Rover hear , A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell , The Devil below was ringing his knell . WILLIAM ROBERT SPENCER 1769-1834 Beth GĂȘlert ; or , The Grave of the Greyhound THE spearmen heard the bugle sound , And cheerly ...
... sound could the Rover hear , A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell , The Devil below was ringing his knell . WILLIAM ROBERT SPENCER 1769-1834 Beth GĂȘlert ; or , The Grave of the Greyhound THE spearmen heard the bugle sound , And cheerly ...
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