Product Description

The era between the accession of Henry VIII and the crisis of the English republic in 1659 formed one of the most fertile epochs in world literature. This anthology offers a broad selection of its poetry, and includes a wide range of works by the great poets of the age – notably Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Sepnser, John Donne, William Shakespeare and John Milton. Poems by less well-known writers also feature prominently – among them significant female poets such as Lady Mary Wroth and Katherine Philips. Compelling and exhilarating, this landmark collection illuminates a time of astonishing innovation, imagination and diversity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33670 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 976 pages

About the Author
David Norbrook is Fellow and Tutor in English at Magdalen College, Oxford and Lecturer in English at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Poetry and Politics in the English Renaissance (Routledge, 1984). H. R. Woudhuysen is a lecturer in the Department of English at University College London. He has edited Samuel Johnson on Shakespeare for the New Penguin Shakespeare Library.

Customer Reviews

Remarkable Anthology
I've already gradauted with an English degree and am no longer even studying in the field.

So - somewhat strangely - I bought this book of verse to read for pleasure. Even after three years of a degree, whilst I'd covered a relatively wide range of material from the period, this book leaves no stone unturned in selecting verses from the Renaissance.

From major poets such as Shakespeare, Spenser, Marvell, Herbert and Donne etc to slightly minor figures such as Southwell, Campion, Denham and even Elizabeth I, the entire spectrum is covered. What is great about this volume is that poems are arranged by topic/theme. So all the ones about love are stuck together, religion too and 'topographical verse' etc. It makes the anthology effortless and easy to dip into, with at least a vague idea of what you're looking at; at the same time, if one were studying a certain theme or genre, then this arrangement would be even more invaluable.

Considering that I spent a similar amount on the Arden collection on Shakespeare's sonnets, to get an anthology of verse from this golden age which is so thorough and well edited for just over a tenner is remarkable. This is one book which, even if left in the cupboard for a couple of years, will continue to deliver utility and enjoyment for decades to come.