The Oxford Book of English Verse by Christopher Ricks (English) Hardcover Book

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The Oxford Book of English Verse

by Christopher Ricks

Drawn from over seven centuries of English poetry, this new edition selects poems and poets from all ages, extending the range from the last edition by a further 50 years. Amongst the poets newly included are Philip Larkin, Samuel Beckett, Elaine Feinstein and Ted Hughes.

FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New

Publisher Description

Here is a treasure-house of over seven centuries of English poetry, chosen and introduced by Christopher Ricks, whom Auden described as 'exactly the kind of critic every poet dreams of finding'. The Oxford Book of English Verse, created in 1900 by Arthur Quiller-Couch and selected anew in 1972 by Helen Gardner, has established itself as the foremost anthology of English poetry: ample in span, liberal in the kinds of poetry presented. This completely fresh selectionbrings in new poems and poets from all ages, and extends the range by another half-century, to include many twentieth-century figures not featured before -- among them Philip Larkin and Samuel Beckett,Thom Gunn and Elaine Feinstein -- right up to Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney. Here, as before, are lyric (beginning with medieval song), satire, hymn, ode, sonnet, elegy, ballad . . . but also kinds of poetry not previously admitted: the riches of dramatic verse by Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson, Webster; great works of translation that are themselves true English poetry, such as Chapman's Homer (bringing in its happy wake Keats's 'On First Looking into Chapman'sHomer'), Dryden's Juvenal, and many others; well-loved nursery rhymes, limericks, even clerihews. English poetry from all parts of the British Isles is firmly represented -- Henryson and MacDiarmid, forexample, now join Dunbar and Burns from Scotland; James Henry, Austin Clarke, and J. M. Synge now join Allingham and Yeats from Ireland; R. S. Thomas joins Dylan Thomas from Wales -- and Edward Taylor and Anne Bradstreet, writing in America before its independence in the 1770s, are given a rightful and rewarding place. Some of the greatest long poems are here in their entirety -- Wordsworth's 'Tintern Abbey', Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', and Christina Rossetti's 'Goblin Market' --alongside some of the shortest, haikus, squibs, and epigrams. Generous and wide-ranging, mixing familiar with fresh delights, this is an anthology to move and delight allwho find themselves loving English verse.

Notes

New edition of this anthology which covers more than seven centuries of English verse and which has been extended to include the last 50 years. Other new features include more verses from Shakespeare and his contemporaries as well as new translations and plenty more works by women writers.

Author Biography

One of the best-known living literary critics.The W. H. Auden quotation (see Full Description) is from a review of Ricks's Longman edition of Tennyson. He writes: 'Reading Professor Ricks's comments and observations convinces me that he is exactly the kind of critic every poet dreams of finding. No poet wants either uncritical admirers or decoders who discover in his poems secret symbols and meanings which never entered his mind. But every poet thinks of himself as a craftsman, a maker of verbal objects: what he hopes for is that criticswill notice the technical means by which he secures his effects. Alas, so few critics do. Professor Ricks is a happy exception.'

Table of Contents

IntroductionPOEMSIndex of AuthorsIndex of Foreign Authors in Translation or ImitationIndex of Titles and First Lines

Review

`handsome version...'Sally Emerson, Independent on Sunday`reveals a whole nations's literature indelibly saturated with Christianity.'Christopher Idle, New Directions, Nov. 2000.`Here is a book for believers to prize, unbelivers to ponder, and budding writers of hymns and songs to study compulsorily for a year, learning as much as they can by heart.'Christopher Idle, New Directions, Nov. 2000.`Ricks must be one of the few people on the planet both famous enough to be asked to remake this book and widely enough read to do it well ... such anthologies stand or fall on findings from minor authors, and Ricks offers a bounty of obscure poems ... Long after reviewers stop debating how Ricks chose each item, readers will keep returning to these pages to find yet another good poem they've not before seen.'Publishers Weekly, 25/10/99dramatic verse appears in this new edition in all its majestic sonority, including some of the greatest English poetry ever written.`It's simply the best anthology of English poetry we have, from our best editor and critic.'David Sexton, Evening Standard 6/12/99`In his many books ... he has shown a grasp of English poetry scarcely matched by anyone since his great mentor William Empson ... this is a book that deserves to gather plaudits, not dust. Whatever the geographical quibbles over his title, Ricks has restored at least some of its glory to that ragged entity, the canon.'David Wheatley, Irish Times, 16/10/99`Christopher Ricks's introduction and preface are worth the investment. He argues modestly and well for his choices and also for the criteria he set himself ... This is just the kind of resolutely unfashionable, impolitic, ambitious, fusty and intelligent anthology we need.'Lavinia Greelaw, New Statesman and Society 29/11/99`it is hard to fault this massive work ... there is such wealth here ... vast expanse of brilliance in this new age of growing poetic appreciation.'Beverly Davies, The Lady 30/11/99`The selection represents a solid and dependable view of the past.'Michael Glover The Independent 4/12/99`Christopher Ricks, in his new version of the Oxford book, tends to steer a shrewd, eclectic course half-way between those taken by his two precursors ... Ricks's book is altogether more reader-friendly than either of its two forerunners.'Ian Hamilton, The Sunday Telegraph 3/10/99`Christopher Ricks ... has produced a thoroughly revised and updated version of one of the most famous, if more staid, Oxford anthologies ... Ricks has done very well. He has made perfect selections ... richly entertaining, with enough surprises among the familiar moments to keep me happy. If you want, or want to give, one single big anthology of English verse, then this is the obvious one to go for.'Andrew Marr, The Observer 10/10/99`It comes with an air of having been there in the first place and of planning to be around when everything else stops ... Ricks has opened this anthology to hymns and nursery rhymes, as well as extracts from dramatic poetry.'Sean O'Brien, Guardian 2/10/99`The most exacting and lucid close-reader of poetry, his critical virtuosity has allowed him to escape the narrow historical specialisms of other professors ... He has done the job beautifully.'John Mullan, Evening Standard and Yorkshire Post 27/9/99`The inclusion of a much higher number of women poets than in previous editions and such undervalued genres as limericks and nursery rhymes makes for a brave and comprehensive selection.'Ned Danny, Daily Mail 8/10/99`updated for the millennium, this anthology has been expanded to include a wider, more eclectic selection of earlier verse'The Scotsman, 2/10/99`marvellous new Oxford Book of Poetry'David Sexton, Sunday Telegraph 10/10/99`a marvellous celebration of the English language, perhaps this country's greatest contribution to civilisation ... His selection brings in new poems and poets from all ages and extends the range by another 50 years to include many 20th century figures not featured before.'Richard Foster, Yorkshire Evening Press, 19/10/99`Not only does Ricks deploy the kind of iridescent critical intelligence that lights up unexpected corners: many of the great central texts are there ... It seems to me that Ricks has got it just right.'Keith Mitchell, The Tablet, 19/2/00`combining range with wit and some splendid surprises'Jasper Griffin, Spectator, 27/11/99`A completely new millennium edition of this foremost anthology featuring over 850 poems drawn from seven and a half centuries of English verse ... delightful collection.'Northern Echo (Darlington) 30/11/99`The first and best of the verse anthologies is 'The Oxford Book of English Verse.' It made its first appearance in 1900 ... Now Christopher Ricks, a distinguished critic, has updated the book once more and made it better ... Not all of the verse is serious. There is comic charm in many ... Comic or serious, this collection is the best of the best.'Roger Harris, Newark Star Ledger

Promotional

Over 820 wonderful poems, long and short, covering seven and a half centuries of English verse from all parts of the British Isles.

Kirkus UK Review

The Rolls Royce of English poetry anthologies, updated through a new selection by one of the most respected English Literature critics, this book has the twin virtues of authority and longevity - years after purchase a reader could be expected to make new discoveries here. Although the print is rather small for protracted reading, this is a minor cavil. From Gower to Heaney, the glorious trajectory of English verse is laid before us in a range of opportune landfalls for the poetic voyager unafraid of literary seriousness. (Kirkus UK)

Long Description

Here is a treasure-house of over seven centuries of English poetry, chosen and introduced by Christopher Ricks, whom Auden described as 'exactly the kind of critic every poet dreams of finding'. The Oxford Book of English Verse, created in 1900 by Arthur Quiller-Couch and selected anew in 1972 by Helen Gardner, has established itself as the foremost anthology of English poetry: ample in span, liberal in the kinds of poetry presented. This completely fresh selection
brings in new poems and poets from all ages, and extends the range by another half-century, to include many twentieth-century figures not featured before -- among them Philip Larkin and Samuel Beckett, Thom Gunn and Elaine Feinstein -- right up to Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney.
Here, as before, are lyric (beginning with medieval song), satire, hymn, ode, sonnet, elegy, ballad . . . but also kinds of poetry not previously admitted: the riches of dramatic verse by Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson, Webster; great works of translation that are themselves true English poetry, such as Chapman's Homer (bringing in its happy wake Keats's 'On First Looking into Chapman's Homer'), Dryden's Juvenal, and many others; well-loved nursery rhymes, limericks, even clerihews. English
poetry from all parts of the British Isles is firmly represented -- Henryson and MacDiarmid, for example, now join Dunbar and Burns from Scotland; James Henry, Austin Clarke, and J. M. Synge now join Allingham and Yeats from Ireland; R. S. Thomas joins Dylan Thomas from Wales -- and Edward Taylor and
Anne Bradstreet, writing in America before its independence in the 1770s, are given a rightful and rewarding place. Some of the greatest long poems are here in their entirety -- Wordsworth's 'Tintern Abbey', Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', and Christina Rossetti's 'Goblin Market' -- alongside some of the shortest, haikus, squibs, and epigrams. Generous and wide-ranging, mixing familiar with fresh delights, this is an anthology to move and delight all who
find themselves loving English verse.

Review Text

`handsome version...'
Sally Emerson, Independent on Sunday
`reveals a whole nations's literature indelibly saturated with Christianity.'
Christopher Idle, New Directions, Nov. 2000.
`Here is a book for believers to prize, unbelivers to ponder, and budding writers of hymns and songs to study compulsorily for a year, learning as much as they can by heart.'
Christopher Idle, New Directions, Nov. 2000.
`Ricks must be one of the few people on the planet both famous enough to be asked to remake this book and widely enough read to do it well ... such anthologies stand or fall on findings from minor authors, and Ricks offers a bounty of obscure poems ... Long after reviewers stop debating how Ricks chose each item, readers will keep returning to these pages to find yet another good poem they've not before seen.'
Publishers Weekly, 25/10/99
dramatic verse appears in this new edition in all its majestic sonority, including some of the greatest English poetry ever written.
`It's simply the best anthology of English poetry we have, from our best editor and critic.'
David Sexton, Evening Standard 6/12/99
`In his many books ... he has shown a grasp of English poetry scarcely matched by anyone since his great mentor William Empson ... this is a book that deserves to gather plaudits, not dust. Whatever the geographical quibbles over his title, Ricks has restored at least some of its glory to that ragged entity, the canon.'
David Wheatley, Irish Times, 16/10/99
`Christopher Ricks's introduction and preface are worth the investment. He argues modestly and well for his choices and also for the criteria he set himself ... This is just the kind of resolutely unfashionable, impolitic, ambitious, fusty and intelligent anthology we need.'
Lavinia Greelaw, New Statesman and Society 29/11/99
`it is hard to fault this massive work ... there is such wealth here ... vast expanse of brilliance in this new age of growing poetic appreciation.'
Beverly Davies, The Lady 30/11/99
`The selection represents a solid and dependable view of the past.'
Michael Glover The Independent 4/12/99
`Christopher Ricks, in his new version of the Oxford book, tends to steer a shrewd, eclectic course half-way between those taken by his two precursors ... Ricks's book is altogether more reader-friendly than either of its two forerunners.'
Ian Hamilton, The Sunday Telegraph 3/10/99
`Christopher Ricks ... has produced a thoroughly revised and updated version of one of the most famous, if more staid, Oxford anthologies ... Ricks has done very well. He has made perfect selections ... richly entertaining, with enough surprises among the familiar moments to keep me happy. If you want, or want to give, one single big anthology of English verse, then this is the obvious one to go for.'
Andrew Marr, The Observer 10/10/99
`It comes with an air of having been there in the first place and of planning to be around when everything else stops ... Ricks has opened this anthology to hymns and nursery rhymes, as well as extracts from dramatic poetry.'
Sean O'Brien, Guardian 2/10/99
`The most exacting and lucid close-reader of poetry, his critical virtuosity has allowed him to escape the narrow historical specialisms of other professors ... He has done the job beautifully.'
John Mullan, Evening Standard and Yorkshire Post 27/9/99
`The inclusion of a much higher number of women poets than in previous editions and such undervalued genres as limericks and nursery rhymes makes for a brave and comprehensive selection.'
Ned Danny, Daily Mail 8/10/99
`updated for the millennium, this anthology has been expanded to include a wider, more eclectic selection of earlier verse'
The Scotsman, 2/10/99
`marvellous new Oxford Book of Poetry'
David Sexton, Sunday Telegraph 10/10/99
`a marvellous celebration of the English language, perhaps this country's greatest contribution to civilisation ... His selection brings in new poems and poets from all ages and extends the range by another 50 years to include many 20th century figures not featured before.'
Richard Foster, Yorkshire Evening Press, 19/10/99
`Not only does Ricks deploy the kind of iridescent critical intelligence that lights up unexpected corners: many of the great central texts are there ... It seems to me that Ricks has got it just right.'
Keith Mitchell, The Tablet, 19/2/00
`combining range with wit and some splendid surprises'
Jasper Griffin, Spectator, 27/11/99
`A completely new millennium edition of this foremost anthology featuring over 850 poems drawn from seven and a half centuries of English verse ... delightful collection.'
Northern Echo (Darlington) 30/11/99
`The first and best of the verse anthologies is 'The Oxford Book of English Verse.' It made its first appearance in 1900 ... Now Christopher Ricks, a distinguished critic, has updated the book once more and made it better ... Not all of the verse is serious. There is comic charm in many ... Comic or serious, this collection is the best of the best.'
Roger Harris, Newark Star Ledger

Review Quote

'updated for the millennium, this anthology has been expanded to include awider, more eclectic selection of earlier verse'The Scotsman, 2/10/99

Promotional "Headline"

Introduction POEMS Index of Authors Index of Foreign Authors in Translation or Imitation Index of Titles and First Lines

Feature

Over 820 wonderful poems, long and short, covering seven and a half centuries of English verse from all parts of the British Isles.
Over twice as many women poets as before, from Mary Herbert to Anna Seward, Frances Cornford, and Elizabeth Daryush.
More Irish, Scottish, and Welsh poets than before -- among them Beckett, Synge, R. S. Thomas, Henryson, and MacDiarmid
Edited and introduced by Christopher Ricks, described by W. H. Auden as 'exactly the kind of critic every poet dreams of finding'
Christopher Ricks's introduction surveys the touchstones that great poet-critics have given us for evaluating the art of poetry, from Ben Jonson and Dryden to Samuel Johnson, Coleridge, Arnold, Pound, and Eliot

New Feature

Introduction POEMS Index of Authors Index of Foreign Authors in Translation or Imitation Index of Titles and First Lines

Details ISBN0192141821 Short Title OXFORD BK OF ENGLISH VERSE Language English ISBN-10 0192141821 ISBN-13 9780192141828 Media Book Format Hardcover DEWEY 821.008 Year 1999 Imprint Oxford University Press Place of Publication Oxford Country of Publication United Kingdom Edited by Christopher Ricks Illustrations index Birth 1933 Author Christopher Ricks Series Oxford Book of Prose/Verse Position Warren Professor of the Humanities Affiliation Warren Professor of the Humanities, Boston University DOI 10.1604/9780192141828 UK Release Date 1999-10-07 NZ Release Date 1999-10-07 Pages 752 Publisher Oxford University Press Publication Date 1999-10-07 Audience General AU Release Date 1999-11-30

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TheNile_Item_ID:1073546;
  • Condition: Brand new
  • ISBN-13: 9780192141828
  • Type: NA
  • Publication Name: NA
  • Publication Year: 1999
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Language: English
  • Book Title: The Oxford Book of English Verse
  • Item Height: 224mm
  • Author: Christopher Ricks
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • Topic: Poetry
  • Item Width: 147mm
  • Item Weight: 1021g
  • Number of Pages: 752 Pages

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