The Norton Anthology of Poetry

Lots of poems from before the 20th century. Not as many modern poems as I'd like.

I obviously did NOT get the shorter version. The book I received in MASSIVE - well over 1,000 pages. I don't think there is a poet who ever lived (or is living now) that is not represented in this book. It was, perhaps, the best purchase for the money yet. It has poems back to the 1600's and moves forward to today. I keep it by my bedside and every night I read another 15-20 pages and have found all kinds of poets I knew nothing about. Extremely pleased.

This anthology is great - but be aware that this is the shorter fifth edition of the Norton Anthology of Poetry. I haven't looked at the two fifth editions closely to compare them, but if you are buying this for a class (or for personal enjoyment), just be aware, it's the SHORTER edition.

I got this anthology as a gift a few years ago, just after its release, I believe, and it has been with me ever since. This book is one of the few items that I must have with me no matter what my location, whether at college or at home. Norton anthologies are great. As is the case with the ones I used in college, this book includes both footnotes and glossing in the margins, both of which help immensely when the reader is inexperienced or new to a certain period of literature (Norton is particularly helpful to students new to Spenser). The huge number of poets represented here makes the book indispensable to lovers of poetry.

Given the fact that the anthology is nearly 2000 pages long, it is quite difficult to quibble over substance in this wonderful anthology. Almost every poet of any significance and their seminal work is represented in the anthology. There are two quarrels I do have over style. Though the anthology has biographical sketches of the authors, those do not appear with the authors' work but rather at the end. The other thing I would change would be the index. The index is one combined index rather than a spearate index of first lines and authors. All in all, a great find and great buy.

When I saw some of the bad reviews this incredible volume received, I decided to add my opinion! I've carried this book across 3 continents and loved it above all others. I've also bought it as gifts for all my closest friends in the hope of enriching their lives as this volume has enriched mine. In its 3rd edition, in 1985, it was prescribed as a set work in the 1st year of my English Degree at University. I've discovered many of the most beautiful poems in English literature and almost all of the famous poets within these pages. I keep discovering new poems, new favourites. I meet people who tell me their own favourite poets and poems and 99% of the time they are in this volume (and if the poem isn't, the poet is). Here you'll find so many treasures; the Romantics (Yeats, Tennyson, Byron, Wordsworth, Coleridge), more feminist poetry (Adrienne Riche, A.D. Hope, Atwood), the modern poets (Cummings, Larkin, Meredith, Plath), other American poets (Longfellow, Whitman) ... even some of the ancients (Chaucer, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson). If you love the art of poetry and appreciate the different styles and techniques over the centuries, buy this book. If you love poetry and want to find it all in one complete volume, this is the book for you! It's been MY close and constant companion for 18 years.