The New Oxford Book of Eighteenth Century VerseRoger H. Lonsdale, Roger Lonsdale Oxford University Press, 1984 - 870 pages Anthologies of eighteenth-century verse have tended to confirm traditional notions of the period as one of untroubled elegance, urbanity, and decorum. Offering over 550 poems and extracts by more than 250 poets, The New Oxford Book of Eighteenth-Century Verse presents a truer picture of this age as a much less stable and decorous time. This extraordinarily comprehensive volume includes not only a generous selection of verse by such renowned poets as Swift, Pope, Johnson, Gray, Smart, Goldsmith, Cowper, Blake, and Burns, but also a large number of poems by lesser-known and previously ignored poets. Intermixing the familiar styles and preoccupations of "polite" taste with much less familiar verse from all social levels, it reveals the willingness of the century's poets to respond graphically, humorously, or unconventionally to all aspects of rural and urban life. Topics range from golf and hypnotism to amorous adventure and marital discord, from growing sensitivity to natural beauty to fear of the effects of the Industrial Revolution, and from the anguish of poverty and unemployment to animated political exchanges in the wake of the French Revolution. Taken together, these poems reveal that both unpredictability and familiarity played as significant a role as Augustan reason played in the world of eighteenth-century poetry. The anthology also includes a helpful introduction, notes, and a glossary. |
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Page 238
... half to rise , and half to fall ; ( 1733 ) Great lord of all things , yet a prey to all ; Sole judge of truth , in endless error hurled : The glory , jest , and riddle of the world ! ( 1733 ) 90 100 10 167 An Epistle from Mr. Pope to Dr ...
... half to rise , and half to fall ; ( 1733 ) Great lord of all things , yet a prey to all ; Sole judge of truth , in endless error hurled : The glory , jest , and riddle of the world ! ( 1733 ) 90 100 10 167 An Epistle from Mr. Pope to Dr ...
Page 246
Roger H. Lonsdale, Roger Lonsdale. Half froth , half venom , spits himself abroad , In puns , or politics , or tales , or lies , Or spite , or smut , or rhymes , or blasphemies . His wit all see - saw , between that and this , Now high ...
Roger H. Lonsdale, Roger Lonsdale. Half froth , half venom , spits himself abroad , In puns , or politics , or tales , or lies , Or spite , or smut , or rhymes , or blasphemies . His wit all see - saw , between that and this , Now high ...
Page 529
... half willing to be pressed , Shall kiss the cup to pass it to the rest . Yes ! let the rich deride , the proud disdain , These simple blessings of the lowly train ; To me more dear , congenial to my heart , One native charm than all the ...
... half willing to be pressed , Shall kiss the cup to pass it to the rest . Yes ! let the rich deride , the proud disdain , These simple blessings of the lowly train ; To me more dear , congenial to my heart , One native charm than all the ...
Contents
JOHN POMFRET 16671702 | 1 |
THOMAS DURFEY 16531723 | 5 |
JOHN PHILIPS 16761709 | 6 |
Copyright | |
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