Secondhand Poetry & Classics Bargain Book Box DSH1131

Secondhand Poetry & Classics Bargain Book Box

Dive into the profound world of verse with this unparalleled collection of twenty-one volumes, dedicated entirely to the English-language poetic tradition from the Elizabethan Age to the contemporary scene. This box offers an incredible literary history, featuring comprehensive anthologies of key periods like the Romantic, Victorian, and Augustan eras, alongside deeply personal selections from masters like Blake, Milton, Tennyson, and Lowell. Ideal for students, poets, and readers seeking the finest expressions of human experience, this set captures the evolution of verse across four centuries. Each book is secondhand and may show signs of wear.

1. Modern Poets Three edited by Jim Hunter
   This anthology presents a selection of significant works by influential mid-twentieth century poets including W.H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, Theodore Roethke, Dylan Thomas, and Robert Lowell. The collection highlights the diverse styles and themes that characterized the era, focusing on the intersection of personal experience, political commentary, and formal innovation. It serves as an essential introduction to the voices that shaped post-war verse.

2. English Love Poems chosen by John Betjeman and Geoffrey Taylor
   A curated collection focusing on the theme of love across the vast landscape of English poetry, spanning centuries of romantic, devoted, and sometimes tragic verse. Selected by two distinguished literary figures, this anthology offers a beautiful and varied exploration of affection, passion, and longing through the eyes of various poets. It is an intimate and timeless celebration of the central human emotion.

3. Regency Poets by C.R. Ball
   This volume focuses on the poetry written during the British Regency period, featuring influential voices such as Byron, Shelley, and Keats, alongside lesser-known but significant contemporaries. The collection captures the spirit of the early 19th century, characterized by emotional intensity, a focus on nature, and political radicalism. It provides a historical context for the celebrated Romantic movement.

4. The Portable Blake by William Blake
   This comprehensive portable edition features the key works of the visionary poet and artist William Blake, including Songs of Innocence and of Experience, selections from his prophetic books, and his critical prose. The collection showcases Blake's unique cosmology and his revolutionary critiques of industrialization, institutional religion, and societal repression, highlighting his status as a profoundly original thinker.

5. The Penguin Poets: W.H. Auden by W.H. Auden
   A selection of the most vital and acclaimed poetry from W.H. Auden, one of the most complex and influential poets of the 20th century, covering the breadth of his career. The poems reflect his versatility, moving seamlessly between political commentary, social observation, lyrical introspection, and examinations of faith and love. This volume is an ideal introduction to Auden’s vast and important body of work.

6. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (translation)
   This famous collection of quatrains, attributed to the 11th-century Persian astronomer and poet Omar Khayyám, is presented in its renowned English translation. The poems are celebrated for their sensual and philosophical meditations on the transient nature of life, the inevitability of death, and the importance of seizing pleasure in the present moment. It offers a blend of hedonism, skepticism, and existential reflection.

7. Selected Poems by Robert Lowell
   A definitive collection showcasing the powerful, confessional poetry of Robert Lowell, a pivotal figure in American verse who frequently mined his own tumultuous life and mental struggles for his work. The poems deal with themes of family, history, war, and political disillusionment, written in a distinctive, urgent, and formally varied style. This volume demonstrates the depth of his emotional and intellectual honesty.

8. Romantic Poets: Blake to Poe edited by W.H. Auden and Norman Holmes Pearson
   An expansive anthology covering the major and minor figures of the Romantic movement in both British and American literature, ranging from William Blake to Edgar Allan Poe. Auden and Pearson select poems that emphasize the movement's focus on imagination, feeling, and the natural world, providing a comprehensive overview of the era's diverse poetic expressions.

9. The Sentimental Bloke by C.J. Dennis
   This highly popular collection features the humorous and tender narrative verse of C.J. Dennis, written in the distinctive Australian vernacular. The poems follow the romantic misadventures and everyday life of Bill, the "Sentimental Bloke," and his girl Doreen, capturing the warmth, simplicity, and unique language of early 20th-century Australian working-class life.

10. The New Poetry edited by A. Alvarez
    An influential and often provocative anthology that defined the direction of post-war poetry, featuring poets who embraced confessionalism, existential doubt, and a rejection of traditional forms. Alvarez selected works by writers who were willing to confront the "unmentionable" aspects of modern life, showcasing powerful voices like Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, and John Berryman.

11. Restoration and Augustan Poets: Milton to Goldsmith edited by W.H. Auden and Norman Holmes Pearson
    This anthology covers the British poetic output of the late 17th and 18th centuries, a period marked by a shift toward reason, wit, and classical structure. It includes work from figures like Milton, Dryden, Pope, and Goldsmith, illustrating the development of neoclassical style, satire, and the rise of formal, politically engaged verse following the Civil War.

12. Elizabethan and Jacobean Poets: Marlowe to Marvell edited by W.H. Auden and Norman Holmes Pearson
    A comprehensive collection of poetry from the fertile period spanning the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I, featuring works from celebrated playwrights and poets such as Christopher Marlowe and Andrew Marvell. The anthology captures the intense emotionality, intellectual curiosity, and formal brilliance that define this Golden Age of English literature.

13. The Penguin Book of Restoration Verse edited by Harold Love
    This collection focuses exclusively on the diverse and often scandalous poetry of the Restoration period (1660-1688), a time characterized by a theatrical revival and a reaction against Puritan austerity. It features the witty, cynical, and often sexually explicit works of figures like John Wilmot (Earl of Rochester), highlighting the era's sophisticated and often subversive literary culture.

14. W.B. Yeats Selected Poetry edited by A. Norman Jeffares
    A choice selection of the most significant lyrical, dramatic, and visionary poems from the Nobel laureate William Butler Yeats, charting his evolution from a dreamy Celtic Revivalist to a hard-edged modernist. The collection features his iconic works dealing with Irish myth, political turmoil, old age, and the nature of artistic creation, demonstrating his singular voice.

15. Victorian & Edwardian Poets: Tennyson to Yeats edited by W.H. Auden and Norman Holmes Pearson
    An extensive anthology covering the poetry of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bridging the high Victorian era and the beginnings of modernism. It includes the grand narratives of Tennyson, the dark wit of Housman, and the emerging symbolism of Yeats, illustrating the profound transformations in English verse during this transitional period.

16. The Poetical Works of John Milton (Revised Edition, Oxford Standard Authors)
    This comprehensive single-volume edition contains the complete poetic output of John Milton, most notably his epic masterpieces Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, along with his powerful political prose and lyrical poetry. It is an authoritative resource for engaging with the theologian, political thinker, and epic poet whose work fundamentally shaped the English literary canon.

17. The Albatross Book of Living Verse edited by Louis Untermeyer
    A wide-ranging general anthology designed to showcase the best and most accessible poetry in the English language, spanning from medieval times up to the mid-20th century. Untermeyer selected verses that possess enduring vitality and emotional resonance, making this collection a classic introduction to the breadth and power of English verse for the general reader.

18. Selected Poems: Byron edited by Robin Skelton
    A curated collection of works by the archetypal Romantic poet, George Gordon, Lord Byron, featuring his celebrated narrative poems, lyrical verses, and excerpts from his satirical masterpiece Don Juan. The selection captures Byron's rebellious spirit, his romantic intensity, and his profound influence on European literature and culture.

19. The Selected Poetry of Tennyson
    This volume offers a representative selection of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s best-known works, including his moving elegies, narrative poetry, and deeply introspective lyrics. The collection highlights Tennyson's technical perfection, his role as the voice of the Victorian age, and his exploration of doubt, loss, and the promise of scientific progress.

20. Samuel Johnson: The Complete English Poems
    A scholarly collection of all the known poems written by the influential 18th-century literary critic, lexicographer, and essayist, Samuel Johnson. The volume showcases his formal mastery of the heroic couplet and his characteristic moral seriousness, featuring his famed works London and The Vanity of Human Wishes.

21. Selected Poetry and Prose of Coleridge edited by Donald A. Stauffer
    This volume offers a diverse selection of the work of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a co-founder of the Romantic movement, featuring his legendary poems like The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, alongside his influential literary criticism and philosophical prose. It provides an essential look at the complex genius of one of England's most visionary thinkers.

22. The Best Australian Poems 2003 edited by Peter Craven
    An annual anthology capturing the finest and most diverse poetic output from Australian writers during the year 2003. Edited by a leading critic, this collection offers a snapshot of the contemporary Australian literary landscape, showcasing a variety of styles, voices, and thematic concerns unique to the continent and its culture.