The Hundred Best English Poems

by Adam Luke Gowans (Editor)

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1903

About the author

Adam Luke Gowans (1871–1958) was a Scottish publisher who ran the firm Gowans and Gray Ltd.

Adam Gowans graduated with an M.A. degree from Glasgow University in 1895 and in 1944 was appointed head librarian of the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art.

Begun in 1904, Gowans published the impressive series of “Gowans’s Art Books,” each devoted to a major European artist, from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century, and containing 60 black and white photographic reproductions of the works of the painter in question.

Generally the firm was active in five main areas: inexpensive art books intended to be within reach of a broad upper working-class to middle-class public – the first Scottish publisher to win an international reputation in this area; contemporary Scottish poets and playwrights, together with some classics; translations of or books about foreign writers (French, German, and Spanish, but also Japanese); illustrated natural history books; and widely imitated – both in Britain and abroad -- anthologies of poetry and short stories selected by Gowans himself.

Reviews

[Cherisa B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as an e-book and wish it could have appended the poet on each page. It was annoying to get past the section name and the lose track of who the poet was, sometimes having to flip back dozens of pages.

Very nice revisiting some of the classic poems of my childhood.

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided that I needed more free reading in my life (to counterbalance the law), and poetry is really nice because you can commit in short bursts (say, in the five extra minutes before bed). You can also get this for free on the books app, so there’s that.

There may have been some problems with this collection (like the inclusion of a LONG Milton poem - I know everyone but me likes Milton, but that was freaking brutal), but overall, I really enjoyed it.

Based partially on the amount/the content of highlights I had, here were some of my favorites:
- Dryden, “A Song for St. Cecelia’s Day”
- Herrick, “To Anthea, who may command him anything”
- Lamb, “The Old Familiar Faces”
- Shirley, “Song from ‘Ajax and Ulysses’”
- Wordsworth, “She dwelt among the untrodden ways”

[heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

« 3.5 stars »

A lovely collection of poems to end the year with. I wouldn't necessarily call them *my* 100 best English poems (there are many more out there that are lovelier and written by far worthier poets) but as far as poetry collections go this is a good overview of the regular suspects. When it comes to poetry I tend to enjoy collections and anthologies comprising several different poets. This way I can be sure to find enjoyment in a few poets, never mind the rest.

What is notably missing in this collection though are female voices. With the exception of Anna Laetitia Barbauld and Lady Nairne (Carolina Oliphant), this collection is basically a sausage fest.

[Pedro A. Ribeiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good selection of poems, although there are some that I wouldn't include within the 100 best, but that's my opinion. But still, a great book to read.

[Andrew Linderer · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh

Found a couple good poems but most were not enjoyable. Maybe I just didn’t understand why they are profound or missed the point but I was not impressed or inspired by more than a handful that were in this collection.

[w gall · Rating 4 out of 5]

One man's opinion as to thest 100. Some are jewels, some are not, in my opinion. Some are excerpts. Ozmandius, my favorite English poem, was not included.

[Dallas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an extremely dated collection. It was edited in 1904 and the editor chose NOT to include any works by living authors. It also represents a very narrow scope within poetry.

[Carly Krewitsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did not include enough women. I think there were only two women poets. If you include Robert Browning, why can't you include his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning? There were many poets who I'd never heard of before. Some poets were given only one poem, but people like William Shakespeare and John Milton were given several. Lord Byron and Percy Shelly were included in this book and were also given several poems. This book was put in alphabetical order. Some poems were really short and others were really long. My problem with longer poems is that after awhile they become somewhat boring.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another freebie on amazon that is totally worth getting. I've really fallen back in love with poetry over the last month! Some of these you'll know, at least from college, but others, maybe not. These are nice for reading slowly and savoring though.