What do you think?
Rate this book
A Choice of Poets: An Anthology of Poets from Wordsworth to the Present Day
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 26, 2026
An excellent collection of poetry where it is evident that the collector adored the poems within.
The introduction was itself a joy to read and laid the foundation for the collection - that these poems are not necessarily the poet's 'greatest works' (though some arguably are) but are instead collected to make the poetry accessible.
Whilst this book is geared towards students (originally in the 1960s), it is absolutely appropriate for an adult audience due to the mature style of the notes.
A further point of the notes: I thoroughly enjoyed that additional context was provided where required to ensure I could enjoy the poems, and yet the deeper meanings were not spoon fed to me. Each poem's notes were questions to consider which allowed for greater exploration of each poem.
It is interesting reading this 60 years after first being published to see which poets have remained in common societal knowledge. Many of the poets are lesser known these days. They may have been lesser known in the 60s, but I wasn't around then to know!
If poetry had been presented to me in this way when I was at school I might have enjoyed poetry sooner in life. Although, maybe not.
The main theme throughout is relatively pastoral, with modern technology on the distant horizon. It's almost a transportation to a simpler time.
With a 2026-hat on, the collection does lack any female/non-white poets. However, whilst the collection does not have the full array of society within it, the voices within are incredibly diverse and provide ample varied perspectives.
The introduction was itself a joy to read and laid the foundation for the collection - that these poems are not necessarily the poet's 'greatest works' (though some arguably are) but are instead collected to make the poetry accessible.
Whilst this book is geared towards students (originally in the 1960s), it is absolutely appropriate for an adult audience due to the mature style of the notes.
A further point of the notes: I thoroughly enjoyed that additional context was provided where required to ensure I could enjoy the poems, and yet the deeper meanings were not spoon fed to me. Each poem's notes were questions to consider which allowed for greater exploration of each poem.
It is interesting reading this 60 years after first being published to see which poets have remained in common societal knowledge. Many of the poets are lesser known these days. They may have been lesser known in the 60s, but I wasn't around then to know!
If poetry had been presented to me in this way when I was at school I might have enjoyed poetry sooner in life. Although, maybe not.
The main theme throughout is relatively pastoral, with modern technology on the distant horizon. It's almost a transportation to a simpler time.
With a 2026-hat on, the collection does lack any female/non-white poets. However, whilst the collection does not have the full array of society within it, the voices within are incredibly diverse and provide ample varied perspectives.
September 21, 2012
I love this book - I still have my copy from school and it sits on my bedside table. From Wilfred Owens to Gerard Manley Hopkins and John Keats, all the classics with background notes as well. Every time I see it I recite 'Darkling I listen, and for many a time / I have been half in love with ease-ful death / Called her soft names in many a muséd rhyme / to take into the air my quiet breath....' Brilliant.
January 3, 2015
Simply my all time favourite book since I was 14.
February 17, 2024
Been given my Grandma’s copy from when she was a mature student. This anthology will always have a place in my heart even in its dog-eared state.
November 15, 2017
Published as a school book in 1968, this is a brilliant and informative overview of the work of 14 major poets from Wordsworth and Blake to Frost and R.S. Thomas. Each poet is given a two or three page introduction, eight to 16 pages of their poetry, and notes on each poem.
The notes are particularly interesting as they clarify the context of the poem, define unusual words and obscure references, and then - this being a school book - challenge thought with first a series of questions about the poet's intent and methods and then with a suggestion for a writing exercise. Even skimming through the questions suggests ways to deepen your understanding of the poem, and encourages rereading with fresh insights and more care.
Many of the poems are easily-accessible old favourites, from Wordsworth's 'Lucy Poems' to Eliot's 'Macavity: The Mystery Cat', but others are obscure or present difficulties. Tennyson's 'Northern Farmer: Old Style' is 17 quatrains in dialect, spoken by a farmer on his death-bed who just wants the ale that doctor and priest think is not good for him:
"Wheer 'asta bean saw long and mea liggin' 'ere aloan?
Noorse? thoort nowt o' a noorse: whoy, Doctor's abean an' agoan:
Says that I moant 'a naw moor yaale: but I beant a fool:
Git ma my yaale, for I beant a-gooin' to break my rule."
Notes on Tennyson's dialect words, on Hopkins' metaphysics, on the references in Eliot's 'A Cooking Egg', all contribute to a greater appreciation and enjoyment of already familiar poets.
The notes are particularly interesting as they clarify the context of the poem, define unusual words and obscure references, and then - this being a school book - challenge thought with first a series of questions about the poet's intent and methods and then with a suggestion for a writing exercise. Even skimming through the questions suggests ways to deepen your understanding of the poem, and encourages rereading with fresh insights and more care.
Many of the poems are easily-accessible old favourites, from Wordsworth's 'Lucy Poems' to Eliot's 'Macavity: The Mystery Cat', but others are obscure or present difficulties. Tennyson's 'Northern Farmer: Old Style' is 17 quatrains in dialect, spoken by a farmer on his death-bed who just wants the ale that doctor and priest think is not good for him:
"Wheer 'asta bean saw long and mea liggin' 'ere aloan?
Noorse? thoort nowt o' a noorse: whoy, Doctor's abean an' agoan:
Says that I moant 'a naw moor yaale: but I beant a fool:
Git ma my yaale, for I beant a-gooin' to break my rule."
Notes on Tennyson's dialect words, on Hopkins' metaphysics, on the references in Eliot's 'A Cooking Egg', all contribute to a greater appreciation and enjoyment of already familiar poets.
November 16, 2019
I don't like poetry. I never understood how to read its many variants, but this book is a great introduction. Its Socratic method - asking me to ask questions of my understanding - worked for me. The range was conservative, but that's what I needed. Hardy Wordworth, Blake, Tennyson, Keats etc are represented. Each poet has an introduction, some poetry and then a Q&A/Explanatory piece.
February 23, 2018
Could never get into poetry at school. Later in life I picked this up from a jumble sale, and suddenly poetry seemed to make sense to me. Useful notes, brief biographies and good varied selection of (not too difficult) poems.
March 29, 2012
The selection of poems was excellent but there were quite a few mistakes in some poems, the words were different than those in the original versions.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews