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Norton Anthology of English Literature
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vols D-F: The Romantic Period through the Twentieth Century & After
Firmly grounded by the hallmark strengths of all Norton Anthologies—thorough and helpful introductory matter, judicious annotation, complete texts wherever possible—The Norton Anthology of English Literature has been revitalized in this Eighth Edition through the collaboration between six new editors and six seasoned ones. Under the direction of Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor, the editors have reconsidered all aspects of the anthology to make it an even better teaching tool.
3252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
103 people are currently reading
2703 people want to read
About the author
M.H. Abrams
71 books97 followersMeyer Howard Abrams is an American literary critic, known for works on Romanticism, in particular his book The Mirror and the Lamp. In a powerful contrast, Abrams shows that until the Romantics, literature was usually understood as a mirror, reflecting the real world, in some kind of mimesis; but for the Romantics, writing was more like a lamp: the light of the writer's inner soul spilled out to illuminate the world. Under Abrams' editorship, the Norton Anthology of English Literature became the standard text for undergraduate survey courses across the U.S. and a major trendsetter in literary canon formation.
Abrams was born in a Jewish family in Long Branch, New Jersey. The son of a house painter and the first in his family to go to college, he entered Harvard University as an undergraduate in 1930. He went into English because, he says, "there weren't jobs in any other profession, so I thought I might as well enjoy starving, instead of starving while doing something I didn't enjoy." After earning his baccalaureate in 1934, Abrams won a Henry fellowship to the University of Cambridge, where his tutor was I.A. Richards. He returned to Harvard for graduate school in 1935 and received his Masters' degree in 1937 and his PhD in 1940. During World War II, he served at the Psycho-Acoustics Laboratory at Harvard. He describes his work as solving the problem of voice communications in a noisy military environment by establishing military codes that are highly audible and inventing selection tests for personnel who had a superior ability to recognize sound in a noisy background. In 1945 Abrams became a professor at Cornell University. As of March 4th, 2008, he was Class of 1916 Professor of English Emeritus there.
Abrams was born in a Jewish family in Long Branch, New Jersey. The son of a house painter and the first in his family to go to college, he entered Harvard University as an undergraduate in 1930. He went into English because, he says, "there weren't jobs in any other profession, so I thought I might as well enjoy starving, instead of starving while doing something I didn't enjoy." After earning his baccalaureate in 1934, Abrams won a Henry fellowship to the University of Cambridge, where his tutor was I.A. Richards. He returned to Harvard for graduate school in 1935 and received his Masters' degree in 1937 and his PhD in 1940. During World War II, he served at the Psycho-Acoustics Laboratory at Harvard. He describes his work as solving the problem of voice communications in a noisy military environment by establishing military codes that are highly audible and inventing selection tests for personnel who had a superior ability to recognize sound in a noisy background. In 1945 Abrams became a professor at Cornell University. As of March 4th, 2008, he was Class of 1916 Professor of English Emeritus there.
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October 28, 2018I am required by my department to teach from these anthologies, and I detest it. These anthologies would be fine for high school, but I resent not being trusted to select my own texts at the college level. More to the point of reviewing them: beware, young readers, beware! World Literature does not come from an anthology. Are we really to believe that on p.900 we can "read" a Native American chant? What are the problems inherent in selection? Let's include a few women, but not too many! A few non-Western authors, but not so many that this anthology won't sell to American readers!
I guess what disturbs me most about teaching from these is that my students read the introductions, commentary, and footnotes to each work as the God's truth. In particular, I was disturbed by a footnote in Nawal El Saadawi's "In Camera" in which my students, many of whom have never encountered another Arab person let alone an Arab work of literature, were told by the Norton Anthology that a male character's thoughts could be explained "According to the Arab-Islamic code of honor, decreed and upheld by men." Thanks for the vague yet damaging generalization, Norton! This was just weird, given that there were no footnotes, say, explaining the internal thoughts of Joyce's servant characters according to the code of the Irish class system, or Virginia Woolf's thoughts according to the code of English misogyny.
Any edited text (especially a text in translation) will always procure grumpy objections from people like me. But there is something particularly troubling about these anthologies in their sleekness, expense, and increasing ubiquity in college classrooms. Their increasing authority serves to disguise their deficiencies.
I guess what disturbs me most about teaching from these is that my students read the introductions, commentary, and footnotes to each work as the God's truth. In particular, I was disturbed by a footnote in Nawal El Saadawi's "In Camera" in which my students, many of whom have never encountered another Arab person let alone an Arab work of literature, were told by the Norton Anthology that a male character's thoughts could be explained "According to the Arab-Islamic code of honor, decreed and upheld by men." Thanks for the vague yet damaging generalization, Norton! This was just weird, given that there were no footnotes, say, explaining the internal thoughts of Joyce's servant characters according to the code of the Irish class system, or Virginia Woolf's thoughts according to the code of English misogyny.
Any edited text (especially a text in translation) will always procure grumpy objections from people like me. But there is something particularly troubling about these anthologies in their sleekness, expense, and increasing ubiquity in college classrooms. Their increasing authority serves to disguise their deficiencies.
July 29, 2012
This was my father's book when he read literature at university.
It was a great introduction to English Lit. Especially since I lived in a rural farming community and TV and radio reception was spotty. Mum and Dad would tell us stories from the book and read aloud many of the poems.
It was a very important book to me. I used it when when I was at secondary school and university.
It was a great introduction to English Lit. Especially since I lived in a rural farming community and TV and radio reception was spotty. Mum and Dad would tell us stories from the book and read aloud many of the poems.
It was a very important book to me. I used it when when I was at secondary school and university.
February 18, 2011
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2 / 0-393-95043-3
If you are looking at purchasing this book, you've either been required to purchase it for a college course, or you are considering investing in an English literature anthology for your own library and you want to know if this anthology is worth your money. If you are required to buy this book for a course, my review won't matter to you much one way or another, so this is slated towards the latter group.
This is an excellent resource for English literature selections and excerpts. A good deal of the selections are poetry or lyrical selections; most of the prose selections are small excerpts meant only to give you the "feel" of the author's writing style. Invest in a copy if you have any interest in English literature (particularly poetry) and you won't be sorry. The authors and contents represented include:
THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
- William Blake
- Robert Burns
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- William Wordsworth
- Dorothy Wordsworth
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Charles Lamb
- William Hazlitt
- Thomas de Quincey
- George Gordon, Lord Byron
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
- John Keats
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
- William Lisle Bowles
- Sir Walter Scott
- Robert Southey
- Walter Savage Landor
- Thomas Moore
- Leigh Hunt
- Thomas Love Peacock
- John Clare
- George Darley
- Thomas Lovell Beddoes
THE VICTORIAN AGE
- Thomas Carlyle
- John Henry Cardinal Newman
- John Stuart Mill
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- Edward Fitzgerald
- Robert Browning
- Emily Bronte
- John Ruskin
- Arthur Hugh Clough
- Matthew Arnold
- Thomas Henry Huxley
- George Meredith
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- Christina Rossetti
- William Morris
- Algernon Charles Swinburne
- Walter Pater
- Edward Lear
- Lewis Carroll
- W. S. Gilbert
- Charles Darwin
- John Tyndall
- Leonard Huxley
- Sir Edmund Gosse
- Thomas Babington Macaulay
- Friedrich Engels
- Charles Kingsley
- Charles Dickens
- Herbert Spencer
- Sarah Stickney Ellis
- George Eliot
- Dinah Maria Mulock
- Florence Nightingale
- Walter Besant
- William Ernest Henley
- Oscar Wilde
- Francis Thompson
- Rudyard Kipling
- Ernest Dowson
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
- Thomas Hardy
- Gerald Manley Hopkins
- Bernard Shaw
- Joseph Conrad
- A. E. Housman
- Rupert Brooke
- Edward Thomas
- Siegfried Sassoon
- Ivor Gurney
- Isaac Rosenberg
- Wilfred Owen
- David Jones
- William Butler Yeats
- Virginia Woolf
- James Joyce
- D. H. Lawrence
- Edwin Muir
- Edith Sitwell
- T. S. Eliot
- Katherine Mansfield
- Hugh MacDiarmid
- Robert Graves
- F. R. Leavis
- Stevie Smith
- George Orwell
- Samuel Beckett
- W. H. Auden
- Louis MacNeice
- Dylan Thomas
- Doris Lessing
- Harold Pinter
- Donald Dave
- Philip Larkin
- Molly Holden
- Thom Gunn
- Ted Hughes
- Jon Silkin
- Elaine Feinstein
- Geoffrey Hill
- Seamus Heaney
~ Ana Mardoll
If you are looking at purchasing this book, you've either been required to purchase it for a college course, or you are considering investing in an English literature anthology for your own library and you want to know if this anthology is worth your money. If you are required to buy this book for a course, my review won't matter to you much one way or another, so this is slated towards the latter group.
This is an excellent resource for English literature selections and excerpts. A good deal of the selections are poetry or lyrical selections; most of the prose selections are small excerpts meant only to give you the "feel" of the author's writing style. Invest in a copy if you have any interest in English literature (particularly poetry) and you won't be sorry. The authors and contents represented include:
THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
- William Blake
- Robert Burns
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- William Wordsworth
- Dorothy Wordsworth
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Charles Lamb
- William Hazlitt
- Thomas de Quincey
- George Gordon, Lord Byron
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
- John Keats
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
- William Lisle Bowles
- Sir Walter Scott
- Robert Southey
- Walter Savage Landor
- Thomas Moore
- Leigh Hunt
- Thomas Love Peacock
- John Clare
- George Darley
- Thomas Lovell Beddoes
THE VICTORIAN AGE
- Thomas Carlyle
- John Henry Cardinal Newman
- John Stuart Mill
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- Edward Fitzgerald
- Robert Browning
- Emily Bronte
- John Ruskin
- Arthur Hugh Clough
- Matthew Arnold
- Thomas Henry Huxley
- George Meredith
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- Christina Rossetti
- William Morris
- Algernon Charles Swinburne
- Walter Pater
- Edward Lear
- Lewis Carroll
- W. S. Gilbert
- Charles Darwin
- John Tyndall
- Leonard Huxley
- Sir Edmund Gosse
- Thomas Babington Macaulay
- Friedrich Engels
- Charles Kingsley
- Charles Dickens
- Herbert Spencer
- Sarah Stickney Ellis
- George Eliot
- Dinah Maria Mulock
- Florence Nightingale
- Walter Besant
- William Ernest Henley
- Oscar Wilde
- Francis Thompson
- Rudyard Kipling
- Ernest Dowson
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
- Thomas Hardy
- Gerald Manley Hopkins
- Bernard Shaw
- Joseph Conrad
- A. E. Housman
- Rupert Brooke
- Edward Thomas
- Siegfried Sassoon
- Ivor Gurney
- Isaac Rosenberg
- Wilfred Owen
- David Jones
- William Butler Yeats
- Virginia Woolf
- James Joyce
- D. H. Lawrence
- Edwin Muir
- Edith Sitwell
- T. S. Eliot
- Katherine Mansfield
- Hugh MacDiarmid
- Robert Graves
- F. R. Leavis
- Stevie Smith
- George Orwell
- Samuel Beckett
- W. H. Auden
- Louis MacNeice
- Dylan Thomas
- Doris Lessing
- Harold Pinter
- Donald Dave
- Philip Larkin
- Molly Holden
- Thom Gunn
- Ted Hughes
- Jon Silkin
- Elaine Feinstein
- Geoffrey Hill
- Seamus Heaney
~ Ana Mardoll
July 11, 2021
??? 80s: read at u for class. as any anthology some great, some less. as i am now reaching five thousand books of all sorts, i decide to put this on, though i no longer have it, have forgotten many works but... this is my first mature exposure to serious literary literature, this is when i started to truly read not simply for entertainment, as a way to pass time, but ways to develop time, learn time, experience time. this is the opposite of physical time, winding down, running out, ceasing- this is time diversifying, multiplying, flourishing, coming to more and more potentials...
more
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1: The Middle Ages through the Restoration & the Eighteenth Century
note: these are simply the most recent editions, i only remember them as very heavy, fat books, with onion-skin paper. perhaps students are fortunate to read ebooks now...
more
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1: The Middle Ages through the Restoration & the Eighteenth Century
note: these are simply the most recent editions, i only remember them as very heavy, fat books, with onion-skin paper. perhaps students are fortunate to read ebooks now...
October 27, 2009
Criticize the Norton if you dare. For value in teaching (and studying) a survey course, there just isn't anything better. And I think their passages from longer works are generally right on the money. The only problem is that, without the context of the larger work, the passages sometimes don't make sense. Still, this is it. The required reading, in condensed form. Good luck.
July 27, 2007
My Holy Book
February 13, 2011
I rely heavily on all my Norton Anthology volumes. They have chicken scratches throughout the pages, are falling apart but I cherish them.
June 19, 2011
As I said for volume A, volume B is one of my textbooks for school and so I only did the assigned readings for the class. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the pieces I read and I have plans to read this volume from start to finish at some point, however, I will say that a lot of fantastic English authors are not represented for the 20th and 21st centuries which makes me a bit sad. Other than that, I think it’s a fairly good survey of writers as far as the lauded Canon goes. I’m only going to do small blurbs for each piece because that’s the only feasible method.
Songs of Innocence and of Experience, William Blake 5/5
Blake is possibly my favourite poet hands down. There is just something about his imagery and subject matter that leaves me simply entranced. This book which features the naïve interpretation of life paired with the cynical gives wonderful insight into the human mind and imagination, in my opinion. Lyrical and poignant lines reflect each sides emotions in each piece. “The Tyger” is probably the most famous in this collection with “The Lamb” following closely on its heels, however, my favourite is “The Chimney Sweeper” tying with “The Poison Tree”. That probably paints me as morbid but those are the ones that speak to me the most.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft (Introduction, Chapter 2, and parts of Chapter 4) 4.5/5
Wollstonecraft’s work is not intended to be entertaining in it’s design and implications yet her writing style is very fluid and easy to read. She writes as the men of her time did (which is no small feat during the 1700s), but her prose lack the drying austerity and tiredness of the men. I think Vindication is one of the most underappreciated texts in western feminism and probably one of the most interesting, compelling, concise, and honest ones out there. There is nothing boring about it and it is one of my favourite texts of its genre. I think all women should read it.
Selected Works of William Wordsworth 4/5
The poems I read from Lyrical Ballads were all well written and evocative (obviously, since he was England’s poet laureate during his lifetime.) I enjoyed all of the pieces I had to read, and I think that Wordsworth truly made his dream come true –making the ordinary extraordinary. As far as nature poets go, he’s one of the masters.
Kubla Khan and Selected Chapters of Biographia Literaria, Samuel Taylor Coleridge 4/5
Hand in hand, Coleridge and Wordsworth compiled Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth tackling the everyday and Coleridge the supernatural. Both did superb jobs and met their ends. Thinking about Coleridge always makes me sad, me reminds me of Aristophanes because both of them were two beings of the greatest potential that threw it all away. It drives me crazy! Anyway, my readings of Coleridge were fantastic, the man had an amazing gift. His lines are lush and lyrical in all forms. It’s my hope to read The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner very soon and I’m looking forward to it.
She walks in beauty, Lord Byron 5/5
Oh Byron. I don’t think I need say more. Yet another man with a fascinatingly chequered history full of unbelievable talent. I love Byron, the man was a god among men when it came to words and this poem is no exception. I can’t wait to one day read the entirety of Don Juan.
Selected Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley 5/5
Shelley is a lot like Blake in terms of reputation: both were unbelievably talented and both were unbelievably undervalued during their lifetimes. I don’t know what the Romantic era had against Shelley, but it’s moronic. Whether it’s a eulogy, a sonnet, a workers song, or an ode Shelley could do it all with ease and fluidity. His words are wonderfully vivid and bring his works to life right on the pages they’re written on. I’m not the biggest fan of poetry but I thoroughly enjoyed Shelley.
Ode on a Grecian Urn, John Keats 4.5/5
This renowned poem lives up to its fame and its author was an honest to God genius. If Keats had not died so young we would have so many more classic poems with his wonderful flavour and flare. It’s a shame. I like Keats, he writes with grace and ease and his works are nothing if not a little bit awe inspiring. I love this poem for the portrait it paints and the emotions it evokes; a lot of people would love to take a snapshot of their lives at its perfect moment but I think this poem illustrates the cons and frustrations of that. It’s interesting to think about the thoughts and feelings of people depicted on an urn and I enjoyed Keats’ thoughts on the matter.
Sonnets from the Portuguese, 43 ( “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways”), Elizabeth Barrett Browning 5/5
I positively adored this poem and I truly like it’s author. Browning’s history is an interesting one full of strife, gosh it was hard to be a female poet back in the day! In any case, this is a love poem of loves poems, beautiful in its intent and honest in its construction. My goal is to one day read the entire collection of sonnets. I hope her husband knew what a gem he’d found.
Ulysses, Alfred, Lord Tennyson 5/5
I can’t describe the depth of my love for this man. He’s one of my all-time favourite poets because not only is his subject matter fascinating as well as resonating, but his words stay with you forever. They vibrate through your soul. Ulysses’s subject is, obviously, the man of legend whom Homer made famous. In Tennyson’s work we learn about the old age of men of war and how these men of action deal with stagnation. This is a fantastic poem I urge all people to read.
Dover Beach, Mathew Arnold 4/5
This isn’t one of my favourite poems, personally I think it’s a little overrated but it has its moments and its message is a good one. I like it but its low high on the totem pole. This is a poem where you really have to like the art of poetic structure and sound, and I’m too dense to notice those things on my own unless they’re really obvious or someone shows me. I like it for its depiction of industrialization and the warning it issues.
Song (“When I am dead, my dearest”) and In an Artist’s Studio, Christina Rossetti 5/5
I love Rossetti’s work! She makes my heart bleed sometimes her words are so simple but gripping. Song concerns love and the one left behind after death. The speaker implores their lover to remember or forget them, whichever would make them happier and able to live on. It’s so sad and lovely. In an Artist’s Studio is a critique of artist’s (the Neo-Raphaelites at the time) and men, mainly those that believe that a woman’s identity is interchangeable and insignificant. She outlines the four basic identities men assign women and then calls them out on it. It’s a great poem with a great message. As I said I’m a fan of her work and I look forward to reading more of it.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson 5/5
RLS is one of my favourite writers of all time, Treasure Island is still one of my favourite books and I’ve read a lot since then. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the classic tale of the mad scientist with its roots reaching back to Frankenstein. Nearly everyone out there knows the story of Dr. Jekyll and his evil alter ego but many of them haven’t read the actual story. I seriously urge people to do so! It’s a wonderful tale from start to finish, full of Stevenson’s memorable characters, questions of morality and sharp wit. He’s such a fantastic writer, I can’t say that enough.
The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde 5/5
This is one of the best plays I’ve ever read. I’m not a huge drama fan so I always start reading plays with a bit of trepidation, I’m not sure why anymore since I’m rarely disappointed with them. I think this is the funniest piece of literature I’ve ever read. I was laughing so hard I was crying at some points. Wilde is the wit of all wit when it comes to writers, there’s no one like him and there never will be. He too is one of my favourite writers, The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favourite books, so I was so happy to get to read some Wilde this year. I can’t recommend this play more, or any other piece of writing by the extremely talented Mr. Wilde.
The White Man’s Burden, Rudyard Kipling 3/5
This is a poem most people have read…I think. In any case, the poem’s title pretty much tells you what it’s all about. This is Kipling’s tale of British Imperialism, mainly in Africa, and how the white man should “better” his savage cousins. It’s definitely not a message I condone or believe in at all; we all know what imperialism led to in 1914. It’s not a half bad poem, but it’s not a favourite of mine as it’s dated, racist, and wrong.
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad 5/5
Before reading this novella I had heard nothing but negative things about it: that it’s boring, too dense, horrible. Now that I’ve read it I have to ask if I read the same book? I loved Heart of Darkness! It was poignant, interesting, deep; the message was clear and heartfelt. The characters were intense and served their purposes well. Furthermore, as a native Pole, Conrad’s grasp of the English language is remarkable. I would encourage everyone to read this at least once, it’s a classic and it’s very good despite the bad hype it gets.
When You Are Old, William Butler Yeats 4/5
This was a strong poem about lost love and buried resentment, at least that’s what I got out of it. I took the speaker as someone scorned by another, looking forward in time and letting that person know all that they had thrown away. I thoroughly enjoyed the poem, Yeats is a true artist and his work is timeless. Every time I read this poem I feel a little ping it’s so sad and beautiful.
A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf 5/5
Whether it’s the prose of a story or an essay, Woolf was a master with words. I didn’t read the entirety of this essay, however, the portion I did read still resonates. This is a feminist essay decrying the place of women in society and how every woman needs a room of her own in which she can learn and grow. Her most profound analogy concerns the hypothetical life of Shakespeare’s fictitious sister, Lilith. Woolf makes you look back to the 16th century and imagine what would happen if Shakespeare had had a sister, a woman born with his exact genius and who had followed in his footsteps, following him to London. The story isn’t pretty, but it wouldn’t be. I fully agree with the ideas expressed in this piece and I enjoyed reading it.
The Garden Party, Katherine Mansfield 4.5/5
In this short story Mansfield tackles the issue of class in New Zealand, a British dominion. Laura, the protagonist, wonderfully illustrates the push and pull of class divisions and how beliefs are passed from parents to children. Laura finds herself in a quandary, she mimics her mother’s ideas but at the same time they feel wrong to her. She doesn’t really see the difference between the people in her neighbourhood and those across the road. I really like this story, the characters are intense considering its length and the message it sends is clear and undeniable. Mansfield is also a very good writer.
The Day They Burned the Books, Jean Rhys 4.5/5
Rhys is another master in the literary world and another sad case because she has been so greatly underappreciated. Rhys’ stories focus mainly on the conflicts between colonizers and the colonized; she herself was of English and Creole descent, born in Dominica. Many of her stories involve misfits, those that feel as though they belong nowhere, and the narrator of this story is no exception. I love Rhys’ work, her Wide Sargasso Sea is a beautiful book, and this is a beautiful short story. I agree fully with her message, the colonizers always take so much away from those they see to civilize and it drives me crazy. It’s an old story but it’s still an infuriating one. Anyone interested in Post-colonial studies or stories would appreciate this one.
The Moment before the Gun Went Off, Nadine Gordimer 4.5/5
This short story concerns racism in South Africa, a major issue that made headlines around the world. Gordimer has an interesting writing style; she tells you so much in such a small amount of space that by the end of her story you’re left wondering what the heck just happened. You have to reread it a hundred times to make sure you grasped everything. This is a sad story involving a terrible hunting accident that the narrator knows is going to be misinterpreted by the world. I really enjoyed it.
The Prophet’s Hair, Salman Rushdie 4/5
Indian literature is always extremely interesting, it has so many layers to it and so much culture present that it leaves you a bit shocked when you’re done. This short story by Rushdie is no exception. It tells the story of an ideal, progressive family torn apart by religion and fanaticism. Considering how the world views Muslim’s at this particular historical moment, I thought this was an intriguing story. I look forward to more Rushdie in my future, he has a great writing style and his ideas, as well as his characters, stay with you. I can definitely say I wasn’t expecting the ending I got.
Last but not least, I’d like to comment on the editorial notes this anthology is chock full of. The introductions and historical snapshots that the editors have put together are the best part of the Norton books; they’re interesting, enlightening, and highly educational. I would buy the books for the editor’s information alone. Anyway, those are all the texts I was required to read for winter of 2011.
Songs of Innocence and of Experience, William Blake 5/5
Blake is possibly my favourite poet hands down. There is just something about his imagery and subject matter that leaves me simply entranced. This book which features the naïve interpretation of life paired with the cynical gives wonderful insight into the human mind and imagination, in my opinion. Lyrical and poignant lines reflect each sides emotions in each piece. “The Tyger” is probably the most famous in this collection with “The Lamb” following closely on its heels, however, my favourite is “The Chimney Sweeper” tying with “The Poison Tree”. That probably paints me as morbid but those are the ones that speak to me the most.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft (Introduction, Chapter 2, and parts of Chapter 4) 4.5/5
Wollstonecraft’s work is not intended to be entertaining in it’s design and implications yet her writing style is very fluid and easy to read. She writes as the men of her time did (which is no small feat during the 1700s), but her prose lack the drying austerity and tiredness of the men. I think Vindication is one of the most underappreciated texts in western feminism and probably one of the most interesting, compelling, concise, and honest ones out there. There is nothing boring about it and it is one of my favourite texts of its genre. I think all women should read it.
Selected Works of William Wordsworth 4/5
The poems I read from Lyrical Ballads were all well written and evocative (obviously, since he was England’s poet laureate during his lifetime.) I enjoyed all of the pieces I had to read, and I think that Wordsworth truly made his dream come true –making the ordinary extraordinary. As far as nature poets go, he’s one of the masters.
Kubla Khan and Selected Chapters of Biographia Literaria, Samuel Taylor Coleridge 4/5
Hand in hand, Coleridge and Wordsworth compiled Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth tackling the everyday and Coleridge the supernatural. Both did superb jobs and met their ends. Thinking about Coleridge always makes me sad, me reminds me of Aristophanes because both of them were two beings of the greatest potential that threw it all away. It drives me crazy! Anyway, my readings of Coleridge were fantastic, the man had an amazing gift. His lines are lush and lyrical in all forms. It’s my hope to read The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner very soon and I’m looking forward to it.
She walks in beauty, Lord Byron 5/5
Oh Byron. I don’t think I need say more. Yet another man with a fascinatingly chequered history full of unbelievable talent. I love Byron, the man was a god among men when it came to words and this poem is no exception. I can’t wait to one day read the entirety of Don Juan.
Selected Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley 5/5
Shelley is a lot like Blake in terms of reputation: both were unbelievably talented and both were unbelievably undervalued during their lifetimes. I don’t know what the Romantic era had against Shelley, but it’s moronic. Whether it’s a eulogy, a sonnet, a workers song, or an ode Shelley could do it all with ease and fluidity. His words are wonderfully vivid and bring his works to life right on the pages they’re written on. I’m not the biggest fan of poetry but I thoroughly enjoyed Shelley.
Ode on a Grecian Urn, John Keats 4.5/5
This renowned poem lives up to its fame and its author was an honest to God genius. If Keats had not died so young we would have so many more classic poems with his wonderful flavour and flare. It’s a shame. I like Keats, he writes with grace and ease and his works are nothing if not a little bit awe inspiring. I love this poem for the portrait it paints and the emotions it evokes; a lot of people would love to take a snapshot of their lives at its perfect moment but I think this poem illustrates the cons and frustrations of that. It’s interesting to think about the thoughts and feelings of people depicted on an urn and I enjoyed Keats’ thoughts on the matter.
Sonnets from the Portuguese, 43 ( “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways”), Elizabeth Barrett Browning 5/5
I positively adored this poem and I truly like it’s author. Browning’s history is an interesting one full of strife, gosh it was hard to be a female poet back in the day! In any case, this is a love poem of loves poems, beautiful in its intent and honest in its construction. My goal is to one day read the entire collection of sonnets. I hope her husband knew what a gem he’d found.
Ulysses, Alfred, Lord Tennyson 5/5
I can’t describe the depth of my love for this man. He’s one of my all-time favourite poets because not only is his subject matter fascinating as well as resonating, but his words stay with you forever. They vibrate through your soul. Ulysses’s subject is, obviously, the man of legend whom Homer made famous. In Tennyson’s work we learn about the old age of men of war and how these men of action deal with stagnation. This is a fantastic poem I urge all people to read.
Dover Beach, Mathew Arnold 4/5
This isn’t one of my favourite poems, personally I think it’s a little overrated but it has its moments and its message is a good one. I like it but its low high on the totem pole. This is a poem where you really have to like the art of poetic structure and sound, and I’m too dense to notice those things on my own unless they’re really obvious or someone shows me. I like it for its depiction of industrialization and the warning it issues.
Song (“When I am dead, my dearest”) and In an Artist’s Studio, Christina Rossetti 5/5
I love Rossetti’s work! She makes my heart bleed sometimes her words are so simple but gripping. Song concerns love and the one left behind after death. The speaker implores their lover to remember or forget them, whichever would make them happier and able to live on. It’s so sad and lovely. In an Artist’s Studio is a critique of artist’s (the Neo-Raphaelites at the time) and men, mainly those that believe that a woman’s identity is interchangeable and insignificant. She outlines the four basic identities men assign women and then calls them out on it. It’s a great poem with a great message. As I said I’m a fan of her work and I look forward to reading more of it.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson 5/5
RLS is one of my favourite writers of all time, Treasure Island is still one of my favourite books and I’ve read a lot since then. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the classic tale of the mad scientist with its roots reaching back to Frankenstein. Nearly everyone out there knows the story of Dr. Jekyll and his evil alter ego but many of them haven’t read the actual story. I seriously urge people to do so! It’s a wonderful tale from start to finish, full of Stevenson’s memorable characters, questions of morality and sharp wit. He’s such a fantastic writer, I can’t say that enough.
The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde 5/5
This is one of the best plays I’ve ever read. I’m not a huge drama fan so I always start reading plays with a bit of trepidation, I’m not sure why anymore since I’m rarely disappointed with them. I think this is the funniest piece of literature I’ve ever read. I was laughing so hard I was crying at some points. Wilde is the wit of all wit when it comes to writers, there’s no one like him and there never will be. He too is one of my favourite writers, The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favourite books, so I was so happy to get to read some Wilde this year. I can’t recommend this play more, or any other piece of writing by the extremely talented Mr. Wilde.
The White Man’s Burden, Rudyard Kipling 3/5
This is a poem most people have read…I think. In any case, the poem’s title pretty much tells you what it’s all about. This is Kipling’s tale of British Imperialism, mainly in Africa, and how the white man should “better” his savage cousins. It’s definitely not a message I condone or believe in at all; we all know what imperialism led to in 1914. It’s not a half bad poem, but it’s not a favourite of mine as it’s dated, racist, and wrong.
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad 5/5
Before reading this novella I had heard nothing but negative things about it: that it’s boring, too dense, horrible. Now that I’ve read it I have to ask if I read the same book? I loved Heart of Darkness! It was poignant, interesting, deep; the message was clear and heartfelt. The characters were intense and served their purposes well. Furthermore, as a native Pole, Conrad’s grasp of the English language is remarkable. I would encourage everyone to read this at least once, it’s a classic and it’s very good despite the bad hype it gets.
When You Are Old, William Butler Yeats 4/5
This was a strong poem about lost love and buried resentment, at least that’s what I got out of it. I took the speaker as someone scorned by another, looking forward in time and letting that person know all that they had thrown away. I thoroughly enjoyed the poem, Yeats is a true artist and his work is timeless. Every time I read this poem I feel a little ping it’s so sad and beautiful.
A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf 5/5
Whether it’s the prose of a story or an essay, Woolf was a master with words. I didn’t read the entirety of this essay, however, the portion I did read still resonates. This is a feminist essay decrying the place of women in society and how every woman needs a room of her own in which she can learn and grow. Her most profound analogy concerns the hypothetical life of Shakespeare’s fictitious sister, Lilith. Woolf makes you look back to the 16th century and imagine what would happen if Shakespeare had had a sister, a woman born with his exact genius and who had followed in his footsteps, following him to London. The story isn’t pretty, but it wouldn’t be. I fully agree with the ideas expressed in this piece and I enjoyed reading it.
The Garden Party, Katherine Mansfield 4.5/5
In this short story Mansfield tackles the issue of class in New Zealand, a British dominion. Laura, the protagonist, wonderfully illustrates the push and pull of class divisions and how beliefs are passed from parents to children. Laura finds herself in a quandary, she mimics her mother’s ideas but at the same time they feel wrong to her. She doesn’t really see the difference between the people in her neighbourhood and those across the road. I really like this story, the characters are intense considering its length and the message it sends is clear and undeniable. Mansfield is also a very good writer.
The Day They Burned the Books, Jean Rhys 4.5/5
Rhys is another master in the literary world and another sad case because she has been so greatly underappreciated. Rhys’ stories focus mainly on the conflicts between colonizers and the colonized; she herself was of English and Creole descent, born in Dominica. Many of her stories involve misfits, those that feel as though they belong nowhere, and the narrator of this story is no exception. I love Rhys’ work, her Wide Sargasso Sea is a beautiful book, and this is a beautiful short story. I agree fully with her message, the colonizers always take so much away from those they see to civilize and it drives me crazy. It’s an old story but it’s still an infuriating one. Anyone interested in Post-colonial studies or stories would appreciate this one.
The Moment before the Gun Went Off, Nadine Gordimer 4.5/5
This short story concerns racism in South Africa, a major issue that made headlines around the world. Gordimer has an interesting writing style; she tells you so much in such a small amount of space that by the end of her story you’re left wondering what the heck just happened. You have to reread it a hundred times to make sure you grasped everything. This is a sad story involving a terrible hunting accident that the narrator knows is going to be misinterpreted by the world. I really enjoyed it.
The Prophet’s Hair, Salman Rushdie 4/5
Indian literature is always extremely interesting, it has so many layers to it and so much culture present that it leaves you a bit shocked when you’re done. This short story by Rushdie is no exception. It tells the story of an ideal, progressive family torn apart by religion and fanaticism. Considering how the world views Muslim’s at this particular historical moment, I thought this was an intriguing story. I look forward to more Rushdie in my future, he has a great writing style and his ideas, as well as his characters, stay with you. I can definitely say I wasn’t expecting the ending I got.
Last but not least, I’d like to comment on the editorial notes this anthology is chock full of. The introductions and historical snapshots that the editors have put together are the best part of the Norton books; they’re interesting, enlightening, and highly educational. I would buy the books for the editor’s information alone. Anyway, those are all the texts I was required to read for winter of 2011.
June 26, 2020
People often act curious about my interest in books and poetry for a podcast topic. I have ballet trophy photos on my Facebook and seem to be a fan of dancing and music. Why not dancing? Why not a podcast on music? Is there anything dark or gothic in college textbooks on poetry? Well my friends you pretty much just asked if there was H20 in raindrops, stone bricks in castles, or sugar in bars of chocolate because FAR before any rock band used the word gothic for music, it was used in literature to describe an entire genre of poetic literature first and foremost. The dark romantic period of penny dreadful books on taboo fears is where the term “Gothic Art” actually comes from on some levels. Rock stars took the phrase “gothic poetry” to describe their written lyrics from the actual real literature genre, and owes its origin fully to poets and wordsmiths of old world times. One of the classroom books that best traces this dark origin steeped in history and controversy is this edition of the Norton Anthology’s Romantic Period. I made an A in the class at Austin Community College I took where this text was used. (Inside jacket read.) Let’s take a look at their own description of this book: “Read by millions of students over 7 editions The Norton Anthology of English Literature remains the most trusted undergraduate survey of English literature available, and one of the most successful college texts ever published. Firmly grounded by the hallmark strengths of all Norton Anthologies throughout the helpful introductory manor, judicious annotation texts where ever possible this edition has been revitalized through the editors…The editors have rethought this Anthology to make it an even better teaching tool.” This Anthology defines the Romantic Period as the time period between 1785- 1830, but often includes years to 1900 near the Victorian poetry era.
The writers it defines as influential to the period were the top five poets mentioned on page 1 of paragraph 1: “Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Percy, Shelley, and Keats, adding Blake belatedly to make a sixth.” Yet what most non-academic fans of this time period will remember is the inspiration it caused to movie makers at the dawn of the Golden age of Hollywood. Bram Stoker wrote the famous Dracula May 26, 1897. An earlier work published in this period was made January 1, 1818 called Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Percy Shelley lived between 1792-1822 and wrote “Ozymandias”. Another story of dark duality from this age is Dr. Jakyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886. Always a fan favorite of the flamboyant set The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890. The 1800s was a hotbed of beloved literature. If you are noticing a pattern of the greatest movies from the dawn of the Golden age of Hollywood being taken from popular literature of the era you are not wrong.
Why does this period of time so capture the modern imagination even in modern day? The dawn of mass communication first forms itself in this era of the 1800s. Printing presses become machine operated, and mass market publication is first possible. The Norton Anthology mentions the dawn of an Industrial age that first blooms into being at this point in History. “For one thing new classes inside England – manufacturing rather than agricultural were beginning to demand a voice in government proportionate to their wealth.” Is a quote from page 3. It is hard for humans born into the age of cars and computers to grasp the idea that just a couple hundred years ago over 90 percent of the jobs in the world were all related to farming. Literacy for people of any social background was so rare people could not write their name. “James Watt perfected the steam engine in 1765. In the succeeding decades steam replaced wind and water as the primary source of power for all sorts of manufacturing processes.” The book states on page 3. People were born, lived, and went to the grave within 20 miles of where they were born in agrarian medieval times. As the age turned to the 1800s they could go places beyond their birth town as steam boats and steam trains clawed their way into human life. New things called towns and night life IN towns dawned into being. Suddenly people have social and gender identity they have never had before. This did not always go smoothly to say the least.
On page 21 the anthology gets into a great definition of gothic romance as a fully recognized academic genre. “Another innovation in novel-writing took shape, strangely enough, as a recovery of what was old. Writers, whom we now describe as the Gothic novelists, revisited the romance, the genre identified as the primitive forerunner of the modern novel, looking to a medieval i.e. “Gothic” Europe that they pictured as a place of gloomy castles, devious Catholic monks, and stealthy ghosts… Gothic horrors gave many writers a language in which to examine the nature of power – the elements of sadism and masochism in the relations between men and women for instance. Frequently the Gothic novelists probe the very ideas of historical accuracy and legitimacy that critics use against them and meditate on who is authorized to tell the story of the past and who is not.” The anthology says the end of page 21. This then opened the door to the ideas of revisionist History. In agrarian times only around 5 percent of the population was literate, and most literate historians were the close relatives of the wealthy kings. History was only told making a tiny amount of hero-sexual, pale, land owning, males look perfect and error free. Revisionist Historians questioned the accuracy of this idea. Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Women highly questioned patriarchy. Her daughter in turn wrote Frankenstein, and the work talks about social and gender relations in metaphors. In addition the unquestioned icon of fame known as George Gordon Lord Byron living in the years between 1788-1824 was one of the poets most considered the embodiment of the Gothic literature movement. On page 608 of the book introduction notes. “Byron also lived on in the guise of the Undead, thanks to the success of a novella by his former friend and traveling companion John Polidori whose “The Vampyre” published in 1819 mischievously made Byron its model for the title character.” Lord Byron was by no means a role model, and was in fact mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Yet he was one of the few highly published intellectuals with the ability in high birth and wealth to come out of the close as bisexual gay in a day and age where most all literature on the lifestyle was banned. Many people of lower social station would have their books banned as they were tossed in jail. He stood out as one of the few people challenging traditional norms of behavior and keeping his wits about him while surviving.
My review is that this book is one of the best works of literature ever written. The analysis of poetic technique to classic poems and rhyme structure is fascinating. There are parts that drag on forever as it is not a “quick entertainment book” that is good for a laugh. It is a college level textbook telling the history of literature in a very dangerous and volatile part of human history. Yet I wish this book would replace Romeo and Juliet as part of every high school English class in modern day. What early writer had to go through on their way to modern day enlightenment should not be hidden away in high level elective classrooms of higher education. Readers of all backgrounds should check it out. I give it five stars out of five stars. More at FH7publishing.com
The writers it defines as influential to the period were the top five poets mentioned on page 1 of paragraph 1: “Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Percy, Shelley, and Keats, adding Blake belatedly to make a sixth.” Yet what most non-academic fans of this time period will remember is the inspiration it caused to movie makers at the dawn of the Golden age of Hollywood. Bram Stoker wrote the famous Dracula May 26, 1897. An earlier work published in this period was made January 1, 1818 called Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Percy Shelley lived between 1792-1822 and wrote “Ozymandias”. Another story of dark duality from this age is Dr. Jakyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886. Always a fan favorite of the flamboyant set The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890. The 1800s was a hotbed of beloved literature. If you are noticing a pattern of the greatest movies from the dawn of the Golden age of Hollywood being taken from popular literature of the era you are not wrong.
Why does this period of time so capture the modern imagination even in modern day? The dawn of mass communication first forms itself in this era of the 1800s. Printing presses become machine operated, and mass market publication is first possible. The Norton Anthology mentions the dawn of an Industrial age that first blooms into being at this point in History. “For one thing new classes inside England – manufacturing rather than agricultural were beginning to demand a voice in government proportionate to their wealth.” Is a quote from page 3. It is hard for humans born into the age of cars and computers to grasp the idea that just a couple hundred years ago over 90 percent of the jobs in the world were all related to farming. Literacy for people of any social background was so rare people could not write their name. “James Watt perfected the steam engine in 1765. In the succeeding decades steam replaced wind and water as the primary source of power for all sorts of manufacturing processes.” The book states on page 3. People were born, lived, and went to the grave within 20 miles of where they were born in agrarian medieval times. As the age turned to the 1800s they could go places beyond their birth town as steam boats and steam trains clawed their way into human life. New things called towns and night life IN towns dawned into being. Suddenly people have social and gender identity they have never had before. This did not always go smoothly to say the least.
On page 21 the anthology gets into a great definition of gothic romance as a fully recognized academic genre. “Another innovation in novel-writing took shape, strangely enough, as a recovery of what was old. Writers, whom we now describe as the Gothic novelists, revisited the romance, the genre identified as the primitive forerunner of the modern novel, looking to a medieval i.e. “Gothic” Europe that they pictured as a place of gloomy castles, devious Catholic monks, and stealthy ghosts… Gothic horrors gave many writers a language in which to examine the nature of power – the elements of sadism and masochism in the relations between men and women for instance. Frequently the Gothic novelists probe the very ideas of historical accuracy and legitimacy that critics use against them and meditate on who is authorized to tell the story of the past and who is not.” The anthology says the end of page 21. This then opened the door to the ideas of revisionist History. In agrarian times only around 5 percent of the population was literate, and most literate historians were the close relatives of the wealthy kings. History was only told making a tiny amount of hero-sexual, pale, land owning, males look perfect and error free. Revisionist Historians questioned the accuracy of this idea. Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Women highly questioned patriarchy. Her daughter in turn wrote Frankenstein, and the work talks about social and gender relations in metaphors. In addition the unquestioned icon of fame known as George Gordon Lord Byron living in the years between 1788-1824 was one of the poets most considered the embodiment of the Gothic literature movement. On page 608 of the book introduction notes. “Byron also lived on in the guise of the Undead, thanks to the success of a novella by his former friend and traveling companion John Polidori whose “The Vampyre” published in 1819 mischievously made Byron its model for the title character.” Lord Byron was by no means a role model, and was in fact mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Yet he was one of the few highly published intellectuals with the ability in high birth and wealth to come out of the close as bisexual gay in a day and age where most all literature on the lifestyle was banned. Many people of lower social station would have their books banned as they were tossed in jail. He stood out as one of the few people challenging traditional norms of behavior and keeping his wits about him while surviving.
My review is that this book is one of the best works of literature ever written. The analysis of poetic technique to classic poems and rhyme structure is fascinating. There are parts that drag on forever as it is not a “quick entertainment book” that is good for a laugh. It is a college level textbook telling the history of literature in a very dangerous and volatile part of human history. Yet I wish this book would replace Romeo and Juliet as part of every high school English class in modern day. What early writer had to go through on their way to modern day enlightenment should not be hidden away in high level elective classrooms of higher education. Readers of all backgrounds should check it out. I give it five stars out of five stars. More at FH7publishing.com
July 14, 2014
This was the text for my second semester senior English class in high school. I understand the teacher retired after that year to take a job driving buses or something. I wouldn't blame him, because I doubt if he got much out of the six of us. But he was the best literature professor I ever had.
June 10, 2012
I actually really liked almost of all the works in this anthology. I love the Norton Anthologies.
January 7, 2022
A summary i wrote for my Literary class called "Being Romantic:"
In the late 18th and early 19th century, many poets rose to prominence in Europe in what came to be known as “The Romantic Period.” Much debate has been garnered over the way in which the term “romantic” has evolved over the centuries and whether the term has took on a completely different meaning as a result.
In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, the term “romantic” is used to describe a type of passion. As Mary Wollstonecraft says, “I do not mean to allude to the romantic passion, which is the concomitant of genius” (p. 184). Wollstonecraft using “romantic” to categorize an emotional fervor suggests that she, along with other writers during the Romantic Period, used the word “romantic” to label erotic sentiments. This is proven when she says she “does not mean to allude to” this erotic, or “romantic passion,” when discussing passions women should seek that embolden the “pursuit of virtue and knowledge” (p. 184). This distinction lends insight to how “romantic passion” is tied to erotic relationships, and thus, is different from the passions in which Wollstonecraft is encouraging. The term “romantic” is also used in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Ligeia.” The narrator in “Ligeia” is contemplating his relationship with the lady Ligeia and wonders if he engaged in a “wildly romantic offering on the shrine of the most passionate devotion” by not inquiring about her past (p. 644). Once again, “romantic” is associated with passion when discussing amatory love, this time being described as a wild or untamed outpour of eroticism.
The works of the artists and poets of the Romantic Period were a direct contradiction to the sentiments that the Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment brought about. While the Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment embodied modernization of society through scientific reasoning, questioning and manufacturing, the literary and artistic works during this time expressed the emotions, spirituality, and “romanticism” of humans that often arose in response to elements of nature, relationships, and political movements. By labeling this era as “The Romantic Period” years after its conclusion, society deemed “romanticism” in that day and age as an exploration of all emotions of the human capacity, some of which were sadness, anger, love, and happiness.
Writers during this era of literature and art used the term “romantic” in a similar way to what the term has come to mean in present-day society. The term “romantic” is now used to describe moments in which feelings of erotic love are evoked. This is often shown in popular culture through movies and music. In fact, there is a whole genre of “romance” movies that are centered around passionate love affairs and even a sub-genre of “romantic comedies” that explore humorous flirtations. The idea of “romance” in music is often tied to what we refer to as love songs. These love songs express one’s emotional yearning or sexual attraction to another person and thus, are deemed “romantic” in the 21st century.
While writers of the Romantic Period and people of the 21st century use the term “romantic” to describe love or passion, the time periods differ in their execution of it. Poets during the 18th and 19th century used the term “romantic” to refer to an overpowering feeling of one’s deep love for another, while “romantic” in the 21st century is used to brand displays of one’s affection through actions of candlelit dinners or walks on the beach. Romanticism in the present is a physical depiction of sexual connection while writers of the Romantic Period used it synonymously with intangible erotic or passionate emotions.
In the late 18th and early 19th century, many poets rose to prominence in Europe in what came to be known as “The Romantic Period.” Much debate has been garnered over the way in which the term “romantic” has evolved over the centuries and whether the term has took on a completely different meaning as a result.
In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, the term “romantic” is used to describe a type of passion. As Mary Wollstonecraft says, “I do not mean to allude to the romantic passion, which is the concomitant of genius” (p. 184). Wollstonecraft using “romantic” to categorize an emotional fervor suggests that she, along with other writers during the Romantic Period, used the word “romantic” to label erotic sentiments. This is proven when she says she “does not mean to allude to” this erotic, or “romantic passion,” when discussing passions women should seek that embolden the “pursuit of virtue and knowledge” (p. 184). This distinction lends insight to how “romantic passion” is tied to erotic relationships, and thus, is different from the passions in which Wollstonecraft is encouraging. The term “romantic” is also used in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Ligeia.” The narrator in “Ligeia” is contemplating his relationship with the lady Ligeia and wonders if he engaged in a “wildly romantic offering on the shrine of the most passionate devotion” by not inquiring about her past (p. 644). Once again, “romantic” is associated with passion when discussing amatory love, this time being described as a wild or untamed outpour of eroticism.
The works of the artists and poets of the Romantic Period were a direct contradiction to the sentiments that the Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment brought about. While the Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment embodied modernization of society through scientific reasoning, questioning and manufacturing, the literary and artistic works during this time expressed the emotions, spirituality, and “romanticism” of humans that often arose in response to elements of nature, relationships, and political movements. By labeling this era as “The Romantic Period” years after its conclusion, society deemed “romanticism” in that day and age as an exploration of all emotions of the human capacity, some of which were sadness, anger, love, and happiness.
Writers during this era of literature and art used the term “romantic” in a similar way to what the term has come to mean in present-day society. The term “romantic” is now used to describe moments in which feelings of erotic love are evoked. This is often shown in popular culture through movies and music. In fact, there is a whole genre of “romance” movies that are centered around passionate love affairs and even a sub-genre of “romantic comedies” that explore humorous flirtations. The idea of “romance” in music is often tied to what we refer to as love songs. These love songs express one’s emotional yearning or sexual attraction to another person and thus, are deemed “romantic” in the 21st century.
While writers of the Romantic Period and people of the 21st century use the term “romantic” to describe love or passion, the time periods differ in their execution of it. Poets during the 18th and 19th century used the term “romantic” to refer to an overpowering feeling of one’s deep love for another, while “romantic” in the 21st century is used to brand displays of one’s affection through actions of candlelit dinners or walks on the beach. Romanticism in the present is a physical depiction of sexual connection while writers of the Romantic Period used it synonymously with intangible erotic or passionate emotions.
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April 20, 2015 Illuminating Passiveness: the Ultimate Wisdom in Nature
William Wordsworth is universally known as a great poet whose poems played a tremendous role and was one of most influential and leading figures in the emergence of Romanticism. He published his collection of poems, known as the Lyrical Ballads, in 1798, which was around the beginnings of the Romantic era of the British literature. One of his poems in the Lyrical Ballads is called Expostulation and Reply, in which Wordsworth emphasizes on themes of the Romantic movement through his asserting on the importance of contemplating nature and harnessing imagination to derive feelings, stimulate senses and therefore gain wisdom in life. Wordsworth’s poem was visionary that it is also strongly related to the modern life in the twenty-first century in the aspect of how people nowadays place knowledge and science above sentimental feelings and spiritual development. Wordsworth is considered a quintessential romantic poet because he created poetry that championed imagination and valued nature along with simple language that is easily understandable by the general public to generate various feelings in readers’ hearts of his time and until this day. In his poem, Wordsworth says, “Why, William, on that old grey stone/Thus for the length of half a day/Why, William, sit you thus alone?” (1-3). One can quickly notice how Wordsworth is using uncomplicated phrases to state the opening of his poem, in which he is sitting alone on a stone for lengthy periods of time and his friend is questioning him about the reason behind what he think is a useless action. Wordsworth replied with a response that reflected his philosophy in life and his belief that his musing in nature is what is most essential to a human soul.
In his poem, Wordsworth succeeded in describing what is mostly known about Romanticism and that is valuing emotions over rationality. He began his poem with an expostulation, which is using reason to turn someone away from his/her course of action, made by his friend Mathew about his long daydreaming beside the lake, which in Mathew’s opinion is a waste of time, useless and not beneficial for a human being, “Why, William, sit you thus alone/And dream your time away?…Where are your books?—that light bequeathed/To Beings else forlorn and blind!” (2-5). Mathew believed that books contained wisdom and that those who do not read and absorb knowledge are “Blind,” and deprived from the beauty of life. However, Wordsworth rejected what Mathew, in addition to the classics before the Romantic period, valued, which was trying to understand life only by reasoning and rationality.
Wordsworth was a romantic poet, and therefore, he had a different perspective in life than did Mathew. His inner intuition and deep emotions derived through human senses; seeing, listening and feeling, that are stimulated due to the tranquility of nature, were a guiding force to him that was stronger than reasoning and rationality that would be other way gained from books. “The eye—it cannot choose but see;/We cannot bid the ear be still;/Our bodies feel, where’er they be/Against or with our will” (17-20). Wordsworth is giving freedom to his senses to explore the world the way the world wants them to see it. He did not explain his thoughts and ideas about the importance of utilizing senses in a very complex diction because that was his whole concept; that these powerful feeling that he is having need not be explained in the same way books do, that they are very simple and at the same time, they are so powerful that they can give him a whole new way in gaining wisdom. He said, “That we can feed this mind of ours/In a wise passiveness” (23-24). He believed that wisdom in life can be gained in techniques different from the physical effort path that most people pursue. Wordsworth glorified nature and its importance on the human soul. Nature spoke to Wordsworth, and he understood the unspoken language in a very profound way that made him wise, calm and sensitive, which can be interpreted from his peaceful response to his friend’s provocative questions.
Wordsworth popularity among modern literature readers is due to his visionary poems that still relates to the modern life in the twenty-first century. In his poem, Mathew represents the modern life in its assumption that the only way of developing oneself is by learning from books in its variety, and that spending time looking at nature would be considered a waste of time and not beneficial to improve the person’s knowledge of the modern world and life in general. Wordsworth relates to modern readers who appreciate the view of a fading blue sky diving under a navy blue ocean or a clear lake reflecting the white clouds above in the sky, and are willing to spend hours looking at it and turning on their imagination to live in different worlds where life is happier more beautiful than this modern-life routine that is full of burdensome activities. “You look around on your Mother Earth,/As if she for no purpose bore you” (9-10). This is, up to a certain point, the way people nowadays see life; that one should learn and become more intelligent to produce more because that is the purpose of life, to just give Earth the most of what one can do.
But in his poem, Wordsworth comes again to save those like him, who believe in nature and its beauty, by asserting that if people just look around them calmly and wisely without the modern-human rush, they can capture the whole idea without their endless seeking of truth. He says, “Think you, ‘mid all this mighty sum/Of things for ever speaking,/ That nothing of itself will come/But we must still be seeking?” (25-28). Wordsworth is now questioning his friend (the readers): do you think that people must always seek knowledge in books even though the totality of nature and intuition are always speaking to them? However, the implied answer is no. Only if people listen to nature and appreciate it by feeling every breeze of air that land on their faces, every sunset scene their eyes receive, then they might replace reading countless books by lengthy contemplation to gain wisdom and inner satisfaction.
Another message Wordsworth is giving for the modern-life audience is stated in the last four lines of his poem. He is telling those who feel out of place in their society and unable to convince others around them of their distinct actions from the general public, to keep on doing them as long as they believe and feel that it is benefiting them and giving them pure relief and happiness, even if it seems unwise and useless to everyone else. “Then ask not wherefore, here, alone,/Conversing as I may,/I sit upon this old grey stone,/And dream my time away” (29-32). Wordsworth is asking his friend to leave him alone and, what he ironically described as, “…Dream my time away” (32).
William Wordsworth is universally known as a great poet whose poems played a tremendous role and was one of most influential and leading figures in the emergence of Romanticism. He published his collection of poems, known as the Lyrical Ballads, in 1798, which was around the beginnings of the Romantic era of the British literature. One of his poems in the Lyrical Ballads is called Expostulation and Reply, in which Wordsworth emphasizes on themes of the Romantic movement through his asserting on the importance of contemplating nature and harnessing imagination to derive feelings, stimulate senses and therefore gain wisdom in life. Wordsworth’s poem was visionary that it is also strongly related to the modern life in the twenty-first century in the aspect of how people nowadays place knowledge and science above sentimental feelings and spiritual development. Wordsworth is considered a quintessential romantic poet because he created poetry that championed imagination and valued nature along with simple language that is easily understandable by the general public to generate various feelings in readers’ hearts of his time and until this day. In his poem, Wordsworth says, “Why, William, on that old grey stone/Thus for the length of half a day/Why, William, sit you thus alone?” (1-3). One can quickly notice how Wordsworth is using uncomplicated phrases to state the opening of his poem, in which he is sitting alone on a stone for lengthy periods of time and his friend is questioning him about the reason behind what he think is a useless action. Wordsworth replied with a response that reflected his philosophy in life and his belief that his musing in nature is what is most essential to a human soul.
In his poem, Wordsworth succeeded in describing what is mostly known about Romanticism and that is valuing emotions over rationality. He began his poem with an expostulation, which is using reason to turn someone away from his/her course of action, made by his friend Mathew about his long daydreaming beside the lake, which in Mathew’s opinion is a waste of time, useless and not beneficial for a human being, “Why, William, sit you thus alone/And dream your time away?…Where are your books?—that light bequeathed/To Beings else forlorn and blind!” (2-5). Mathew believed that books contained wisdom and that those who do not read and absorb knowledge are “Blind,” and deprived from the beauty of life. However, Wordsworth rejected what Mathew, in addition to the classics before the Romantic period, valued, which was trying to understand life only by reasoning and rationality.
Wordsworth was a romantic poet, and therefore, he had a different perspective in life than did Mathew. His inner intuition and deep emotions derived through human senses; seeing, listening and feeling, that are stimulated due to the tranquility of nature, were a guiding force to him that was stronger than reasoning and rationality that would be other way gained from books. “The eye—it cannot choose but see;/We cannot bid the ear be still;/Our bodies feel, where’er they be/Against or with our will” (17-20). Wordsworth is giving freedom to his senses to explore the world the way the world wants them to see it. He did not explain his thoughts and ideas about the importance of utilizing senses in a very complex diction because that was his whole concept; that these powerful feeling that he is having need not be explained in the same way books do, that they are very simple and at the same time, they are so powerful that they can give him a whole new way in gaining wisdom. He said, “That we can feed this mind of ours/In a wise passiveness” (23-24). He believed that wisdom in life can be gained in techniques different from the physical effort path that most people pursue. Wordsworth glorified nature and its importance on the human soul. Nature spoke to Wordsworth, and he understood the unspoken language in a very profound way that made him wise, calm and sensitive, which can be interpreted from his peaceful response to his friend’s provocative questions.
Wordsworth popularity among modern literature readers is due to his visionary poems that still relates to the modern life in the twenty-first century. In his poem, Mathew represents the modern life in its assumption that the only way of developing oneself is by learning from books in its variety, and that spending time looking at nature would be considered a waste of time and not beneficial to improve the person’s knowledge of the modern world and life in general. Wordsworth relates to modern readers who appreciate the view of a fading blue sky diving under a navy blue ocean or a clear lake reflecting the white clouds above in the sky, and are willing to spend hours looking at it and turning on their imagination to live in different worlds where life is happier more beautiful than this modern-life routine that is full of burdensome activities. “You look around on your Mother Earth,/As if she for no purpose bore you” (9-10). This is, up to a certain point, the way people nowadays see life; that one should learn and become more intelligent to produce more because that is the purpose of life, to just give Earth the most of what one can do.
But in his poem, Wordsworth comes again to save those like him, who believe in nature and its beauty, by asserting that if people just look around them calmly and wisely without the modern-human rush, they can capture the whole idea without their endless seeking of truth. He says, “Think you, ‘mid all this mighty sum/Of things for ever speaking,/ That nothing of itself will come/But we must still be seeking?” (25-28). Wordsworth is now questioning his friend (the readers): do you think that people must always seek knowledge in books even though the totality of nature and intuition are always speaking to them? However, the implied answer is no. Only if people listen to nature and appreciate it by feeling every breeze of air that land on their faces, every sunset scene their eyes receive, then they might replace reading countless books by lengthy contemplation to gain wisdom and inner satisfaction.
Another message Wordsworth is giving for the modern-life audience is stated in the last four lines of his poem. He is telling those who feel out of place in their society and unable to convince others around them of their distinct actions from the general public, to keep on doing them as long as they believe and feel that it is benefiting them and giving them pure relief and happiness, even if it seems unwise and useless to everyone else. “Then ask not wherefore, here, alone,/Conversing as I may,/I sit upon this old grey stone,/And dream my time away” (29-32). Wordsworth is asking his friend to leave him alone and, what he ironically described as, “…Dream my time away” (32).
March 1, 2021
This is an excellent reference text with good selections from 1785 to the present day. Anthologies are always going to get criticized for including some things and excluding others. Norton seems to do a consistently good job with their texts.
The following quotes are from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which is included in its glorious entirety in this volume. I've never enjoyed this novel as much as this, perhaps my third read of it.
(regarding the Thames) "The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires." (p. 2330)
"And this also...has been one of the dark places of the earth." (p. 2330)
"We live in the flicker..." (p. 2330)
"A sea the colour of lead, a sky the colour of smoke, a kind of ship about as rigid as a concertina." (p. 2331)
"[A]ll that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men." (p. 2331)
"He turned to his work. The noise outside had ceased, and presently in going out I stopped at the door. In the steady buzz of flies the homeward-bound agent was lying flushed and insensible; the other, bent over his books, was making correct entries of perfectly correct transactions; and fifty feet below the doorstep I could see the still tree-tops of the grove of death." (p. 2341)
"Perhaps on some quiet night the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing, suggestive, and wild - and perhaps with as profound a meaning as the sound of bells in a Christian country." (p. 2342)
"To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe." (p. 2350)
"[S]hould the water in that transparent thing disappear, the evil spirit inside the boiler would get angry through the greatness of his thirst, and take terrible vengeance." (p. 2355)
The following quotes are from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which is included in its glorious entirety in this volume. I've never enjoyed this novel as much as this, perhaps my third read of it.
(regarding the Thames) "The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires." (p. 2330)
"And this also...has been one of the dark places of the earth." (p. 2330)
"We live in the flicker..." (p. 2330)
"A sea the colour of lead, a sky the colour of smoke, a kind of ship about as rigid as a concertina." (p. 2331)
"[A]ll that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men." (p. 2331)
"He turned to his work. The noise outside had ceased, and presently in going out I stopped at the door. In the steady buzz of flies the homeward-bound agent was lying flushed and insensible; the other, bent over his books, was making correct entries of perfectly correct transactions; and fifty feet below the doorstep I could see the still tree-tops of the grove of death." (p. 2341)
"Perhaps on some quiet night the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing, suggestive, and wild - and perhaps with as profound a meaning as the sound of bells in a Christian country." (p. 2342)
"To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe." (p. 2350)
"[S]hould the water in that transparent thing disappear, the evil spirit inside the boiler would get angry through the greatness of his thirst, and take terrible vengeance." (p. 2355)
November 8, 2016
The Norton Anthology covers the Romantic Period, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley--all of which I like. The authors' biographies aren't too posh-sounding and are rather informative than scholarly, which I like. The estimated weight of this book, however, must be over two kilograms, which I do not like (hence the four stars). I will be happily re-selling this copy after finishing my introductory literature course.
May 18, 2017
This second volume includes three volumes of the Norton Anthology, volumes D, E, and F. These volumes cover the Romantic period, Victorian age, and Twentieth Century and after. Some of my favorite authors from this volume are William Blake, Lord Byron, John Keats, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Bronte, Lord Tennyson, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, William Butler Yeats, Stevie Smith, Carol Ann Duffy, Margaret Atwood, and Hanif Kureishi.
April 1, 2022
This work by Abrams seem to be a comprehensive work which cover the British literature in the 20th century. With a collection of different narratives in diverse settings, the collection reflect quite decently not only multiple destinies but also described the contemporary societies of these protagonists. I think that the language was quite essential, and overall, this work is, in my opinion, something able to leave impression on the audience.
May 7, 2017
A good collection piece to read occasionally without Order. Pretty hefty!
April 16, 2018
No I did not read every page of this, but you bet I'm counting the three hundred I did xD
April 23, 2019
Textbook for one of my English classes in university - I don't remember now. I kept it for many years afterwards.
May 2, 2019
Some of my favorite authors from this anthology: Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield, Christina Rossetti, Mary Wollstonecraft, and others.
October 1, 2019
Another book from my Lao work library. I leave this one at work because I'd probably break my arm taking it home.
April 7, 2020
Very comprehensive and really enjoyed having secondary information in the book too.
December 24, 2024
3.5 stars
April 30, 2025
read for “literature in english II”
what i read from it was enjoyable! weird, because old literature is always weird, but i enjoyed it anyways!
what i read from it was enjoyable! weird, because old literature is always weird, but i enjoyed it anyways!
December 4, 2025
fantastic
October 5, 2020
En rigtig god kilde ifb. med et semesterfag på engelskstudiet.
- Brugt på universitetet (engelsk)
- Brugt på universitetet (engelsk)
Read
October 20, 2025Cursus English literature.
September 17, 2007
This was one of my textbooks (for my "Victorian Literature" calss in New Zealand), but I think anyone who is interested in great literature would find the investment wise. It covers the time periods from The Romantic Period (1785-1830) to the The Victorian Age (1830-1901) and ending with The Twentieth Century. Obviously, in my class we only covered a touch of the Romantic stuff and the Victorian selections. We didn't touch the 20th Century at all. Like I do with all my Norton textbooks, I'm going to give a breakdown of what you can expect to find within this book's covers. These selections are not only great for the literature aspect, but also as a comment on life during these time periods, which satifies anyone with an historical bent.
THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
Anna Letitia Barbauld, Charlotte Smith, William Blake, Mary Robinson, Robert Burns
The French Revolution and the "Spirit of the Age"
English Controversy about the Revolution
Richard Price, Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Paine
Apocalyptic Expectations
Percy Bysshe Shelly, Wordsworth, Blake
Mary Wollsteonecraft, Joanna Baillie, Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Walter Savage Landor, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, Thomas Moore, Thomas de Quincey, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelly, John Clare, Felicia Dorothea Hemans, John Keats, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly, Letitia Elizabeth Landon
THE VICTORIAN AGE
Thomas Calryle, John Henry Cardinal Newman, John Stuart Mill, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Edward Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte, John Ruskin, Arthur Hugh Clough, George Eliot, Matthew Arnold, Thomas Henry Huxley, George Meredith, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, William Morris, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Walter Pater, Gerard Manley Hopkins
Light Verse
Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, W.S. Gilbert
Victorian Issues
Evolution
Darwin, Leonard Huxley, Sir Edmund Gosse
Industrialism
Friedrich Engles, Charles Dickens
The "Woman Question"
Florence Nightingale, Coventry Patmore
The Nineties
Michael Field, William Ernest Henley, Oscar Wilde,
Bernard Shaw, Francis Thompson, Mary Elizabeth
Coleridge, Rudyard Kipling, Ernest Dowson
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad
The Rise and Fall of Empire
John Ruskin, John Atkinson Hobson, Richard Mulcahy,
James Morris, Jawaharlal Nehru, Chinua Achebe, A.E.
Housman
Voices from WWI
Rupert Brooke, Edward Thomas, Siegfried Sassoon,
Ivor Guerney, Isaac Rosenberg, Wilfred Owen, Mary
Wedderburn Cannan, David Jones
William Butler Yeats, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot, Katherine Mansfield, Hugh MacDiarmand, Jean Rhys, Robert Graves, Stevie Smith, George Orwell, Samuell Beckett, W.H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, Dylan Thomas
Voices from WWII
Edith Sitwell, Henry Reed, Richard Hillary, Keith
Douglas, Charles Causley
Doris Lessing, Philip Larkin, Nadine Gordimer, Thom Gunn, Derek Walcott, Ted Hughes, Harold Pinter, Chinue Achebe, Alice Munro, Geoffrey Hill, V.S. Naipaul, Edna O'Brien, Fleur Adcock, Tony Harrison, Anita Desai, Tom Stoppard, Les Murray, Seamus Heany, J.M. Coetzee, Eavan Boland, Craig Raine, Salman Rushdie, James Fenton, Paul Muldoon
THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
Anna Letitia Barbauld, Charlotte Smith, William Blake, Mary Robinson, Robert Burns
The French Revolution and the "Spirit of the Age"
English Controversy about the Revolution
Richard Price, Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Paine
Apocalyptic Expectations
Percy Bysshe Shelly, Wordsworth, Blake
Mary Wollsteonecraft, Joanna Baillie, Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Walter Savage Landor, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, Thomas Moore, Thomas de Quincey, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelly, John Clare, Felicia Dorothea Hemans, John Keats, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly, Letitia Elizabeth Landon
THE VICTORIAN AGE
Thomas Calryle, John Henry Cardinal Newman, John Stuart Mill, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Edward Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte, John Ruskin, Arthur Hugh Clough, George Eliot, Matthew Arnold, Thomas Henry Huxley, George Meredith, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, William Morris, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Walter Pater, Gerard Manley Hopkins
Light Verse
Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, W.S. Gilbert
Victorian Issues
Evolution
Darwin, Leonard Huxley, Sir Edmund Gosse
Industrialism
Friedrich Engles, Charles Dickens
The "Woman Question"
Florence Nightingale, Coventry Patmore
The Nineties
Michael Field, William Ernest Henley, Oscar Wilde,
Bernard Shaw, Francis Thompson, Mary Elizabeth
Coleridge, Rudyard Kipling, Ernest Dowson
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad
The Rise and Fall of Empire
John Ruskin, John Atkinson Hobson, Richard Mulcahy,
James Morris, Jawaharlal Nehru, Chinua Achebe, A.E.
Housman
Voices from WWI
Rupert Brooke, Edward Thomas, Siegfried Sassoon,
Ivor Guerney, Isaac Rosenberg, Wilfred Owen, Mary
Wedderburn Cannan, David Jones
William Butler Yeats, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot, Katherine Mansfield, Hugh MacDiarmand, Jean Rhys, Robert Graves, Stevie Smith, George Orwell, Samuell Beckett, W.H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, Dylan Thomas
Voices from WWII
Edith Sitwell, Henry Reed, Richard Hillary, Keith
Douglas, Charles Causley
Doris Lessing, Philip Larkin, Nadine Gordimer, Thom Gunn, Derek Walcott, Ted Hughes, Harold Pinter, Chinue Achebe, Alice Munro, Geoffrey Hill, V.S. Naipaul, Edna O'Brien, Fleur Adcock, Tony Harrison, Anita Desai, Tom Stoppard, Les Murray, Seamus Heany, J.M. Coetzee, Eavan Boland, Craig Raine, Salman Rushdie, James Fenton, Paul Muldoon
March 27, 2015
I've marked this book as read (on the basis that I've spent hours and hours of study time going through the notes, essays and references, and have probably dipped into every text in the book at least superficially). However, I don't actually think this is the kind of book you ever really finish.
First of all, it is a textbook. A literal book of texts. An attempt to encompass a literary canon, or rather three literary canons, the Romantic, Victorian and Modern eras. It is, therefore of a monstrous size and scope. If you tried to read this cover to cover, I think you would expire, grey and aged, with a thousand pages still to go, having only read one book in your life.
Second, it is a pretty good textbook. In English literature, the criteria for what makes a good textbook are a little different - or at least I think so. It has to be dippable, I.e. one should be able to close it up and resume in a different place without feeling like the way is lost. Lord Byron one day, James Joyce the next, Oscar Wilde with tea at the weekend, or whatever. It also should have some quality annotations, and some snappy footnotes. I like a footnote with a bit of showmanship, sark even, which this text delivers, along with really useful historical references, dates, and all the usual essentials.
The downsides? In a sense, the very comprehensive nature of the Norton is its downfall. It has collections of essays by some of the greats, along with sections from novels, and from epic poetry. But the tendency of the editors (for entirely understandable reasons of practicality) is to abridge, to decide what the 'important' parts of the text are, while omitting others. Consequently, the Norton tantalises, but never fully satisfies. Many's the time I have been sent to Amazon or to a bookshop after having my fancy tickled but not satiated by an extract in Norton. There is also the issue which a few other reviewers have raised as to how one decides what is and is not an essential canonical text. The Romantic section is impressive, for its inclusion of the female poets of that period who for so many years have been overlooked and are only now returning to vogue. It also has a decent section on the Pre-Raphaelite writers, including Ruskin and Dante Gabriel Rossetti as well as the more favoured Christina.
As a university textbook, I currently have a somewhat bittersweet relationship with this anthology. Yet it is a useful, and enjoyable (when not in full-blown study mode) book. I fully expect to return to it many times in years to come.
First of all, it is a textbook. A literal book of texts. An attempt to encompass a literary canon, or rather three literary canons, the Romantic, Victorian and Modern eras. It is, therefore of a monstrous size and scope. If you tried to read this cover to cover, I think you would expire, grey and aged, with a thousand pages still to go, having only read one book in your life.
Second, it is a pretty good textbook. In English literature, the criteria for what makes a good textbook are a little different - or at least I think so. It has to be dippable, I.e. one should be able to close it up and resume in a different place without feeling like the way is lost. Lord Byron one day, James Joyce the next, Oscar Wilde with tea at the weekend, or whatever. It also should have some quality annotations, and some snappy footnotes. I like a footnote with a bit of showmanship, sark even, which this text delivers, along with really useful historical references, dates, and all the usual essentials.
The downsides? In a sense, the very comprehensive nature of the Norton is its downfall. It has collections of essays by some of the greats, along with sections from novels, and from epic poetry. But the tendency of the editors (for entirely understandable reasons of practicality) is to abridge, to decide what the 'important' parts of the text are, while omitting others. Consequently, the Norton tantalises, but never fully satisfies. Many's the time I have been sent to Amazon or to a bookshop after having my fancy tickled but not satiated by an extract in Norton. There is also the issue which a few other reviewers have raised as to how one decides what is and is not an essential canonical text. The Romantic section is impressive, for its inclusion of the female poets of that period who for so many years have been overlooked and are only now returning to vogue. It also has a decent section on the Pre-Raphaelite writers, including Ruskin and Dante Gabriel Rossetti as well as the more favoured Christina.
As a university textbook, I currently have a somewhat bittersweet relationship with this anthology. Yet it is a useful, and enjoyable (when not in full-blown study mode) book. I fully expect to return to it many times in years to come.
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