Great Short Poems: Selections by Shakespeare, Burns, Wordsworth, Shelley, Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, Dunbar and many more

by Paul Negri (Editor)

This outstanding anthology of short verse offers poetry lovers an impressive sampling of more than 150 masterpieces spanning over 400 years of English and American literary history. Although short in length (the longest are 24 lines, most 16 lines or less), these poems are long on beauty, power, imagination, and originality.
Included are such memorable compositions as John Donne's "Death Be Not Proud," Shakespeare's "When, in Disgrace with Fortune and Men's Eyes," "On His Blindness" by John Milton, William Blake's "The Tyger," Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," Byron's "She Walks in Beauty," Shelley's "Ozymandias," as well as works by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Gerard Manly Hopkins, Amy Lowell, William Butler Yeats, Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Langston Hughes, Dylan Thomas, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and many others.
Attractive and inexpensive, this compilation of carefully chosen verse contains many of the most loved, most anthologized poems in the English language. Students, teachers, and any lover of great poetry will treasure this splendid collection.
Includes "The Road Not Taken," "Loveliest of Trees," and "Ozymandias."

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Anthologies, Poetry Plays, Nonfiction, School

64 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2000

Reviews

[Ashleigh Tway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class I'm taking. And honestly... I actually liked a lot of the poems.

I think some poetry is beautiful. But it's been hard for me to get into it over the years. However, this book is so short that it was a relatively quick read. And the poems featured are also short, so they are easier to read (in my opinion).

All of the poets featured are pretty well known, not a lot of variety or lesser-known poets. But if you're interested in getting into poetry and getting acquainted with some more well known verses-- then this book might be helpful.

Disclaimers:
There are topics discussed regarding sexual encounters, death, violence, suicide, and other topics. Some of the poems do contain swear words.

[Julietta · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars is more of a rating of my own ability to decipher poetry than an actual rating of this book.

Let's get into it with a few of my favorites from "Great Short Poems," a book from my own literal shelf!

Favorite funny ones:

How Doth the Little Crocodile

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!

The Purple Cow

I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.

Unrequited love:

I Shall Not Care

When I am dead and over me bright April
Shakes out her rain-drenched hair,
Though you should lean above me broken-hearted,
I shall not care.

I shall have peace as leafy trees are peaceful,
When rain bends down the bough,
And I shall be more silent and cold-hearted
Than you are now.

In the Desert

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
It is bitter--bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
"Because it is bitter,
"And because it is my heart."

The last one sends shivers down my spine!

[Fly FreeBird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Chrystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best value I ever got out of $1.62, this terrific anthology is unique because there are no looooong poems to be found in it. Perfect for the poetry lover like myself who has only a few stolen moments here and there for a quick verse or two.

[Lis · Rating 2 out of 5]

In general the poems that are included ARE important (in terms of the English canon) AND accessible AND high quality (the sort of high quality that makes them fun to read, instead of the opposite). I do have one observation, though: 450 years of poetry and I can count the number of non-white, non-male poets on my fingers, and of those many of them are some very weird inclusions (few of the big name poets who are/were non-white and/or non-male). The poems by Emily Dickinson are all the "standardized" versions that scholars now discount in favor of her original punctuation and rhymes.

If you want a cheap and handy copy of some of the big poems--"Death Be Not Proud" and "To His Coy Mistress" up through Auden, Pound, and Eliot--this is a decent buy. But be warned--it's mostly dead white guys.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the traditional poems that used to be anthologized and a few others. I can hear all the complaints now. So let me just post a humorous example:

The Purple Cow by Gelett Burgess (1866-1951)

I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.

Cinq Ans Apre by Gelett Burgess

Ah, yes! I wrote "The Purple Cow"--
I'm sorry, now, I wrote it!
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'll kill you if you quote it!

[Alayna Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry that I took some time to read a few pages a day, read some old ones I've read before and new ones. Super suprising how impactful they could be.

[J Cabrera Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."

–Robert Frost (1874-1963)

I enjoyed most of the poems in this wondrous anthology. I recommend it.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an ok book how ever I do wish the author had done more to make it more interesting. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

[Audrey Greathouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an A+ volume of English poetry. I wanted a quick survey of poetry to sort of jog my appetite. After reading so much Emily Dickenson and Edna St. Vincent Millay, I started wondering who else I should investigate, and this book pointed out so many brilliant authors that I have never read (or haven't read since college, which is almost the same thing in my memory at this point...)

Everything is crisp and short, so this book has made for the perfect breakfast companion book. I love starting my day (or punctuating it) with a little bit of verse, most of it very traditional. Since all the poems are organized chronologically, it makes it very easy to watch the progression of influence and the evolution of the medium up all the way into the twentieth century.

I would highly recommend this book (an adorably cheap Dover Thrift publication) to anyone who wants to dip their toes into poetry and see what of it they might like, or just a poetry lover who wants a thin and easy collection of quick, lovely reads.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent collection of intro poems, though, because they’re all early-modern to romantic, it feels as if it’s missing more styles. A vast majority of these poets were clearly imitating each other, especially the men (“maidens” and “boughs” and “larks” etc. all seem to be drawing excessively from Shakespeare ad nauseam), which actually made many of the women poets stand out mostly due to subject matter. The latter are more somber, existential, in solitude, whereas most of the men’s poetry here is about lovers, adventurers, and whatever else they either fantasized about or could partake in in a socially acceptable manner. Nevertheless, Stephen Crane’s stand out with a punch, Walt Whitman also feels “modern” in a refreshing way compared with others. Rosetti was a nice surprise I’d never heard of, same with Manley Hopkins.

Overall, the collection is good, but because so much of it is repetitive in theme, style, tone, and rhyme (doesn’t always help), I can’t rate it higher. I would still recommend this collection to anyone as a nice intro to try out different kinds of poetry.

[Didi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent selection

This collection has many well-known poems by a variety of authors. It is always easy to second guess the choices made. I do wish there were more women and a wider ethnic diversity of representative samples, but I also wish for more selections of some of my favorites! All in all, it was a pleasant read.

[Sean]

I'm a sucker for really old-fashioned guys facing death and a certain bleak, melodramatic sentimentality. I also like the occasional light poems thrown in here. I dog-eared:

"On the World," Francis Quarles
"Abou Ben Adhem," Leigh Hunt
"My Life Has Been a Poem," Thoreau
"The Kiss," Coventry Patmore
"Up-Hill," Christina Rossetti
Adelaide Crapsey
Hart Crane

[Robert Faron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet poetry

Nice select of poets and poems. The poems are short, some commonly popular and known. Some a real exposure to find thoughts and ideas that I was not familiar with.

[Dinesh R · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worthy collection indeed.

Some all time great poems are in this collection, really enjoyable and few extremely heart touching poems. I found this collection good for spiritual contemplation and solace.

[Chockletter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read a book of poetry for a book challenge I am participating in, and I was dreading this category. I chose this book because it was short, but I have to admit it was better than I expected. I actually enjoyed some of these short poems.

[Natcha R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time for me to read poems. In my point of view, this book is so good! I do love it but some of poems are totally hard to understand and get into it over the years. plus, all the poem are selected from the famous poet.

[Kate Lima · Rating 3 out of 5]

All poems are well-known

If you read poetry back in the day, perhaps an English major in the 20th century, chances are very good you’ve read all of these poems. So, for nostalgia it’s nice to see some of them again. But I’d say “same ol’, same ol’.”

[Evison T · Rating 5 out of 5]

“When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, l all alone beweep my outcast state.” I came to love and resonate with Sonnet 29 by Shakespeare. “Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day.” Dylan Thomas, you beaut. Poetry, so, so beautiful.

[Susan Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conventional

Very solid collection of English and American poems that are considered the standard literary canon fare. The poems selected often weren't my faves.

[luluandherbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

As it states this is a book with about 200 poems. It’s really nice to read if you’re looking for poems or poets. However it is mainly older poets 1400-1950

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great poems, some eh ones. Overall a good read.

[Phil hart]

Good group of various poets

This book of poems has many different poems. I enjoyed it. Most of these poems are short and understandable and the poets are known

[w gall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed some of these poems, others not so much. One can find meaningful insights in small packages!

[Lindsey Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of poems! Delightful and thought-provoking way to pass time when one doesn’t have enough to read a book :)

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few poems scattered throughout that I loved, a few that made me laugh, and a few poignant ones, but many that fell flat for me.

[Troy Obasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has a handful of very strong poems but a lot of them are weak or just ok. Very good collection for the price and was a book to be read over sometime not all at once .

[Lullaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Tis all in vain. You throw the sand against the wind, and the wind blows it back again”

[Jane Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mediocre selection of classical poetry presented chronologically. Included a couple great poems I hadn't read before.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short enough to memorize. I'm gonna be such a hit with my girlfriend the next time I bust one of these out apropos.