English Victorian Poetry: An Anthology

by Paul Negri (Editor)

The Victorian period of English Literature is generally dated from the late 1830's to the turn of the 20th century (coinciding with the reign of Queen Victoria) and includes a roster of poets whose works are of perennial interests to literature students as well as enduringly popular with poetry lovers and general readers.

This outstanding, modestly priced anthology presents over 170 poems by the major poets of the period, including Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Growning, Elizabeth Barret Browning, Arthur Hugh Clough, Edward FitzGerald, Matthew Arnold, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, Coventry Patmore, George Meredith, William Ernest Henley, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Gerald Manley Hopkins, Rodyard Kipling, and many others.

Carefully selected to include the works most often studied in literature courses, high school through college, as well as some of the best -loved poems in English, this anthology is ideal for classroom use, independent study, and personal perusal. An Introduction and brief biographical notes on the poets are included.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Literature, Victorian, Anthologies, 19th Century, School

230 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 1998

Reviews

[Mandi Hidalgo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love poetry. It is a major facet of my life. I love to read poetry from various eras of humanity to see how the language was back then, and to see what they felt important enough to put into verse. That being said, Victorian language is often difficult to understand and the subject matter is often unrelatable to me as a woman in the 21st century. I'm happy I read the book, but I'm also happy to be done with it. It was a bit of a chore to decipher at times, but poetical history is important. This was a learning experience, for sure.

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

The nature of this being an anthology makes it somewhat difficult to review it as a whole, so I’ll just touch on a few of my favorites that I encountered. I particularly enjoyed Edward Lear’s humorous verse with “How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear” and “The Jumblies” (someday I too wish to go to sea in a sieve). I found Robert Browning’s poems interesting to say in the very least: “How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix” had such fantastic momentum it was actively fun to read—which was something I hadn’t experienced before—and “Porphyria’s Lover” took such an alarming turn from the expected pleasant romance to murder by suffocation with the victim’s own hair. But the book was not without its insightful poems; I get the feeling I’ll be carrying “The Old Stoic” by Emily Bronte around with me for a while (please note that I loved all of Bronte’s poems a great deal, but special recognition goes to “Stars” and “The Night-Wind”). Coventry Patmore’s “The Kiss” was supremely Victorian and I appreciated it immensely. One of the longer ones I liked, “In the Room” by James Thomson, was an intriguing view of an apartment from the eyes of its furniture and how they gossip about how much better the previous tenant was over the current one.Victorian England is, for whatever reason, one of my favorite eras, so I was excited to experience the poetry and was well rewarded on that count. My recommendation would be to anyone who knows they like poems or poets from the Victorian era and want to see what else was coming out at around that time, or possibly people looking for short stories in verse, as these poets seemed particularly fond of their narrative pieces (and no complaints from me).

[Felipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

English Victorian Poetry: An Anthology is, as the title states, a collection of English poetry from a variety of authors. I found most of the poems very pleasant to read through. However, a few poems were quite long, and I'm not a huge fan of lengthy poems. I tend to find them cumbersome. However, there was one major exception: Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott". I enjoyed the story behind it as well as the repetition of "Camelot" and "Shalott". More aspects of it, such as the rhyme scheme and meter, kept me reading it to the end despite it being longer than most poetry that I'm used to. As for the anthology as a whole, be aware that it's best enjoyed slowly and diligently; I admit to finding this out the hard way by rushing a few sections and not getting much out of them. I rate this 4/5 and recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading poetry in general.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is a collection of various poems from the Victorian Era. There are poems both serious and humorous from a variety of different poets. With this being an anthology, it is a bit difficult to review the book as a whole. I think one of my favorite poems was Porphyria's Lover by Robert Browning. What began as a sweet love poem turned into the speaker strangling his lover. I think that was the first time reading a poem that my jaw dropped in shock. Overall, as someone who loves poetry I did quite enjoy this anthology. It was a bit difficult to understand and decipher all the poems though, so it was a tricky to enjoy every single one of them. If you are a fan of poetry, definitely check this anthology out. Not every poem will be your favorite, but there is certainly a few that will stick with you.

[Alice Ewing]

One day at work I was googling poems that I remember liking and I realized that they were all classified as Victorian poetry and then like three days later I was walking past Lost City Books and this one was front and center on their outdoor sale cart. #fate

[Deanna ✰ ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little collection of poetry. Some of my favorites in here.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Certainly not a great collection of poems from the period. Very few women included.

[Erica-Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very nice anthology--small but good choices, gorgeous paperback edition from Dover.

[Krystie Herndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was pretty good, reminding me of the focus of my long-ago undergraduate English major. One of these days I'll get back to my own enjoyment of creating poetic word pictures!

[charlotte c-r. · Rating 5 out of 5]

yes yes yes of an anthology. elizabeth browning. emily bronte (REMEMBRANCE). christina rossetti. lewis caroll. oscar wilde.
tennyson’s kraken.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really nice collection of poets, both familiar to me and new. I don't like all the poets work, but I appreciate the introduction and/or exposure to them.

[Elizabeth Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fine Dover Thrift edition, with tiny biographical notes. Covers a long period with a fair sampling of many poets (almost all male) and their most famous and influential poems. A good introduction to the period, especially since the Dovers are so very inexpensive! Good to have on the shelf, too, for reference. It has a good index.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short anthology includes many great poems including: selections from Tennyson's In Memoriam, Browning's "Porphyria's Lover", Arnold's "The Forsaken Merman" and some of Hopkin's best poems like "The Windhover".

[Nicole Marcelis klinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book 3 stars mainly because I struggle with poetry, personally. The anthology itself has a lot of really good classic poems within it, and would be great for avid readers and interpreters of poetry, poetry just isn't my cup of tea, per se.

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually bought this book for one of my old English classes, and just decided to read the whole thing. I love the selection in this book, and how there's just enough information on each poet without being overwhelmimg. I'd definitely recommend reading it.

[Mare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Victorian poetry and this squished them all together. I love the selection from poets I knew and some I didn't. Lovely.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magnificent collection of Victorian poetry. A must read for poetry lovers everywhere.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think Victorian poetry is for me