The Best Poems of the English Language

The culmination of Harold Bloom’s lifelong love of poetry, The Best Poems of the English Language is a comprehensive anthology that offers six centuries of great British and American poetry. Beginning with Chaucer and ending with Robert Frost, each of the more than 100 poems were chosen according to Bloom’s three absolute criteria: aesthetic splendor, intellectual power, and wisdom. Throughout, he offers an extensive introduction to the individual poets and many of the poems.

This outstanding collection also contains an introductory essay in which the esteemed scholar presents his critical reflections on more than a half century devoted to reading, teaching, and writing, and he conveys his passionate concern for how a poem should be interpreted and appreciated.

“"Whether you love poetry or you want to know more about the art form over the centuries, this is the book you will want."”

&#8220A colossus among critics. . . . His enthusiasm for literature is a joyous intoxicant.” — New York Times Magazine&#8220Our most valuable critic . . . Harold Bloom reminds us what matters.” — Boston Globe&#8220One feels about Bloom’s focus, every serious reader of poetry really must begin with the works he so ardently loves and champions…this comprehensive anthology is an ideal starting place.” — Booklist&#8220A poetry anthology of and for the ages.” —  Los Angeles Times&#8220Whether you love poetry or you want to know more about the art form over the centuries, this is the book you will want.” — Albuquerque Journal&#8220Uncommonly valuable to all who appreciate poetry. . . . This superb anthology will ensure Bloom’s role in the process for a long time and will, I hope, inspire others to walk in his formidable footsteps.” — San Francisco Chronicle

Harold Bloom is a Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University and a former Charles Eliot Norton Professor at Harvard. His more than twenty-five books include THE BEST POEMS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; GENIUS, HOW TO READ AND WHY, SHAKESPEARE: THE INVENTION OF THE HUMAN, THE WESTERN CANON,THE BOOK OF J and THE ANXIETY OF INFLUENCE. He is a MacArthur Prize Fellow, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the recipient of many awards and honorary degrees, including the Academy’s Gold Medal for Belles Lettres and Criticism, the International Prize of Catalonia, and the Alfonso Reyes Prize of Mexico.

This comprehensive anthology attempts to give the common reader possession of six centuries of great British and American poetry. The book features a large introductory essay by Harold Bloom called "The Art of Reading Poetry," which presents his critical reflections of more than half a century devoted to the reading, teaching, and writing about the literary achievement he loves most. In the case of all major poets in the language, this volume offers either the entire range of what is most valuable in their work, or vital selections that illuminate each figures contribution. There are also headnotes by Harold Bloom to every poet in the volume as well as to the most important individual poems. Much more than any other anthology ever gathered, this book provides readers who desire the pleasures of a sublime art with very nearly everything they need in a single volume. It also is regarded as his final meditation upon all those who have formed his mind.

This comprehensive anthology attempts to give the common reader possession of six centuries of great British and American poetry. The book features a large introductory essay by Harold Bloom called "The Art of Reading Poetry," which presents his critical reflections of more than half a century devoted to the reading, teaching, and writing about the literary achievement he loves most. In the case of all major poets in the language, this volume offers either the entire range of what is most valuable in their work, or vital selections that illuminate each figure's contribution. There are also headnotes by Harold Bloom to every poet in the volume as well as to the most important individual poems. Much more than any other anthology ever gathered, this book provides readers who desire the pleasures of a sublime art with very nearly everything they need in a single volume. It also is regarded as his final meditation upon all those who have formed his mind.

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