The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Frost
by Harold Bloom
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Three things caused me to buy this book. The first was the inclusion of two Emily Bronte poems by Professor Bloom: ‘Stanzas’ and ‘Last Lines’. The second was the inclusion of T S Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ and the third was that 108 poets are represented in this book.
Professor Bloom selected as his chronological limits Geoffrey Chaucer, born around 1343 and Hart Crane born in 1899. Within these parameters is a wealth of British and American poetry to cover a wide range of moods...more
Professor Bloom selected as his chronological limits Geoffrey Chaucer, born around 1343 and Hart Crane born in 1899. Within these parameters is a wealth of British and American poetry to cover a wide range of moods...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
the strong willed
I do not like Harold Bloom. I resent his influence, I resent his immense cataloge of knowledge, but mostly I resent the way he lords it over his readers in the book. The poems are of course beautiful but as a book that is intended for a lay audience it forces you, insidiously, to view literature the way that he does. It forces readers to believe that being able to trace the ultimate influce of a work i of paramount importance; an endevor, by the way, that is impossible for a lay person to do.
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This will always be in "currently reading". A constant inspiration!
Harold Bloom stuns me with his observations like: We begin to apprehend Blake when we realize that for him "human nature" is a wholly unacceptable phrase, an absolute contradiction, or, as he said, "an impossible absurdity." What was human about us, Blake insisted, was the imagination; what was natural about us had to be redeemed by the imagination, or else it would destroy us.
Harold Bloom stuns me with his observations like: We begin to apprehend Blake when we realize that for him "human nature" is a wholly unacceptable phrase, an absolute contradiction, or, as he said, "an impossible absurdity." What was human about us, Blake insisted, was the imagination; what was natural about us had to be redeemed by the imagination, or else it would destroy us.
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Okay, Bloom is usually difficult for me, but this is fantastic! I'm not kidding! I started reading it for a reasearch project, but then kept going because it was interesting. Basically he critiques the most important canonical poetry and offers his own snide comments that are pretty funny! His take on Milton and religion is brilliant!
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I'll probably be "currently reading" this book for a very long time, because it's wonderful to pick it up a few times a week and find something sublime. Bloom is a little...pretentious...and there are some omissions, but it's a great start and a good addition to the library.
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What can I say? They are some of the best poems of the English language. I just moved it to the "read" section to clean up the "currently reading" section. This is the type of book I will be currently reading for a long time - Thanks, Aaron!
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Read in January, 2007
I actually have this. I would say most of the poetry in here I don't enjoy, but certainly it's interesting as a kind of reference book.
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I really enjoy Mr. Bloom's writing style and analysis. It's like having an old friend share their favorites with you.
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