The Oxford Anthology of English Literature 4: Romantic Poetry & Prose

The Oxford Anthology of English Literature

by Harold Bloom, Lionel Trilling

This volume devotes over 100 pages to William Blake, including The Book of Thel and the entire "Night the Ninth" from The Four Zoas, as well as excerpts from Milton and Jerusalem. It also includes poems and prose by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, and Byron.

Genres: Poetry, Literature, Literary Criticism, Nonfiction, Anthologies

864 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 1973

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single great poem of this era is here! And then there's Harold Bloom's commentary - worth reading even without the benefit of the poetry!

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

My thoughts on the Great Romantic Poets (in chronological order):
Blake, at least in his longer works, has to be the least intelligible of any writer in the Western canon from Ezekiel to Eliot.
Wordsworth can get dry at times but is generally a pure pleasure to read.
Coleridge is downright exciting. Someone has probably made a graphic novel out of The Ancient Mariner.
Byron has this tortured sort of intelligence that alternates between real humor and despairing sarcasm-- I think he could fit right into our society without skipping a beat.
Shelley takes work to appreciate, but he is as magnificent as a slightly mystical, brilliant humanistic optimist could possibly be.
Chesterson said that Keats is the only English poetry who was incapable of writing a bad line. Read "Hyperion," see what you think!

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has an excellent collection of Romantic Poetry and excerpts from many important prose documents as well, like Shelley's "A Defence of Poetry." It also has in depth insights from the masterful critics, Bloom and Trilling. For anyone who enjoys Romantic period work, or would like to know more about the predecessors to poets like Whitman and Frost, this book is very much worthwhile.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one college textbook that I will always have with me. Has the best poetic work from the likes of Colridge, Wordsworth, Keats, and Shelly as well as commentary and philisophical writings.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great poems. Awesome anthology.