Seventeenth-Century British Poetry, 1603-1660

by John P. Rumrich (editor)

A time of political and social unrest in England, this period produced some of the greatest poetry in English. This volume includes the major poets--John Donne, Ben Jonson, George Herbert, John Milton, and Andrew Marvell--the major women writers of the era--Aemilia Lanyer, Mary Wroth, Anne Bradstreet, Margaret Cavendish, and Katherine Philips--and nineteen other poets essential to an understanding of English literature in the seventeenth century. The poems are accompanied by headnotes and explanatory annotations. "Criticism" is divided into two sections. The first, "Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Criticism," includes commentary by contemporary poets and biographers, among them Ben Jonson, John Dryden, and Samuel Johnson. The second, "Recent Criticism," brings together twenty critical examinations of the period and its poets, including essays by T. S. Eliot, Janel Mueller, Aldous Huxley, W. H. Auden, Joseph Summers, Laurence Babb, Gerald Hammond, Eavan Boland, Leah Marcus, and William Kerrigan. A Selected Biography is also included.

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies

999 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jillian]

I'm actually quite excited to be reading an entire anthology instead of merely sampling selections; I've never had a professor assign a Norton cover to cover before. This book covers the traditional canon (Donne, Jonson, Vaughn, Marvell, etc.) along with a host of talented and intriguing second tier poets. It also contains a rather extensive collection of critical materials (which I'm also gradually reading).

Poets completed so far (favorites starred):

John Donne**
Thomas Carew
William Habington**
James Shirley
James Graham
William Cartwright**
Thomas Randolph
Richard Corbett
Mildmay Fane
Thomas Stanley
John Suckling**
Robert Herrick

[amanda🧸 · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was really cool to read the different ways people expressed what they were feeling that was not socially accepted.

[Liv · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely a good selection of 17th century poetry and very good overview of authors. I gave it only 2 stars (which is still a 'like'!) because it helped me discover that I'm not a fan of the 17th c. literature :P

[Will Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly chosen, with really good criticism as well.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read sections from Donne, Jonson, Herrick, Herbert, and Marvell. This was for a 2013 summer class at Baylor with Dr. Robert Ray.

[Ciara (Lost at Midnight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only did the readings for my class, but I think I'll get back to this one. Really enjoyed 17th Century poetry!

[Breanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive overview of the poetry of the seventeenth century. Editorial notes were mostly solid.