Review (PDF) The Norton Anthology Of Poetry, Shorter Fifth Edition
Offering over one thousand years of verse from the medieval period to the present, The Norton Anthology of Poetry is the classroom standard for the study of poetry in English. The Fifth Edition retains the flexibility and breadth of selection that has defined this classic anthology, while improved and expanded editorial apparatus make it an even more useful teaching tool.
Paperback: 1424 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Shorter 5th edition (January 14, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393979210
ISBN-13: 978-0393979213
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.7 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #47,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #23 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Genres & Styles > Poetry #54 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Anthologies #77 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Literature > English Literature
I'll admit, I am not the biggest fan of poetry, but editors at Norton take thousands of poems written over the last millennium and throw the best of the best into this book. It is unlike many other poetry books because this one only features the poems everyone cares about, which incidentally makes this book ideal for a poetry research project, or poetry paper for school.While this is the shorter edition, it still features many of the classics you would find in the regular edition. I personally own the Fourth edition (regular length) and all of my favorites are also found in this edition. I'm not sure specifically which poems they omitted in this shorter version, but just from a quick glance it looks like mostly poems from the Romantic and Victorian periods of poetry, as well as a couple of the lesser known poets from the regular edition all together. Honestly though, it's not a big difference at all.Also, while many people like to buy new, it's not a bad idea to buy it used. Since this version is already outdated (granted it's still relatively new) that means the price is lower then the newer edition, or the full length book. I personally got it, with shipping, for only $4 and it arrived in fantastic condition which I was surprised at.All in all it's a great book to have just because you never know when you will need some good poetry!
Chances are you're buying this book for a class. So what. READ IT. ENJOY IT. The editors of Norton have done the hard work for you--they've sifted through thousands and thousands and thousands of poems and found the ones that are the most moving, profound, revolutionary, intelligent, touching, startling, unique, and ground-breaking. All you have to do is READ THEM.And let's say that you fancy yourself as someone who "just doesn't get poetry." Fear not, once you've gone through this book you will "get" poetry. It will be under your skin, in your heart, in your mind. Relax.
This anthology is great - but be aware that this is the shorter fifth edition of the Norton Anthology of Poetry. I haven't looked at the two fifth editions closely to compare them, but if you are buying this for a class (or for personal enjoyment), just be aware, it's the SHORTER edition.
This is an absolutely phenomenal collection of poems. Furthermore, the pages themselves are thinner in quality and feel silky smooth. It is a personal opinion, but the feeling of these pages makes reading the poems quite enjoyable. The only reason I gave this book four stars and not five is because of the structure of the table of contents. Instead of listing the authors(various poets) alphebatically which would make sense, they're listed chronologically which makes them hard to find. Luckily the index is wonderful so this issue never really became an actual problem.
I don't read a lot of poetry. In my mind poetry is something that can be enjoyed, so long as the doses are small and relatively spread out. So when I was confronted with a book of this sheer size, I was slightly worried I would get bored long before being able to finish it. In reality the selections they've chosen are perfect. Most are short, and the ones that aren't are extremely interesting. You could easily read many of the poems in just a few minutes, meaning it's perfect if you have to spend time in a waiting room or you just don't have time to read a chapter from a novel before you have to do something. Moreover, there are dozens and dozens of authors which serves to give the reader an incredible amount of diversity if you want to read something different from day to day. My only gripe is that there are some poems that should definitely be in the collection that aren't. "Charge of the Light Brigade" not being in the anthology certainly made me scratch my head. Despite a few omissions this is a very respectable list that I believe everyone should read, and you really can't go wrong with this edition as the footnotes and formatting are very well done.
Great anthology. I love the way it's set up--the table of contents and the index are both quite thorough, and the extra information on the page of each poem itself (e.g. the year) is very helpful. The miniature biographies about the authors at the back are useful and conveniently sized. My only piece of advice would be to make sure you're actually looking for this, the shorter version, and not the full anthology.
Very detailed footnotes reveal details other collections miss. This is a huge book and features more than just the typical "classic titles".
This book is a collection of Poems. It isn't something you just sit down and read, but after a semester of closely studying out of it for Poetry class, the collection in it gave me a different outlook than I was expecting. I really enjoyed the poetry in ways I have not before.
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