Selected Poems (Penguin Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

John Keats (Author), John Barnard (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2000 | Series: Penguin Classics

John Keats survives today as the archetypal Romantic genius who died tragically early. The rapid development of Keats's poetic skills is powerfully displayed in this selection, which includes his first major poem, "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer", as well as "Endymion", "The Eve of St. Agnes", "La Belle Dame sans Merci", and "The Fall of Hyperion". Throughout, Keats's preoccupying themes of love, art, sorrow, the natural world, and the nature of the imagination magnificently emerge. In his superb Introduction, John Barnard discusses the focus of the anthology, which emphasizes Keats's place as a "second-generation Romantic".

Editorial Reviews

Review

And What Is Love? It Is A Doll Dressed Up
Bright Star! Would I Were Steadfast As Thou Art
Character Of Charles Brown
Conclusion
A Dream, After Reading Dante's Episode Of Paulo & Francesca
Endymion, A Poetic Romance: Book 1
The Eve Of Saint Mark
The Eve Of St. Agnes
The Fall Of Hyperion; A Dream
From Fragment Of The Castle Builder
Glaucus' Story
Hyperion
If By Dull Rhymes Our English Must Be Chained
In After-time, A Sage Of Mickle Lore
Indian Maid's Roundelay
Induction (lines 1-43)
Isabella, Or The Pot Of Basil
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
Lamia
Lines To Fanny
Lines Written 29 May, Anniversary Of Restoration Charles Ii
Muse Of My Native Land! Loftiest Muse!
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream; Sonnet
O Thou Whose Face Hath Felt The Winter's Wind
Ode On A Grecian Urn
Ode On Indolence
Ode On Melancholy
Ode To A Nightingale
Ode To Psyche
On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer
On Oxford
On Visiting The Tomb Of Burns
Regalities
The Sea
Sleep And Poetry
A Song About My Self
Sonnet
Sonnet On Fame (2)
Sonnet On Sitting Down To Read King Lear Once Again
Sonnet To A Lady Seen For A Few Moments At Vauxhall
Sonnet To Mrs. Reynold's Cat
Sonnet To My Brothers
Sonnet Written In Disgust Of Vulgar Superstition
Sonnet, Written In January 1817
Sonnet: Addressed To Haydon (2)
Sonnet: On Fame (1)
Sonnet: To Sleep
To Autumn
To Fanny Brawne
To J. H. Reynolds, Esq.
To Kosciusko
To Leigh Hunt, Esq.
Two Or Three
Upon A Hill
Venus And Adonis
Why Did I Laugh Tonight?
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140437258
• ISBN-13: 978-0140437256
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,201,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Collection - See Alternatives Also, October 2, 2003

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Selected Poems (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

There are many good collections of the poetry of John Keats. This selection by John Barnard is quite good and has long served as a text for college classes.

Barnard writes that the poetry of John Keats is uniformly serious and always poetic. Keats' prime concern was art and beauty. The casual reader may not even notice certain passages that resulted in severe political criticism by the Tory press and other supporters of Charles II.

The real popularity of this particular collection is the poetry of Keats himself. Barnard has assembled an excellent collection, one that is fully representative of Keats' remarkable genius. He largely avoided the longer poems of John Keats with the exception of Endymion in which he offers Book 1 in its entirety, but only extracts from Books 2, 3, and 4. Nonetheless, this abridged version of Endymion still exceeds 2000 lines.

Looking for alternative collections? John Barnard has also compiled John Keats, The Complete Poems. It was also published by Penguin Classics. It is about 750 pages, more than three times as long as Selected Poems. For example, the full Endymion is some 50 pages longer than the abridged version in Selected Poems. Barnard's explanatory notes in this collection are quite extensive, totaling nearly 200 pages in reduced print size. There is also a wide ranging appendix exceeding 50 pages, including selected letters of John Keats.

Another good choice is published by Modern Library. Complete Poems and Selected Letters of John Keats is actually a very good choice and is indeed my favorite. The introduction by John Hirsch is more than 25 pages and is quite helpful. I particularly like the explanatory notes by Jim Pollock. They are less extensive than those in Barnard's The Complete Poems, but I found them most useful.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Well written and Literely Breath taking., December 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: John Keats: Selected Poems (Bloomsbury Poetry Classics) (Hardcover)

I loved this book. It is truly a classic. Keats is long before my time, however his work that he left behind is still here and leaves a big mark on the world of poets. Wanting to be a journalist myself, and having a hunger for literature, Keats' book was quite inspiring. I recommend it for any poet. One of my favorites is, of course, "When I have fears that I may Cease To Be."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The truth of his life is the incredible Beauty of his poetry, November 22, 2009

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Selected Poems (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Keats is one of the great poets of the English language. There are of course many collections of his work, and I see no special reason to choose this one before all others. Most readers in any case will concentrate on the very great poems, the Odes above all. To know Keats fully it is also necessary to know the Letters as he was one of the great letter writers the English language has known.

Keats is one of the richest and most linguistically brilliant of all the great poets. The Truth of his life is the incredible Beauty of his Poetry.