Beginning with the earliest English ballads and selections from the King James Version of the Bible, the book continues with the immortal works of Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Pope, Whittier, Poe, Tennyson, and many others, concluding with an outstanding array of 20th-century poetry by such luminaries as Wallace Stevens, Dylan Thomas, and Marianne Moore. Louis Untermeyer--the renowned critic, biographer, and teacher who edited this remarkable work--is said to have introduced more poets to readers and more readers to poetry than any other American. Treasury of Great Poems is indexed by poet, poem and first lines.

    Every genre and style, from the celebrated No plays to the poetry and novels of the seventeenth century, find a place in this book. An introduction by Donald Keene places the selections in their proper historical context, allowing the readers to enjoy the book both as literature and as a guide to the cultural history of Japan. Selections include “Man’yoshu” or “Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves” from the ancient period; “Kokinshu” or “Collection of Ancient and Modern Poetry,” “The Tosa Diary” of Ki No Tsurayuki, “Yugao” from “Tales of Genji” of Murasaki Shikibu, and “The Pillow Book” of Sei Shonagon from the Heian Period; “The Tale of the Heike” from the Kamakura Period; Plan of the No Stage, “Birds of Sorrow” of Seami Motokiyo, and “Three Poets at Minase” from the Muromachi Period; and Sections from Basho, including “The Narrow Road of Oku,” “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki” by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, and Waka and haiku of the Tokugawa Period.

    

    

    Twenty-one short graces include several for meals and ones for the New Year, Easter, springtime, school, the Fourth of July, United Nations Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.