English Epic Poetry

English Epic Poetry

Copper Lodge Library
by Stephanie B. Meter (Intro and Annotations)
Trade Paperback, 310 pages
Price: $17.80

In English Epic Poetry, readers experience poems that have shaped Western culture for centuries. The rhyming couplets of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight present a knight's quest to fulfill a mysterious bargain. In The Canterbury Tales, a colorful cast of characters shares captivating stories including two prisoners in love with the same woman. Paradise Lost traces Milton's tale imagining the thoughts and wily rhetoric of the freshly fallen Satan.

While poetry may seem daunting, this edition supports readers with clear yet lyrical language. Footnotes prevent unfamiliar vocabulary from being a barrier to the reader and explain allusions for a richer understanding. Forde's "versification" of Paradise Lost lets students follow sentence structure and find subjects and verbs more easily.

This book includes:

• An introduction that explores historical context and provides tips on reading poetry

• The Canterbury Tales general prologue and "The Knight's Tale"

• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (full text)

• Paradise Lost, Book 1 (parallel original and versification) and all Arguments

Footnotes for vocabulary and allusions

 

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