The Longman Anthology is designed to open up the horizons of world literature, placing major works within their cultural contexts and fostering connections and conversations between eras as well as regions.

This volume samples a broad range of literature from the ancient world. It offers extensive selections from The Bible, The Book of Songs, The Mahabharata, The Ramayana, and Virgil's Aenid, as well as seven longer works in their entirety, including The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey .

"The Longman Anthology of World Literature, Compact Edition, "presents a fresh and diverse range of the world's great literature in a single volume that links past and present, East and West, and literary and cultural contexts. Featuring major works by literary masters from the ancient world through the twentieth century, this concise anthology combines comprehensive coverage of key works of the Western literary tradition and the best core, enduring works of the literatures of China, Japan, India, the Middle East, Africa, and native Americas. The anthology includes epic and lyric poetry, drama, and prose narrative, with many complete works and a focus on the most influential pieces and authors from each region and time period. The texts are supplemented by contextual materials that help students understand the literary and historical eras from which these texts arose. Engaging introductions, scholarly annotations, maps, pronunciation guides, and illustrations developed by a distinguished editorial team provide a wealth of teachable materials that support and illuminate the selections.

The goal of this anthology is to present a wealth of poetry, prose, and drama from the full sweep of the literary history of the British Isles, and to do so in ways that will bring out both the works' original cultural contexts and their lasting aesthetic power.-

The Longman Anthology of World Literature, Volume II, offers a fresh and highly teachable presentation of the varieties of world literature from the 17th Century to present day. The editors of the anthology have sought to find economical ways to place texts within their cultural contexts and have selected and grouped materials in ways intended to foster connections and conversations across the anthology, between eras as well as regions.The anthology includes epic and lyric poetry, drama, and prose narrative, with many works in their entirety. Classic major authors are presented alongside more recently recovered voices as the editors seek to suggest something of the full literary dialogue of each region and period. Engaging introductions, scholarly annotations, timelines, regional maps, pronunciation guides, and illustrations provide a supportive editorial setting. An accompanying Instructor's Manual written by the editors offers practical suggestions for the classroom.