A Compendium of best-loved verse, this giant anthology of over 440 poems contains many of the favorite poems of the American people. Thios volume celebrates the ability of poetry to capture in a few words the thoughts and emotions that reach to the heart of human experience.

Here is a jewel-bright selection of verse from the plays & poetry of the world's greatest playwright. Words of wit, wisdom, & tenderness, mischief, magic, & merriment dance across the pages of this unique anthology. Many of these great passages have entered our language & our culture; they ring with poetry & touch universal feelings. The book also includes a brief biography of William Shakespeare; an index of first lines; & select glossary. Full-color illustrations.

Thematically arranged excerpts from Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

Thematically arranged excerpts from Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

What existed before there was a subject known as English? How did English eventually come about? Focusing specifically on Shakespeare's role in the origins of the subject, Rhodes addresses the evolution of English from the early modern period up to the late eighteenth century. He deals with the kinds of literary and educational practices that would have formed Shakespeare's experience and shaped his work and traces the origins of English in certain aspects of the educational regime that existed before English literature became an established part of the curriculum. Rhodes then presents Shakespeare both as a product of Renaissance rhetorical teaching and as an agent of the transformation of rhetoric in the eighteenth century into the subject that emerged as the modern study of English. By transferring terms from contemporary disciplines, such as 'media studies' and 'creative writing', or the technology of computing, to earlier cultural contexts Rhodes aims both to invite further reflection on the nature of the practices themselves, and also to offer new ways of thinking about their relationship to the discipline of English. Shakespeare and the Origins of English attempts not only an explanation of where English came from, but suggests how some of the things that we do now in the name of 'English' might usefully be understood in a wider historical perspective. By extending our view of its past, we may achieve a clearer view of its future.