Cheap The Norton Anthology of English Literature (Book) (M. H. Abrams) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Norton Anthology of English Literature

Immaculate
Of course as a student one is bound to hesitate before spending fifty quid on a book, but this one is absolutely worth ist. Abrams and Greenblatt have not just gathered what is indispensable in English literature; the Norton Anthology features brilliant introductions and short biographies, which are concise and readable. All the works presented are scrupulously annotated. And finally the reader gets suggestions for further reading which really help.

There may be a bias towards poetry and high literature in the selection. Poetry, however, is the only genre in which an anthology of this size can give you almost everything you want to know. Individual edititons of classic novels or plays, however, are a lot easier to get hold of than books of poetry, so I feel the editors' choice is fully justified. You will find yourself turn back to the Norton Anthology even long after you have finished college; it is a book that opens up new worlds.

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Stalwart
Most of the reviews submitted thus far tend to criticize the canon in general, as opposed to the editorial apparatus or the actual works contained within this tome. I for one am delighted with this book, and have found no logical substitute for it as of yet. Even when looking into the "Longman Anthology of British Literature" I found it considerably lacking. To deny the whole of "Paradise Lost" is inane (and yes, to include the work completely is neccessary if one is to truly appeciate it; without it the entire work, you might as well not include any of it at all) and to only offer one Shakesperean play is akin more to a meal, than a banquet (if I may sardonically quote their marketing ploy on the back of the Longman) - truly, the Norton is THE book for any English Literature survey course.

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Norton Anthology of English Literature by Abrams et al.
This is an excellent reference guide for the English Literature
of the 1600s and 1700s. There is an exhaustive coverage of
the following works:
o Caedmon's Hymn
o Beowulf
o Geoffrey Chaucer
o Middle Age Lyrics
o Sir Thomas Mallory
o Medieval Attitudes Toward Life on Earth
o Christopher Marlowe
o Sir Thomas Moore
o Shakespeare
o Sir Walter Ralegh
o John Donne
o Robert Herrick
o George Herbert
o John Milton
o Richard Lovelace
o Samuel Butler
o Jonathan Swift
o Alexander Pope
o Samuel Johnson
o James Boswell
o Restoration Literature of the 18th Century

Here is a paragraph from "The Wife of Bath's Tale":
"The wise astrologen daun Ptolomce,
That saith this proverbe in his Almageste:
' Of alle men his wisdom is the hyeste
That rekketh nat who hath the world in honde.
By this proverbe thou shalt understonde."

This work is perfect for majors of English literature and
college courses in literature. A beauty of the work is that
it is written in the original English dialect of the
centuries represented. Critiques of this work alone could
fill a dozen or so academic dissertations.