''The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900'' is an anthology of

English poetry This article focuses on poetry from the United Kingdom written in the English language. The article does not cover poetry from other countries where the English language is spoken, including Republican Ireland after December 1922. The earliest ...

, edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch, that had a very substantial influence on popular taste and perception of poetry for at least a generation. It was published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

in 1900; in its

india-paper India paper is a type of paper which from 1875 has been based on bleached hemp and rag fibres, that produced a very thin, tough opaque white paper. It has a basis weight of 20 pounds (30 g/m2), yet bulks 1,000 pages to the inch. It became popul ...

form it was carried widely around the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

and in war as a 'knapsack book'. It sold close to 500,000 copies in its first edition. In 1939, the editor revised it, deleting several poems (especially from the late 19th century) that he regretted including and adding instead many poems published before 1901 as well as poems published up to 1918.Of the original edition nearly half a million copies were issued, according to the introduction to the NOBEV, 1972. The extended edition appeared in 1939; NOBEV, p. v. In 1939 the content was revised: about 40 poems were then omitted from the first three-quarters of the book and about 40 others added; in the rest about 70 poems were added and roughly the same number omitted; more poems were added to represent the first 18 years of the 20th century; NOBEV, p. v. The second edition is now available online. Various successors have subtly differentiated titles. See

Oxford poetry anthologies The Oxford University Press published a long series of poetry anthologies, dealing in particular with British poetry but not restricted to it, after the success of the ''Oxford Book of English Verse'' (1900). The Oxford poetry anthologies ('Oxford ...

. ;Dedication "To the President and Fellows and Scholars of Trinity College Oxford / a house of learning; ancient, liberal, humane, and my most kindly nurse"

''The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250–1918'' (1939 edition)

Revision also by Quiller-Couch. Poets included were:

Footnotes

External links

*
Project Gutenberg Book of English Verse''The Oxford Book of English Verse'' at Bartleby.comPDF edition at djm.cc

Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford Book of English Verse, The 1900 poetry books 1900 anthologies English poetry anthologies English Verse, Oxford Book