THE STORY OF POETRY
The Story of Poetry: Volume 1: English Poets and Poetry from Caedmon to Caxton
Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2001, hardcover
Michael Schmidt gives us a history of English poetry from its beginnings to 1500. The first half of the book is a history of the poets’ lives, the times during which they were writing, and an account of their works; and the second half is an anthology of poetry from the first English poem by Caedmon, which can be dated to about 657 CE, to Langland, Gower, Chaucer, Lydgate, Dunbar, and Hawes.
Schmidt shows how language and the poetic imagination are shaped by politics and history, and brilliantly describes the workings of Old and Middle English, using modernised texts.
‘British poetry owes a great debt of gratitude to Michael Schmidt. […] We see the personal passion driving Schmidt’s own career. He cares intensely about bringing poetry to a wider audience.’
– Ruth Padel, Financial Times
The Story of Poetry: Volume 2: English Poets from Skelton to Dryden
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2002, hardcover
A history of English poetry from 1500 to 1700, in which Schmidt shows how language and the poetic imagination are shaped by politics and history, and never more so than during the lively period of the Renaissance to the Restoration.
‘Schmidt’s 200-page commentary, which serves as a preface to the anthology, is (as before) forceful and […] peppered with crisp, sound judgements. […] Schmidt keeps us aware not only of the craft of poetry, but of the messy and often unjust business of publishing and selling it too. This is both refreshing and enlightening.’
– Michael Glover, Independent
The Story of Poetry: Volume 3: From Pope to Burns
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2007, paperback
‘[…] a detailed and deftly handled examination of poetry from Alexander Pope to Robert Burns, presented with confidence. […] His opinions are justified by the breadth of his knowledge.’
– Observer
‘[The Story of Poetry provides] useful companion volumes that introduce the political and social background to the lives and works of the leading British poets […] useful not only to college students of 18th-century poetry but to the casual browser.’
– The Times