Irish Verse

Celebrated for their unique poetic sensibility and wondrous way with words, the Irish have produced a rich heritage of great poetry. This volume attests to the Irish love of language, spanning fourteen centuries of literary history and featuring works by more than 60 of the Emerald Isle's most distinguished poets. This comprehensive selection of well-known poems by distinguished writers includes "Verses for Women Who Cry Apples, etc." by Jonathan Swift; J. Sheridan LeFanu's "A Drunkard's Address to a Bottle of Whiskey"; William Allingham's "Four Ducks on a Pond"; "Requiescat" by Oscar Wilde; W. B. Yeats' "The Song of Wandering Aengus" and "Easter 1916"; "Forgiveness" by A. E.; "The Hills of Cualann" by Joseph Campbell; "An Old Woman of the Roads" by Padraic Colum; "In the Poppy Field" by James Stephens; and many others. Also included is a generous sampling of memorable works by lesser known poets: "Lament for Thomas Davis" by Samuel Ferguson; Dion Boucicault's "The Wearing of the Green"; "The Wee Lassie's First Luve" by G. F. Savage-Armstrong; Francis A. Fahy's "Little Mary Cassidy"; Sidney Royse Lysaght's "The Penalty of Love"; and many more, including the anonymous "A Confession of Forgiveness," "Pearl of the White Breast," and "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye." Students, teachers, and all poetry lovers will cherish this fine collection and its diverse cross-section of Irish poetry, from the seventh century to modern times.