Sonnets

âe~âe~A sonnet is a momentâe(tm)s monument,âe(tm)âe(tm) said Dante Gabriel Rossetti in a sonnet about sonnets. The sonnets in this collection âe" whether they capture moments of perception, recognition, despair or celebration âe" reveal how great an amount of feeling, insight and experience can be concentrated into a mere fourteen lines. Here are classics such as Miltonâe(tm)s âe~âe~On His Blindnessâe(tm)âe(tm), Yeatsâe(tm)s âe~âe~Leda and the Swanâe(tm)âe(tm) and Frostâe(tm)s âe~âe~The Oven Birdâe(tm)âe(tm), juxtaposed with the mischievous wit of Rupert Brookeâe(tm)s âe~âe~Sonnet Reversedâe(tm)âe(tm), the lyric defiance of Mona Van Duynâe(tm)s âe~âe~Caring for Surfacesâe(tm)âe(tm) and the comic poignancy of Philip Larkinâe(tm)s âe~âe~To Failureâe(tm)âe(tm). From the lovelorn laments of Dante and Petrarch to the artful heights of Sidney, Spenser and Shakespeare, from the masterpieces of Wordsworth and Keats to the innovations of Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens and James Merrill, the sonnet has proved both versatile and enduring. This delightful anthology displays the incredible range and power of the verse form that has inspired poets across the centuries.