The Oxford Book of English Verse brings together the best poetry in English. Part 1 offers the reader a surprisingly impartial cross section of British poetry from the 13th to the 16th centuries, including madrigals, ballads, devotional works, and much more. From the ornate language of Edmund Spenser to wild and vigorous lines by Scottish poets such as Robert Henryson and William Dunbar, readers are likely to find words here that sing the workaday mind to sleep, and open their heart's eyes on new countries.