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The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse

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Not to be confused with The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse in English.

The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse (1962), edited by Thomas Parry, is an anthology of Welsh-language poetry stretching from Aneirin in the 6th century to Bobi Jones in the 20th. No translations of the poems are provided, but the introduction and notes are in English. It was the first anthology to give the reader a thorough idea of Welsh poetry in its entirety through 1400 years,[1] containing as it does 370 poems, of which 59 cannot be securely attributed while the rest are the work of 146 named poets. It went through eight editions in its first 21 years,[2] and was supplemented in 1977 by the publication of Gwyn Jones's Oxford Book of Welsh Verse in English.

Poets included

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The names in brackets are bardic names.

Editorial principles

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The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse presents its poems in the original Welsh without translation, though the introduction and notes are in English.[3] It is an anthology intended for the general Welsh-speaking reader rather than the professional Celticist, and Parry's editorial practice reflects that fact. It has no apparatus criticus, the endnotes are brief,[4] poems are sometimes printed in abridged form without the use of ellipses or any other indication of cuts,[5] and spelling and punctuation are both modernized.[6] The poems are chosen for their intrinsic literary merit, rather than for their historical interest as representing the various genres prevalent at different periods.[7] Preference is given to poems in the traditional meters, in keeping with the introduction's stress on the continuity of Welsh poetry through the centuries, though the editor also includes hymns, lyrics and other works in the free metres.[2]

Reception

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The publication of The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse was widely acclaimed.[8] Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson, writing in The Modern Language Review, welcomed its appearance as long overdue and congratulated Oxford University Press on its choice of Thomas Parry, an eminent Celticist and an accomplished poet in his own right, as editor. He praised Parry's choice of poems, saying he wished nothing in the book left out, and admired the notes and the historical survey of Welsh poetry in the introduction.[9] Édouard Bachellery, in the journal Études Celtiques, likewise acknowledged Parry to be a man of taste and a great scholar, and he considered the book's publication an event of importance. He felt that certain poets were underrepresented, but admitted that limitations of space made some such niggles inevitable.[10] Parry has since been criticised for including only one woman poet, Ann Griffiths, if dubious attributions to women are left aside,[11] and for insufficiently representing the overtly Christian strand in Welsh verse. Nevertheless, despite the later appearance of similar anthologies, it is still considered the most authoritative collection of the best in Welsh poetry,[2] and it remains much used in Welsh universities and schools.[12]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Bachellery 1962, p. 588.
  2. ^ a b c Stephens 1986, p. 455.
  3. ^ Jones, Gwyn, ed. (1977). The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse in English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. xvii. ISBN 9780192118585. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  4. ^ Bachellery 1962, pp. 589–590.
  5. ^ Knight, S. T. (1970). "The Nature of Early Welsh Poetry". Aspects of Celtic Literature. By Martin, B. K.; Knight, S. T. Sydney: Sydney University Press. p. 36. ISBN 0424060809. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  6. ^ Jackson 1962, p. 605.
  7. ^ Parry, Thomas, ed. (1983) [1962]. The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. xvi. ISBN 9780198121299.
  8. ^ "Parry, Sir Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/55459. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  9. ^ Jackson 1962, pp. 604–605.
  10. ^ Bachellery 1962, pp. 588–594.
  11. ^ Hunter, Jerry (12 November 2023). "Yr Hen Iaith Part Twenty Seven: Female Poets Heard at Very Long Last". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Writers of Wales: The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse & John Cowper Powys". National Library of Wales Blog. Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/National Library of Wales. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2024.

References

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