The Major Works (Oxford World's Classics)

First the complaints. One, the Introduction is a meager 14 pages which cannot, and does not, do justice to a poet such as Shelley. the Intro leaves me wanting a lot more. In fact, it makes me positively pine for the kind of introductions for which both Catedra and Castalia (two Spanish Publishing Houses) are justly famous among scholars and students: a talented rebel and rake-hell like Shelley deserves at least 80 pages worth of intro. One chooses to read fourteen or fifty, but the offering should be commensurate with the artist.Two, I wanted the entire original text of LAON AND CYTHNA to be included here; it isn't. We have the original two initial cantos and then original ms copies of notes and drafts. It's a good effort, but not the whole poem. Now I'm starting to doubt the entire original that Shelley sent to his publisher before he was prevailed-upon to change it even exists. In defense of this edition, the back-cover blurb warns readers that Laon and Cythna is excerpted.My two complaints are not enough to rate this effort any less than five stars, however. The paper could have been of better quality and so could the cover. Now that I'm at it, the painting on the cover could, and should, be replaced. But the texts included are a treasure. This anthology is indeed the best one-volume anthology of Shelley available. With 135 pages of notes to help in the understanding of the poems, the poet, and his times, there is no reason not to buy it if you like the Romantics, or Shelley, or good poetry, period.

This is a comprehensive collection of Shelley's works including plays, poems and other works. Recommend for the Shelley enthusiast, casual Shelley fan and anyone majoring in English (BA, MA, PhD...) very useful resource for myself, classmates and my professors (I am an English MA student myself.) Includes both well known works (Promethius Unbound, Ozymandias etc etc..) as well as some perhaps lesser known works (Mask of Anarchy...)Very nice collection for any personal library, especially for the price.

We love Shelley's poems and my daughter, Rose Marie Xiomara reads them and rewrites them to fit her life - excellent book at excellent price

not complete enough..many works are abridged esp laon and cythna...the annotations are superb and the text is very readable..good edition

Great Book!

The book arrived ok and it was not dammaged at all

Great read!

I wish I'd spent more time reviewing the description. It doesn't have any of the poems I wanted to read.

Great selection, editing, and scholarship. The usual from OUP.

I think this is the best edition if you want a well-annotated text of Shelley's major works. The notes provided in this edition are excellent - I find that because Shelley was writing in a time of political and personal turmoil, I would not have understood much of his poetry without the annotations accompanying the text. A lot of his works are very personal comments on politics, religion, love, and require the background reading provided if you want to fully understand his writing. This edition certainly helps you with the various contexts, providing clearly explained commentary.

The definitive collection - I admit I'm relatively late to appreciating the works but I'm glad I returned. Quite breathtaking

I liked that it has all of the works rather than sections. It's the most complete selection in my library.

I love Shelley's poetry & this volume contains ll his best work - I just wish it came in 2 volumes to make it easier to hold while reading.