Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright: Much-Loved Poems You Half-Remeber - Ana Sampson

This is a beautifully presented volume comprising a selection of poetry billed as the much-loved poems we half-remember from school days and childhood, and it is divided into eight sections of poems, under different general headings or themes including love, death, childhood, and the natural world. There is a very useful and entertaining section at the back of the book with a short little snippet of information about each poet and poem, which is a very nice inclusion, and tempts the reader to go off and discover more about any favourites featured here. The index is also very helpful; as well as listing the poets, you can quickly find the poem you are searching for by title, first line or well-known lines.


This is a lovely selection to dip into and enjoy at leisure. It will make a good addition to any book or poetry lovers’ home, and would be an ideal gift. It’s a nice size with a pleasing variety of verse from different eras, with the inclusion both of some very well-known poems and others a little lesser so. I was particularly pleased by the inclusion of one of my all-time favourites, Dylan Thomas’ wonderful poem on childhood, ‘Fern Hill’, and three by John Donne including ‘Sonnet 10: Death, Be Not Proud’, both of which took me drifting back to my A-level English Literature days.