A mere means to relax on a leisurely day for some, and for others being life itself, poetry has been written on almost everything that exists around us—from odes on seemingly insignificant objects to the lamentation of death of people revered worldwide. Poetry is something that is dream-like, and yet thought-provoking. The voyage into the beautiful and mesmerizing world of poetry in this edition begins in the fourteenth century with an extract from Chaucer’ s legendary work Canterbury Tales, and stops in the twentieth century with Dylan Thomas’ power-packed poetry, his vehemence on fighting death till your last breath. Notes have been scattered throughout this edition, enriching your understanding of the poems’ context, inspiration, varying interpretations, and even criticism. All this and much more lies ahead for you to discover in our eclectic collection of 50 World’ s Greatest Poems. “ Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley ‘ Thus great with child to speak and helpless in my throes, Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite, “ Fool,” said my Muse to me, “ look in thy heart, and write.” ’ – Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella ‘ O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills . . .’ – Walt Whitman, O Captain! My Captain!