A Shropshire Lad (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

The charms of the poems in A Shropshire Lad, published in 1896, continue to resonate today. Housman’s first collection and his signature work, the poems here mix the styles of traditional English ballads and classical verse, and evoke the idyllic English countryside, explore the nature of friendship, bravery, and the passing of youth, among other themes.

The charms of the poems in A Shropshire Lad, published in 1896, continue to resonate today. Housman's first collection and his signature work, the poems here mix the styles of traditional English ballads and classical verse, and evoke the idyllic English countryside, explore the nature of friendship, bravery, and the passing of youth, among other themes.

Alfred Edward Housman (1859–1936) was an English poet, renowned scholar, and translator of Latin texts. His verse was at the same time pessimistic and romantic, with occasional twists of irony. He was highly respected for his mastery of alliteration, parallelism, and mood. Appointed Professor of Latin at Cambridge, Housman is considered a foremost classicist of his time.