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It was with this first version of "Song of Myself," from the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass, that Whitman first made himself known to the world. Readers of revised editions will find this version surprising, and often superior. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

A powerful, passionate explanation of the roots of social inequality, Rousseau's "Discourse "influenced virtually every major philosopher of the Enlightenment. It remains among the 18th-century's most provocative and frequently studied works.

Composed in a golden age of Celtic storytelling in the 13th century or earlier, this collection of 12 Welsh prose tales is a masterpiece of European literature. This unabridged republication of a stand edition includes a Publisher's Note and the original Introduction.

A first-century Stoic, Epictetus argued that we will always be happy if we learn to desire that things should be exactly as they are. His "Enchiridion "distills his teachings to illuminate a way to a tranquil life.

One of the most prominent African-Americans of his time, James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) was a successful lawyer, educator, social reformer, songwriter, and critic. But it was as a poet and novelist that he achieved lasting fame. Among his most famous works, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man in many ways parallels Johnson's own remarkable life. First published in 1912, the novel relates, through an anonymous narrator, events in the life of an American of mixed ethnicity whose exceptional abilities and ambiguous appearance allow him unusual social mobility--from the rural South to the urban North and eventually to Europe. This pioneering work not only probes the psychological aspects of passing for white but also examines the American caste and class system. The human drama is powerful and revealing--from the narrator's persistent battles with personal demons to his firsthand observations of a Southern lynching and the mingling of races in New York's bohemian atmosphere at the turn of the century.

A controversial figure in the history of race relations around the world, Marcus Garvey amazed his enemies as much as he dazzled his admirers. This anthology contains some of the African-American rights advocate's most noted writings and speeches, including "Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World" and "Africa for the Africans."

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) wrote carefully structured fiction that probed the psychological and social elements guiding the behavior of her characters. Her portrayals of upper-class New Yorkers were unrivaled. The Age of Innocence, for which Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize in 1920, is one of her most memorable novels. At the heart of the story are three people whose entangled lives are deeply affected by the tyrannical and rigid requirements of high society: Newland Archer, a restrained young attorney; his lovely fiancée, May Welland; and May's beautiful and unconventional cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. The romance that blossoms between Newland and Ellen and its consequences illustrate the conflict between living a passionate life and behaving in accordance with family and social expectations. The novel's lucid and penetrating prose style, vivid characterizations, and its rendering of the social history of an era have long made it a favorite with readers and critics alike.

The tale of a waif's unwilling but inevitable recruitment into a scabrous gang of thieves, this novel offers a realistic portrait of the correlation between poverty and crime.

This anthology celebrates the wit and imaginative creativity of the Elizabethan poets with a generous selection of their graceful and sophisticated verse. Highlights include sonnets from Shakespeare, Sidney, and Spenser; popular poems by Donne ("Go, and catch a falling star"), Jonson ("Drink to me only with thine eyes"), Marlowe ("The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"); more.

Four outstanding works by great 19th-century Russian author: "The Nose," "Old-Fashioned Farmers," "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovich," and "The Overcoat."

Six essays and one address outline Emerson's moral idealism and hint at later scepticism. In addition to title essay, this volume includes "History," "Friendship," "The Over-Soul," "The Poet" and "Experience," plus the Harvard Divinity School Address.

A landmark of 20th-century American literature: a series of over 200 compelling free-verse monologues in which former citizens of a mythical midwestern town speak touchingly from the grave of the thwarted hopes and dreams of their lives. Reprinted from the authoritative 1915 edition.

Features "Oedipus Rex" and "Electra" by Sophocles (translated by George Young), "Medea" and "Bacchae" by Euripides (translated by Henry Hart Milman), and "Prometheus""Bound" by Aeschylus (translated by George Thomson).