The Psalms in English (Penguin Classics)

The Psalms are Ancient Hebrew songs of devotion, lament, confession and thanksgiving whose composers probably included King David, 'the sweet psalmist of Israel'. In their English versions they continue to assert profound influence in the Christian as well as the Jewish traditions. This volume contains contributions from Sir Thomas Wyatt, the Countess of Pembroke, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Christopher Smart, Hardy, Isaac Rosenberg and Clive Wilmer among many others, and it includes poems which meditate on David as an alternative to the Ancient Greek figure of Orpheus, and on Ancient Hebrew poetry as an alternative to the Ancient Greek.