Short poems can have marvellous clarity, humour, and depth. They can range from subjects as diverse as a child's first wods, a woman's feet, or the destiny of man.

P. J. Kavanagh and James Michie have chosen those short poems (of less than fourteen lines) which they consider to be the best in the English language, from medieval times to the present day. Their selection extends from Chaucer to Philip Larkin, from Shakespeare to Emily Bronte, from Blake to Edith Sitwell, and from Yeats to Emily Dickinson, demonstrating the gradual changes in style, subject-matter, and tone from one generation of poets to the next.