The New Oxford Book of Seventeenth-century Verse

Summary

The 17th century saw the production of a large quantity of fine verse. It was the age of Shakespeare, Donne, Jonson, Drayton, Herbert, Marvell, Dryden, Rochester, and others hardly less notable. This new selection responds to the changes of taste since the previous Oxford selection by H.J.C.Grierson and G.Bullough. Its particular aim is to strike a balance between metaphysical and Jonsonian poetry, as well as to make up for earlier relative neglect of popular verse. It includes verse by women and American colonial verse.