Two Stuart poets who helped smooth English verse into the polished couplet are collected here with lives by George Gilfillan. Waller’s poems range from courtly addresses on the king’s escapes and the repair of St Paul’s to lyrics such as ‘Go, lovely rose’. Denham is represented by Cooper’s Hill, the founding English topographical poem, and his other verse.
For readers tracing English poetry from Jonson to Dryden and Pope. Download the free EPUB.