LIVING ENGLISH POETS - PREFACE TO THE OXIGIAAL - T H E Edifol-s of the pme zt sclcction bsZicae the irseh csj7 Lstztd Zjz c ni ziflozr the flifil Z Sz z lh iLS 1 has dilccttd t e r a z ce, tai z ilzcue y, at least ns frtv ns regards Zk iiz w r ite s. TXcy htz lef lpi lSn- r Z z J 7 Z n zthology zei licl nzizs at bezizr 710 cnsund ov desziZtory nsse7lzbZage of ht. nr fzyuZp oems, brit one zt hich 1. se7zts irt h-o zo ogicou Zd ere - tz J T C Z e s of the highest attatjz-I I Z Z Z n , n d non2 brit the h z h sotf , A p c r i zc ad Poets of our own age. So g- eent is the zoealth o f E1zglixjl foetry Zjz this ce ztz y S , O zfnvied its eZd, SO ueysntik zts e, t- cz tiotAn, n t the dzficz ltyh ns been to K7202 ox to rg tn. rszds ol zit. 172 il zajiilg S JCJL n seZectio z it has Bsen felt that it ilirns of t, e rig-hest zi qortailzce tc, nuoid a glthirz. Zfie naz-vozaness of niut, a d czbozjc tzZZ to sccnl-e c. t-e izptiorz fmr z the p. g cclices and the PREFACE TO ORIGIAAL EDITlOrl , n-ti Ziticso f my one school. The Ec27ttol-s b Zitz. i that tlrtly hczzte be t sc-zrpz ozrs cn t to ic i z theti efkxts thcy hnzle o u t r dc-takent he z loipk i z z hnstc, n zdt tt. jl cz e n7z,. Zbzis to I- COI-CZ tjl t n , s far as t h y 01-e nbZc to Ze. z z t , h ere is no C T I L l - itcr of YCYSE, z, ihose works hnzle e ljo led n gr cputntion itht7v i z n zitide OY IZCZTI-OS c il-cl t , o rc Aof t t hey hcz c 1 20t gizv rz tlzci t zbi c os czsdit ic-ntionn, zd t h t , zy any 7zct7lr sa rc fozd zCZ to be 0112itt l d u f e t , h e Etzitol-s 112z st take I O Z th zsclzt Aces 7-es-07zsibiIity of jlnzi zg felt obZzSed to ot zzt t hc d c libcl-ate. Them a-e but tzclo e-t-ct--tio zs to the na7 res they hnrle wished to ZjzcZ de. An c Ilzi ze zt -iv-itez hosr L I - S E dg c zesto be 7zo less wid 7 r end thnn is his prose, Irtzs dcclinsd to be boz zdz itho thel-s ilz n scZe. ctiott nlzd lhiZc thir is in ofzc sense a g. t g-cg et to the Editol-S, it is not zithoZZy ziritjloz t its co 12pmssntianss, hcc rill endtxsz ijho n c c LI of - E the ozlrission of a zy fnvou-ite Poet LJ LL of COZCI-st co tsi r thnt he, thch oan ApoZo, is the ftrsticiiozrs O ze zitlzo hczs 9, efused to nZox his ozi e t . o s be tz fi tcn i z th e gc ze-nZg o l-ktm . The of A cl-hns szrccccdcd i7z PREFACE TO ORIGINAL EDITION vii forgettzing the Nzght of time, and, being t terefot-e ivnwilling that others s7wudd take gzote of that swzjCt passage of years which blanches even poetic locks, is unwilling to conZply with t7z chronological systeuz which is an essentialpart oft Editors plan. Ttle Editors, A n , uving desired to zizclude, to the best of tlzzi-judgmnt, representative pieces front all t te verse-writers who may real be called zn a zy hzgh and lasting sense Poets, h v e been gratzjfed to filzd that the names have for tlie zzost part arranged the zzselves by a pzcantztative test in an order which approxinza e is that in wAich the public voice us classed th names selected. Not, towever, that t7te test zj. infallible, or witlwut its exceptions. lylbreover, it has not been tlwught Stting to seled front Dramas, Y szizce detach passages safer by division from tlzeir context, and hence SIR HENRY T AYLO is R h ere represented by alone, of which lie has written far too fezu. The present age ias been particular rich ziz facetious and fantastic verse, but th Edztors of t7ie present selection have on ventured to avaiL them PREFACE TO ORIGINAL EDITION sckles of it spnri zg a n, d zvhcl-e nn z zdel ilzg sL, io cs zoesf sp z posea nd n close attention to fortlz s c tned to gzbe it grzore thmt nlz e he ltzeraZ valzce. 7jit oz g t02 i t t fizay be sad that n conviction of the zdz li qzgz alitics of poettzs n zd of Pocts has becn trllowed to oz twezgh a trzere sense of brzkhtness ov L-h ore ze i s t s z lo k ttn zsh T. h e birEito...