Complete Works of Edmund Waller

Though little known today, the Restoration era poet Edmund Waller was a pivotal figure of the Augustan age of English literature. Rejecting the dense intellectual verse of Metaphysical poetry, Waller’s poems are known for their generalising statement, easy associative development and urbane social comment. With his emphasis on definitive phrasing through inversion and balance, he prepared the way for the emergence of the heroic couplet, which would become the dominant form of English poetry at the close of the seventeenth century. Alexander Pope was heavily influenced by his verses and John Dryden repeatedly praised Waller’s 'sweetness', describing him as 'the father of our English numbers'. The Delphi Poets Series offers readers the works of literature’s finest poets, with superior formatting. This volume presents Waller’s complete works, with related illustrations and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)

Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Waller’s life and works

Concise introduction to Waller’s life and poetry

Excellent formatting of the poems

The complete poems, based on the 1887 James Nichol publication, including hyperlinked footnotes

Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the poetry

Waller’s rare translation of Virgil, ‘The Passion of Dido for Aeneas’, digitised for the first time

Easily locate the poems you want to read

Features two published plays, including Waller’s revision of the Beaumont and Fletcher play, ‘The Maid’s Tragedy’

Includes Waller’s extant parliamentary speeches

Features three biographies, including Samuel Johnson’s seminal work — discover Waller’s literary life

Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres

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CONTENTS:

The Life and Poetry of Edmund Waller

Brief Introduction: Edmund Waller by John William Cousin

Poetical Works of Edmund Waller

The Passion of Dido for Aeneas

The Poems

List of Poems in Chronological Order

List of Poems in Alphabetical Order

The Plays

Pompey the Great

The Maid’s Tragedy Altered

The Speeches

Waller’s Speeches

The Biographies

Waller by Samuel Johnson

The Life of Edmund Waller by George Gilfillan

Edmund Waller by George Thorn-Drury