THE aim in these three volumes of English Poetry has been to give, as far as the limits of space allowed, a substantial representation of the most distinguished poets of England and America for the last five hundred years. Among previous anthologies an especially wide recognition has been given by the best judges to Francis Turner Palgrave's "Golden Treasury of the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language,” first published in 1861; and it has been thought best to make that collection the nucleus of the present one. All the poems originally selected by Mr. Palgrave have, accordingly, been retained, with the exception of those by Milton and Burns, which appear in the Harvard Classics in the complete editions of the poetical works of these two authors.
The larger scale of this collection has made it possible to ignore the limitation of most anthologies to lyrical poems, and to include a considerable number of long narrative and didactic poems. Thus we have been able to give the Prologue to Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," the most vivid series of types of character to be found in any English poem; the Nun's Priest's Tale," one of the finest specimens of the beast fable; large group of traditional ballads, including the almost epic “Gest of Robin Hood"; Pope's "Essay on Man"; Byron's “Prisoner of Chillon"; Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner" and "Christabel"; Keats's "Eve of St. Agnes"; Shelley's "Adonais”; Tennyson's "Maud"; Longfellow's "Evangeline"; and many others rarely found in mixed collections. All these poems are given, in accordance with the general practise in this series, in their entirety.
In the case of Chaucer and other older authors, and of poems in the Scottish dialect, the meanings of obsolete and rare words have been given in the foot-notes. The poems of each author will be found together; and the general arrangement is chronological.
THE PROLOGUE
TO THE CANTERBURY TALES
HAN that Aprille with his shoures soote1
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the
roote,
And bathed every veyne in swichR licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open yë,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages"
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes," couthe" in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke."
Bifel that, in that sesoun on a day,
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay"
Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
At night was come in-to that hostelrye
Wel1 nyne and twenty in a compaignye,
Of sondry folk, by aventure" y-falle
In felawshipe, and pilgrims were they alle,
8 Such. 4 Wood.
Its sweet showers. 2 Drought.
The sun left the sign of the Ram about the middle of April. 8 Foreign strands.
Distant saints.
14 Chance.
Young shoots.
10 Known. 15 Fallen.
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we weren esed atte beste."
And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,
So hadde I spoken with hem everichon,”
That I was of hir felawshipe anon,
And made forward's erly for to ryse,
To take our wey, ther as I yow devyse."
But natheles," whyl I have tyme and space,
Er that I ferther in this tale pace,"
Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun,
To telle yew al the condicioun
Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,
And whiche" they weren, and of what degree;
And eek in what array that they were inne:
And at a knight than wol I first biginne.
A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,
That fro the tyme that he first bigan
To ryden out, he loved chivalrye,
Trouthe and honour, fredom" and curteisye.
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,"
And thereto hadde he riden (no man ferre")]
As wel in cristendom as in hethenesse,
And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
At Alisaundre he was, whan it was wonne;
Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bigonne"
Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce."
In Lettow hadde he reysed" and in Ruce,"
No cristen man so ofte of his degree.
In Gernade at the sege eek hadde he be
Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye."
At Lyeys was he, and at Satalye,
Whan they were wonne; and in the Grete See
At many a noble armee" hadde he be,
At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene,
And foughten for our feith at Tramissene"
16 Made comfortable in the best style.
20 Nevertheless.
24 Liberality.
28 Sat at the head of the table.
Made expeditions. 82 Russia.
In Asia Minor. 36 Mediterranean.
17 Every one.
22 Character.
26 Besides.
29 Prussia.
18 Compact.
23 What sort 27 Farther.
30 Lithuania.
34 In Africa.
In listes thryes, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke worthy knight hadde been also
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye,"
Ageyn another hethen in Turkye:
And everemore he hadde a sovereyn prys.
And though that he were worthy, he was wys,
And of his port as meek as is a mayde.
He nevere yet no vileinye11 ne sayde
In al his lyf, un-to no maner wight."
He was a verray parfit gentil knight.
But for to tellen yow of his array,
His hors were goode, but he was nat gay.
Of fustian" he wered a gipoun
Al bismotered with his habergeoun."
For he was late y-come from his viage,
And wente for to doon his pilgrimage.
With him ther was his sone, a yong SQUYER,
A lovyer, and a lusty bacheler,
With lokkes crulle," as they were leyd in presse.
Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.
Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,*
And wonderly delivere, and greet of strengthe.
And he hadde been somtyme in chivachye,
In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Picardye,
And born him wel, as of so litel space,
In hope to stonden in his lady grace.
Embrouded was he, as it were a mede
Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and rede.
Singinge he was, or floytinge, al the day;
He was as fresh as in the month of May.
Short was his goune, with sleves longe and wyde.
Wel coude he sitte on hors, and faire ryde.
He coude songes make and wel endyte,"
Iuste and eek daunce, and wel purtreye and wryte.
So hote he lovede, that by nightertale
He sleep namore than doth a nightingale.
40 Bearing. 41 Discourtesy. a Kind of person. is Coarse cloth. 44 Short coat. 45 Soiled. 46 Coat of mail. 47 Journey. 48 Curled. 49 Moderate height.
50 Active. 51 Cavalry expeditions. 52 Considering his youth. 54 Whistling. 55 Compose. 50 Night-time.
Curteys he was, lowly, and servisable,
And carf" biforn his fader at the table.
A YEMAN hadde he," and servaunts namo"
At that tyme, for him liste" ryde so;
And he was clad in cote and hood of grene;
A sheef of pecok arwes brighte and kene
Under his belt he bar ful thriftily,
(Wel coude he dresse his takel yemanly:
His arwes drouped noght with fetheres lowe),
And in his hand he bar a mighty bowe.
A not-heed" hadde he, with a broun visage.
Of wode-craft wel coude" he al the usage.
Upon his arm he bar a gay bracer,"
And by his syde a swerd and a bokeler,
And on that other syde a gay daggere,
Harneised wel, and sharp as point of spere;
A Cristofre on his brest of silver shene
An horn he bar, the bawdrik" was of grene;
A forster was he, soothly, as I gesse.
Ther was also a Nonne, a Prioresse,
That of hir smyling was ful simple and coy;
Hir gretteste ooth was but by sẽynt Loy;
And she was cleped" madame Eglentyne.
Ful wel she song the service divyne,
Entuned in hir nose ful semely;
And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly,"
After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe,
For Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe.
At mete wel y-taught was she with-alle;
She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,
Ne wette hir fingres in hir sauce depe.
Wel coude she carie a morsel, and wel kepe,
That no drope ne fille up-on hir brest.
In curteisye was set ful moche hir lest."
Hir over lippe wyped she so clene,
That in hir coppe was no ferthing" sene
58 The knight. 59 No more. 60 It pleased him. Twenty-four. 62 Closely cut hair. 63 Knew. 64 Arm-guard of leather. 65 Mounted. 66 Image of St. Christopher, his patron saint. 67 Cord or belt. 63 I. e., she did not swear at all, like St. Eligius. 69 Called. 70 Skilfully. A convent near London. She spoke Anglo-French. 72 Delight. Upper lip. Guests drank out of a common cup. 74 Smallest particle.
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