The publication history of Waller's

of 1645 provides a forceful illustration of the complexities - social, political and bibliographical - which often surrounded the emergence before the public of courtly and aristocratic poetry in this period. At the end of November 1644 Waller was banished from England and left for France. In 1645, perhaps with no loftier design than the hope of making a quick profit by exploiting Waller's newly acquired notoriety, a publisher called Thomas Walkley hurriedly produced an octavo volume rather grandly titled

. As well as a collection of Waller's poems

contained texts of three of Waller's parliamentary speeches, all of which had…

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Citation: Pursglove, Glyn. "Poems". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2000 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2750, accessed 26 November 2024.]