Provides a comprehensive and entertaining account of the vitality and variety of achievement in seventeenth-century English poetry. Revised and up-dated throughout, Dr Parfitt has added new material on poets as varied as Marvell and Traherne. There is also a completely new chapter on women poets of the seventeenth century which considers the significant contributions of writers such as Katherine Philips and Margaret Cavendish. The proven quality and success of Dr Parfitt's survey makes this the essential companion for the teacher and student of seventeenth-century verse.