This is a comprehensive reference work on early English poetry anthologies - a bibliographical catalogue and an index of printed anthologies of English poetry to 1640.

This anthology fills gaps that others have left, covering subjects in their entirety and providing easy access for student and scholar alike. The author not only provides an overview of English poetry, relating it to larger critical issues such as authorship, style, and the manuscript culture, he has also divided the text into two main parts, both keyed to Pollard and Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (STC) and the University Microfilms Index (UMI).