READING ROOM

COPYRIGHT 1906, 1907, BY
DODD, MEAD & COMPANY

Published, October, 1907

CHAPTER I-CAXTON

From xylography to typography-Gutenberg-Pre-Cax-

ton English-William Caxton-His life and achieve-

ment-The Dictes and Sayinges of the Philosophers

-Caxton's influence on the language-Early print-

ing and manuscripts

CHAPTER II-GOEFFREY CHAUCER

Outline of Chaucer's life-His personal appearance

and portraits-Three chronological periods of his

work-Troilus and Criseyde--The Legend of Good

Women-Chaucer's debt to French and Italian

sources-The Canterbury Tales-The scheme of the

poem-The qualities of Chaucer's poetry-History of

the Chaucerian MSS. and text-Attempts to mod-

ernise the text

CHAPTER III-MORAL GOWER-THE "MORTE

D'ARTHUR"

Warton's criticism of Gower-Confessio Amantis-Sir

Thomas Malory-Morte d'Arthur-Its influence in

English literature

CHAPTER IV-THE SCOTS POETS

The Chaucerian tradition in Scotland-Robert Henry-

son-Robene and Makyne-William Dunbar-The

Golden Targe-Comparisons of Dunbar with Chau-

cer and Burns-Gavin Douglas-Sir David Lynd-

say-His religious satires

PAGE

1

13

32

39

CHAPTER V-EARLY TUDOR POETRY

Stephen Hawes-Alexander Barclay-John Skelton-

His pictures of low life-Skeltonic verse-Sir

Thomas Wyatt-His metrical innovations-Earl of

Surrey-His use of decasyllabic blank verse

CHAPTER VI-EARLY TUDOR PROSE

Lord Berners' Froissart-Fabyan's New Chronicles—

Richard Grafton-John Leland-Andrew Boorde-

George Cavendish-Grocyn and Linacre-John Colet

-Sir John Cheke Roger Ascham-The Scholemas-

ter-Latimer-Sir Thomas Elyot-Sir Thomas

More Utopia-Its influence in literature

BOOK II

DRAMA AND LYRIC

CHAPTER I-FROM TRANSITION ΤΟ TRANS-

FORMATION.—I

An important period of development-Italian in-

fluence Classical translations-Arthur Golding-

Sir Thomas North-Sir Thomas Hoby-Sir Geoffry

Fenton-Painter's Palace of Pleasure-George Chap-

man-Edward Fairfax-Joshua Sylvester-John

Florio Thomas Shelton-Sir Thomas Urquhart

CHAPTER II-FROM TRANSITION TO TRANS-

FORMATION.-II

Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset-The Mirror for

Magistrates-George Gascoigne The Steele Glass-

Thomas Churchyard-George Whetstone George

Turberville-Tottel's Miscellany-The Paradise of

Dainty Devices-Some later Miscellanies