THE BEGINNINGS OF POETRY

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THE

BEGINNINGS OF POETRY

FRANCIS B. GUMMERE

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH IN HAVERFORD COLLEGE

New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. 1908

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Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1901. Reprinted October, 1908.

Norwood Press J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

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I ne have no text of it, as I suppose, But I shal fynde it in a maner glose.

CANTERBURY TALES, 1919 f.

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PREFACE

The opening pages of this book contain, so one may hope, an adequate answer to the objections of those who may have been led by its title to expect a more detailed treatment of poetic origins and a closer study of such questions as the early forms of rhythm, the beginnings of national literatures, and the actual history of lyric, epic, and drama. Not these problems have been undertaken, interesting and important as they are, but rather the rise of poetry as a social institution; whether or not a definite account of this process has been obtained must be left for the reader to judge.

F. B. G.

9 SEPTEMBER, 1901.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

PURPOSE AND METHOD

PAGE

Object of the book. Historical and comparative treatment. Sources of help. Modern scientific aids. Limitations to their value. The evidence of poetry itself. The curve of evolution 1

The Beginnings of Poetry

PREFACE✦

CHAPTER I✦

PREFACE

CHAPTER I