A History of Epic Poetry: Post-Virgilian

The following pages are meant to exhibit the different national renderings of a variety of poetry that perhaps more than any other has given status to the literature possessing a great specimen of it, and supremacy to the poet of that specimen.

I have restricted my formal examination of poems to those of the post Virgilian period. So much excellent criticism has been made on Homer and Virgil that it seemed presumption on my part, as well as a needless increase of the bulk of the book, to adventure a full statement of the epical position of these two princely poets. It is clear, however, that no history of epic poetry could be called satisfactory that did not contain some reference to these poets - that did not, indeed, to a definite if limited extent, take into account and appraise their work. I have therefore in the Introduction devoted some pages to a consideration of certain aspects of the epical quality of their respective poems. Other pre-virgilian epics than those of Homer claim, and have received, a certain amount of attention.

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