Poems on Affairs of State

Book excerpt: Deep conflicts in Restoration England produced a torrent of satirical verse on the policies, manners, and morals of Charles II and his age. Almost every poet—impelled by motives ranging from venality to patriotism—took his turn at satirizing the establishment. These Poems on Affairs of State, as they came to be known, provide an inexhaustible and minute record of the times from every point of view. The first volume of the Yale Edition includes the most important pieces, published and unpublished, dealing with events from the restoration of Charles to the outbreak of the Popist Plot in 1678. It is fully annotated and illustrated from contemporary materials. George deForest Lord, associate professor of English at Yale University and Master of Trumbull College, is general editor of the series as well as editor of this first volume.