The era between the accession of Henry VIII and the crisis of the English republic in 1659 formed one of the most fertile epochs in world literature.This anthology offers a broad selection of its poetry, and includes a wide range of works by the great poets of the age - notably Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Sepnser, John Donne, William Shakespeare and John Milton.Poems by less well-known writers also feature prominently - among them significant female poets such as Lady Mary Wroth and Katherine Philips.Compelling and exhilarating, this landmark collection illuminates a time of astonishing innovation, imagination and diversity.