- Poly-Olbion
The "Poly-Olbion" is a
topographical poem describingEngland andWales . Written byMichael Drayton and published in 1612, it was reprinted with a second part in 1622. Drayton had been working on the project since at least 1598.The poem is divided into thirty songs, written in
alexandrine couplets, consisting in total of almost 15,000 lines of verse. Drayton intended to compose a further part to coverScotland , but no part of this work is known to have survived. Each song describes between one and three counties, describing their topography,tradition s and histories. Copies were illustrated withmap s of each county, drawn byWilliam Hole , whereon places were depictedanthropomorphic ally.The first book was accompanied by historical summaries written by
John Selden . The work is almost never read as a whole, but is an important source for the period.References
* [http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/library/special_collections/early_books/pix/Polyolbi.htm St John's College: Poly-Olbion]
*William H. Moore, " [http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/english/wmoore/posummary.html Poly-Olbion Summary] "
*Oliver Elton, "Michael Drayton; a Critical Study, with a Bibliography"External links
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=HGgLAAAAIAAJ "Poly-Olbion"] in "The Complete Works of Michael Drayton", vol. 3 (London, 1876)
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