This revised edition of a highly successful text, makes available to the undergraduate students of literature, the main approaches to English poetry listed chronologically with short bio-sketches of major poets. It presents in a concise manner the developments that have been responsible for the literary output of each period and cites examples of various kinds of poetry that have been in vogue at different times in history. The distinctions of each age will help the student understand the significance of each poet's oeuvre and the sensibilities that have been portrayed by the poets in their poems.