This work investigates the tension between established poetic traditions and the individualistic impulses of Romanticism across several centuries of English verse. B. Ifor Evans, a noted scholar of English literature, utilizes a historical framework to trace how poets from Chaucer through the early twentieth century navigated the influence of their predecessors while forging new expressive modes. By examining the evolution of form and thematic preoccupation, the text argues that the history of English poetry is defined by a continuous dialogue between inherited structures and the shifting demands of the creative spirit.

The subject matter points to a scholarly, academic text intended for students and researchers of English literary history. The framing suggests a rigorous, formalist approach to analyzing the development of poetic technique and thematic continuity over time.