Project Gutenberg's Handy Dictionary of Poetical Quotations, by Various

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Handy Dictionary of Poetical Quotations

Author: Various

Release Date: February 21, 2005 [EBook #15119]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POETICAL QUOTATIONS ***

Produced by Audrey Longhurst and the PG Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.

[Illustration: Henry W. Longfellow.]

HANDY DICTIONARY
OF
POETICAL QUOTATIONS

COMPILED BY
GEORGE W. POWERS

AUTHOR OF "IMPORTANT EVENTS," ETC.

NEW YORK
THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO.
PUBLISHERS

1901
BY T.Y. CROWELL & COMPANY.

PREFACE.

It has been the aim of the compiler of this little book to present a
Dictionary of Poetical Quotations which will be a ready reference to
many of the most familiar stanzas and lines of the chief poets of the
English language, with a few selections from Continental writers; and
also some less familiar selections from more modern poets, which may in
time become classic, or which at least have a contemporary interest.
Readers of English literature are aware that the few great poets of our
language have struck perhaps every chord of human sentiment capable of
illustration in verse, and even these few have borrowed the ideas, and
sometimes almost the exact words, of predecessors or contemporaries.

But often old ideas in a new dress are welcome to readers who might not
have been attracted by the old forms; and each generation has its
peculiar modes of expression if not its new lines of thought. It is
hoped that this mingling of the old and the new will not be without
interest. To carry out the plan of making this a "handy" dictionary of
quotations and, at the same time, as comprehensive as the space
permitted, it has been necessary to confine the illustration of the
topics selected to brief extracts from each author. Of course, in all
books of quotations the great name of Shakespeare fills the largest
space; and the compiler of this book, as well as all students of
Shakespeare, is under obligation to the painstaking compilers of the
concordances to this poet, and especially to Mr. Bartlett's monumental
work. To ma