Excerpt from The Poetical Works of George Meredith IN view of the publication of this complete edition of Meredith's poetical works in one volume, I have been asked to add to it a few notes, in the first instance to explain mythological and historical allusions, not equally familiar to all readers; and in the second place, to explain the subject-matter of particular poems and passages. The notes are purely explanatory, and in no sense critical or appreciative. It is hoped that their seclusion at the end of the volume will render them inoffensive to those who have no use for them. In preparing these notes I have had the advantage of possessing records and memories of conversations in former years with the poet himself, both on the subject of the general ideas expressed in his poems, and on the meaning and purport of particular passages. I have been assisted in no small degree by the suggestions of Miss Melian Stawell, who, though She is not responsible for the short comings oi these notes, has much increased any value they may possess. I have also received most useful suggestions or criticisms from Mr. J. C. Bailey, Mr. C. P. Sanger, Mr. O. F. Dowson, Professor Adolphus Jack, and others. The text is that of the Memorial Edition, except for the correction of a few obvious misprints, and for two or three substantial emendations, in making which I had the concurrence of the Editor of the text of the Memorial Edition. The order is generally the same as that of the Memorial Edition, but I have made a few changes. In particular, I have collected under the heading 'poems on National Affairs' a number of poems which seemed to gain in interest from juxtaposition. The poems which I have called 'early Poems' were most of them written in or about 1849, when the poet was twenty-one years of age. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.