English Clandestine Satire, 1660-1702

"Clandestine satire was the principal medium of free comment in early modern Britain, reaching its peak following the Restoration. Thousands of satiric poems in the new 'easy' style, combining courtly assurance with flagrant indecency, circulated in manuscript. In the first comprehensive survey of this vast field, Harold Love identifies three primary categories of 'court', 'Town', and 'state' lampoons, and demonstrates that far from being the product of isolated disaffection, satire was written - anonymously - by most poets, including such major talents as Marvell and Rochester."--Jacket.