Drawing on the long tradition of folklore study, Roger deV. Renwick examines three genres: traditional English folksongs, local songs of regional interest, and working-class poetry. In the span of time that extends from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, he finds govern world views underlying a large sampling of poems related by common language, imagery, or topic, and then shows how these world views relate to the everyday lives and beliefs of the poetry's makers and users. There is, in addition, a pattern of historical continuity that links the rural folksongs of the eighteenth century with the part-rural, part-urban local songs of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and with the fully urban working-class poetry of the present day. English Folk Poetry is an immensely important contribution to folklore scholarship in its examination of contemporary working-class poetry, in its approach to questions of tacit meaning, and in its exploration of the relationship of inferential meanings to real, everyday lives.

A wide-ranging study of popular poetry and songs from the end of the Byzantine Empire to the present.

"Studies in Folk-Song and Popular Poetry" by Alfred M. Williams. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

A critical study of the intersection of folk and avant-garde poetics in transatlantic small press poetry networks from the 1950s up to the present.

One of the Spectator's Books of the Year 2012 'Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain For we've received orders for to sail for old England But we hope in a short while to see you again' One of the great English popular art forms, the folk song can be painful, satirical, erotic, dramatic, rueful or funny. They have thrived when sung on a whim to a handful of friends in a pub; they have bewitched generations of English composers who have set them for everything from solo violin to full orchestra; they are sung in concerts, festivals, weddings, funerals and with nobody to hear but the singer. This magical new collection brings together all the classic folk songs as well as many lesser-known discoveries, complete with music and annotations on their original sources and meaning. Published in cooperation with the English Folk Dance and Song Society, it is a worthy successor to Ralph Vaughan Williams and A.L.Lloyd's original Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. 'Her keen eye did glitter like the bright stars by night The robe she was wearing was costly and white Her bare neck was shaded with her long raven hair And they called her pretty Susan, the pride of Kildare' In association with EFDSS, the English Folk Dance and Song Society