One of my favorite books, originally my mother's, (now, alas, lost in one of my many moves) was "English Poetry from Chaucer to Kiplling", (1912). It had some terrific poetry that is hard to find today, some of it probably available only in volumes printed during that time. Where else could I have read "Thomas the Rhymer" and "Sir Patrick Spens" or "The Three Troopers" (God send this Crumb-well down!), or "How we got the Good News from Ghent to Aix". It not only gave me access to lots of material I would probably never have been exposed to in any college survey course, but it also gave me an appreciation of the role played by fashion in literary appreciation.

There were some scholarly footnotes at the back of the book, and I remember one in particular quite fondly, because it illustrates how fashions come and go in literature. I paraphrase, of course...

"Also popular about this time were the so-called 'Metaphysical Poets', John Donne most notable among them. Although exerting some considerable influence among their contemporaries, not one example has been considered fit for inclusion in this anthology."

I would give almost anything to have that book again...