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“He is the most powerful living poet.”—New Republic

“The interest of these essays as part of the Hill oeuvre should not obscure their value as a contribution to seventeenth-century literary studies. They represent an exacting and meticulous scholarship illuminated by the acute ear of one of our finest poets and the argumentative abilities of one of the most subtle of critics.”—The Times Literary Supplement

“A remarkable little book . . . meticulously researched and brilliantly written. . . . Hill has not only made a valuable contribution to literary history but has also provided us with a rich and thoughtful commentary on problems as enduring as they are currently fashionable.”—Cleanth Brooks, The New Criterion

“This is an important book of literary criticism and theory by the finest British poet of our time. It engages a number of fascinating questions, including language and belief; the sometimes warring concerns of poets, intellectuals, and scholars; of self-realized imagination and institutionalized knowledge; and poetic work and literary career. That Hill is so very powerful, original, and profound a poet is of considerable importance for this exploration of what for poets is frequently ‘the enemy’s country’ governed by institutional power, whether directly political, literary, academic, or that of intellectual, or at least discursive, fashion.”—John Hollander, Yale University

“He is the most powerful living poet.”—New Republic

“The interest of these essays as part of the Hill oeuvre should not obscure their value as a contribution to seventeenth-century literary studies. They represent an exacting and meticulous scholarship illuminated by the acute ear of one of our finest poets and the argumentative abilities of one of the most subtle of critics.”—The Times Literary Supplement