[Illustration: Mrs Anne Killigrew _Painted by herself_] POEMS (1686) by Mrs. Anne Killigrew A Facsimile Reproduction with an Introduction by Richard Morton Gainesville, Florida Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints 1967 Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints 1605 N. W. 14th Avenue Gainesville, Florida 32601, U.S.A. Harry R. Warfel, General Editor Reproduced from a Copy in and with the permission of The Alexander Turnbull Library _Wellington, New Zealand_ L. C. Catalog Card Number: 67-10177 Manufactured in the U.S.A. INTRODUCTION Condemnation by a great poet has lasting impact, while the effects of praise seldom endure; Shadwell remains MacFlecknoe in our minds, Shaftesbury Achitophel, but Anne Killigrew, "A _Grace_ for Beauty, and a _Muse_ for Wit," is virtually forgotten. Her book of verses is known essentially because of John Dryden's commendatory Ode. Yet we may justify a study of her own poems. Dryden's piece is not a generalised encomium; obviously he had read her verses, and his analysis of her art is firmly based. Our understanding of this famous poem, then, depends to some degree on our knowledge of Anne Killigrew's output.[1] Her verses deserve attention on their own merits--Dryden may well be thought more gallant than scrupulous, but undeniably the poems have an appealing wit, a picturesque imagination and a touching personal candour.