A unique and widely acclaimed study of poetry and politics under the four Stuart kings of England. Like the newspaper cartoon of today, the eulogies, satires, and popular ballads of 17th-century England were used as political weapons. Today, these poems are remarkable, often entertaining documents of "one of the great ages of English history." In this book C. V. Wedgwood traces the development of 17th-century political verse—the increasing cynicism of satire, the growing insincerity of court poetry, and the dwindling vitality of the ballads. With wisdom and a trenchant wit, the author sheds new light on the relationship between poetry and politics at a time when the legal, religious, and social foundation of modern England were being laid.