Excerpt from A Selection From the Poems of William Morris Escaping from this golden thraldom they regain their ship, and after many dangers and privations are driven by the wind to an island inhabited by deseen dants of the ancient Greeks, who have preserved their old worship and their Old freedom. Here the weary wanderers of the main are hospitably received, and here they resolve to dwell in peace, forgetful of their vain search for the earthly paradise. At the beginning and the middle of every month the elders of the people and their guests meet together to while away the time with song and friendly converse. The islanders relate the traditions Of their Grecian home, the mariners relate the sagas of the North, and Laur ence, a Swabian priest who had joined the Norsemen in their quest, contributes the legends of Tannhauser and Of the ring given to Venus by the Roman youth. Here then there is full scope for the quaint beauty of romantic classicism and for the weird glamour of northern myth. Without encroaching upon the field Of criticism proper the writer may state that, in his opinion, amongst the classic tales none is more grace ful and finished than The Golden Apples, and amongst the northern none more grandly developed and more epical in the strict sense of the word than The Lovers of Gudrnn based upon the Icelandic Lax daela saga. The latter, unfortunately, cannot find a place in this volume for reasons of space. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Through his own work and in his own words, the book traces the fascinating progress of William Morris, pre-Raphaelite poet and architectural student into designer, writer and pioneer socialist. His youthful enthusiasm for the Middle Ages and Gothic architecture fired him with the conviction that he must dedicate his life to 'Art'. Later letters written to friends explain how in the industrialised nineteenth century Morris become preoccupied with the loss of traditional skills and pride in work and during the last ten years of his life he became increasingly involved in political agitation, and his stories, poems and lectures all reflect his commitment to the socialist cause and his ideals for art and society. Other extracts from his letters and poems reveal more intimate aspects of Morris's life and personality, reflecting the despair and isolation he felt over the breakdown of his marriage and his reliance on the friends who helped him through his personal crisis. WILLIAM MORRIS BY HIMSELF is a tribute to an exceptional man, whose work and reputation have survived for more than a century.