History of English Poetry from the twelfth to the Close of the sixteenth Century: By Thomas Warton. With a Preface by Richard Price, and Notes Variorum. Edited by W. Carew Hazlitt. With New Notes and other Additions by Sir Frederic Madden ... With Indexes of Names and Subjects. In 4 Volumes. I

Thomas Warton originally published his History of English Poetry in the late 18th century, pioneering the systematic study of medieval and early modern literature by emphasizing the importance of historical context over mere aesthetic evaluation. This specific four-volume edition, published in 1871, serves as a comprehensive expansion of Warton’s foundational work, incorporating decades of subsequent scholarship and editorial refinements.

The 1871 edition was curated by W. Carew Hazlitt, a prolific bibliographer and editor who sought to modernize Warton’s text for a Victorian audience. By integrating the critical notes of Richard Price and the significant scholarly additions of Sir Frederic Madden—a noted expert in medieval manuscripts—this edition became a definitive reference point, praised for its scholarly rigor and exhaustive indexing despite the ongoing evolution of literary history since Warton's original inception.