Originally published in 1936, this book contains representative samples of French poetry written between the middle of the sixteenth century and the end of the nineteenth century. In his introduction, Kastner clarifies that the book is intended to encourage independent research into the development of French verse by including extracts that are the most representative of their periods or that 'pointed in their day to a new orientation'. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of French poetry.