William Morris

The Earthly Paradise, Volume 2 of 2 William Morris

The Earthly Paradise by William Morris is an epic poem. It is a lengthy collection of retellings of various myths and legends from Greece and Scandinavia. It was begun in 1868 and several later volumes followed until 1870. The Earthly Paradise was generally well received by reviewers: according to one study it "established Morris's reputation as one of the foremost poets of his day". Morris uses a frame story concerning a group of medieval wanderers searching for a land of everlasting life. After much disillusionment they discover a surviving colony of Greeks with whom they exchange stories. The poem is divided into twelve sections, each section representing a month of the year and containing two tales told in verse, drawn largely from classical mythology or the Icelandic sagas. All of Morris's subsequent books were published as "by the author of The Earthly Paradise".