Praised in the warmest terms by his contemporaries for his exemplary character and his poetic skills, Sidney Godolphin is scarcely known for his work except to coterie aficionados. Only two collections of his small body of poems have been published, the most recent edition as long ago as 1931, and the earlier edition, a less complete compilation, in 1906. A few poems saw print in collections during his own lifetime, and several appeared in later miscellanies, while others have been wrongly attributed to him. There are also instances of his poetry being wrongly attributed to his nephew, Sidney, first Earl of Godolphin, lord high treasurer during Queen Anne's reign, who was not known as a poet. The rest of Godolphin's poetry remained in manuscript, accessible only to a few. His personal reputation is much greater than this slight literary recognition might suggest, a consequence of debate about his death in...