Simpering Byzantines, Grecian goldsmiths et al.: some appearances of Byzantium in English poetry

This chapter's subtitle is an evident disavowal of comprehensiveness: what follows consists of recollections from rather disorderly reading and has no claim to being a mature overview. Yet a more creditable, and indeed fundamental, reason for my choice of phrase, 'some appearances', is that Byzantium, though it has opened up some interesting avenues for poets, is far from being a constant point of reference in English poetry over the last two centuries: it does indeed make only passing appearances, and it is interesting, in the larger context of this volume, to see how such appearances come about.