Robert Graves has an invaluable essay on this poem, "Loving Mad Tom", written in 1927, in which he compares and discusses the extant versions of the text, describes its curious handling within the formal literary culture, offers his own reconstructions of two source texts and speculates interestingly about their authorship. In passing, he proposes glosses of some of the more puzzling or unfamiliar expressions, glosses which can usually be corroborated from other authorities, such as the OED. The essay was collected in "The Crowning Privilege" (London: Cassell, 1955) but may well be reprinted in "Some Speculations on Literature, History & Religion", a gathering of essays and lectures from throughout his life, published in the authoritative edition of his opus currently under way from Carcanet (Manchester, UK).
Clive Watkins
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