In the following essay, taken from the revised edition of a collection that was originally published in 1928, Banks provides a broad overview of Denham's life, works, and reputation. The critic characterizes Denham's work as “didactic”; the poet, he asserts, “has little imagination, little emotion, little beauty of phrase; his strength lies in his thought, in his neatly turned expressions of ethical and moral truisms.”

In the following excerpt, Loloi examines Denham's only play, The Sophy, exploring issues such as its composition date, initial publication, first performance, historical context, sources, and critical reception.

In the essay that follows, Venuti examines The Destruction of Troy, Denham's translation of part of the Aeneid, exploring the social and political implications of his method of translation and the circumstances of its publication.

In the following excerpt, Korshin considers Denham's theory of poetry, which, he contends, foreshadows the neoclassical views of the Restoration period.