The Collected Works of William Morris

For the purposes of this review, I am treating this book entry as the entire multivolume set of The Collected Works of William Morris. I did not read this whole collection; what follows are instead the reviews for the works I have read from the collection:

• "The Beauty of Life": In this lecture, William Morris argues that his society no longer produces and cares about beautiful art, and he urges the creation of “art made by the people and for the people, a joy to the maker and the user.”
• “A Garden by the Sea”: The speaker of this poem longs to walk in a garden by the sea with a love that he has lost. Rating: 2/5
• “The Haystack in the Floods”: This poem chronicles an encounter between the English commander Sir Robert, his French mistress Jehane, and his small band of soldiers on one side and Godmar and a group of Frenchmen on the other side. It takes place during the Hundred Years’ War. Godmar’s men surround Sir Robert’s men as they try to escape, and he forces Jehane to make a seemingly impossible decision. Rating: 4.5/5
• “Near Avalon”: This poem describes two ships, one carrying six maidens and one carrying six knights, who carry locks of their ladies’ hair. Rating: 2.5/5
• “Riding Together”: A Crusader (the speaker of the poem) tells of his journey with his fellow Crusader and close friend to a battle that ended tragically for him. Rating: 3/5
• “Summer Dawn”: The speaker of the poem asks the listener to pray a prayer for him as the morning comes. Rating: 2.5/5