English literature Also in 1896 A.E. Housman published at his own expense "A Shropshire Lad". Writers of comic verse included the dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator W.S. Gilbert (1836–1911), who is best known for his fourteen comic operas, produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include "H.M.S. Pinafore", and "The Pirates of Penzance". Novelist Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) wrote poetry throughout his career, but he did not publish his first collection until 1898, so that he tends to be treated as a 20th-century poet. Now regarded as a major poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins's (1844–1889) "Poems" were
Gianni Schicchi Villi", or with other two-act operas which might be used to round out the evening's entertainment. Finally, librettist Giovacchino Forzano presented the composer with two works of his own, which became "Suor Angelica" and "Gianni Schicchi". The latter would be Puccini's first setting of a comic text; although his earlier operas, for example "La bohème", contain comic episodes, these are merely ancillary to the drama to provide contrast. Forzano wrote to Tito Ricordi, Giulio's son, on 3 March 1917: I sent the libretto of "Suor Angelica" to Maestro Puccini some days ago. He has declared himself – kind as he