The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets: Prior. Congreve. Blackmore. Fenton. Gay. Granville. Yalden. Tickell. Hammond. Somervile. Savage. Swift. Broome. Pope. Pitt. Thomson. Watts. A. Philips. West. Collins. Dyer. Shenstone. Young. Mallet. Akenside. Gray. LytteltonSamuel Etheridge, jun'r., 1810 - English poetry |
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Page 2
... wrote the poem on the Deity , which stands first in his volume . It is the established practice of that college , to send every year to the earl of Exeter some poems upon sacred subjects , in ac- knowledgment of a benefaction enjoyed by ...
... wrote the poem on the Deity , which stands first in his volume . It is the established practice of that college , to send every year to the earl of Exeter some poems upon sacred subjects , in ac- knowledgment of a benefaction enjoyed by ...
Page 3
... wrote a long ode , which was presented to the king , by whom it was not likely to be ever read . In two years he was secretary to another embassy , at the treaty of Ryswick , in 1697 ; * and next year had the same office at the court of ...
... wrote a long ode , which was presented to the king , by whom it was not likely to be ever read . In two years he was secretary to another embassy , at the treaty of Ryswick , in 1697 ; * and next year had the same office at the court of ...
Page 7
... wrote to Prior thus ; " Monsieur de Torcy has a confidence in you ; make use of it , once for all , upon this occasion , and convince him thoroughly , that we must give a different turn to our parliament and our people according to ...
... wrote to Prior thus ; " Monsieur de Torcy has a confidence in you ; make use of it , once for all , upon this occasion , and convince him thoroughly , that we must give a different turn to our parliament and our people according to ...
Page 16
... is the great source of pleasure . Per- haps no man ever thought a line superfluous when he first wrote it , or contracted his work till his ebullitions of invention had subsided . And even if he should control his desire 16 LIFE OF PRIOR .
... is the great source of pleasure . Per- haps no man ever thought a line superfluous when he first wrote it , or contracted his work till his ebullitions of invention had subsided . And even if he should control his desire 16 LIFE OF PRIOR .
Page 22
... wrote it I had little thoughts of the stage ; but did it to amuse myself in a slow recovery from a fit of sickness . Afterward , through my indiscretion , it was seen , and in some little time more it was acted ; and I , through the ...
... wrote it I had little thoughts of the stage ; but did it to amuse myself in a slow recovery from a fit of sickness . Afterward , through my indiscretion , it was seen , and in some little time more it was acted ; and I , through the ...
Common terms and phrases
acquaintance Addison afterward appeared blank verse Bolingbroke called censure character Cibber coffeehouse considered contempt conversation criticism death delight diction diligence discovered Dryden duke Dunciad edition elegance endeavoured epitaph Essay excellence expected faults favour Fenton fortune friends friendship gave genius honour hope Iliad imagination kind king known labour lady learning lence letter lines lived lord Bolingbroke lord Halifax Lyttelton mentioned mind nature never Night Thoughts numbers observed occasion once panegyric passion performance perhaps Pindar pleased pleasure poem poet poetical poetry Pope Pope's pounds praise printed published queen reader reason received reputation resentment satire Savage says seems sir Robert Walpole solicited sometimes soon stanza subscription sufficient supposed Swift Theophilus Cibber Thomson tion told tragedy translation Tyrconnel verses virtue WESTMINSTER ABBEY whigs Winchester college write written wrote Young
Popular passages
Page 217 - And lighten glimmering Xanthus with their rays; The long reflections of the distant fires Gleam on the walls, and tremble on the spires. A thousand piles the dusky horrors gild, And shoot a shady lustre o'er the field. Full fifty guards each flaming pile attend, Whose umber'd arms by fits thick flashes send ; Loud neigh the coursers o'er their heaps of corn, And ardent warriors wait the rising morn.
Page 216 - O'er the dark trees a yellower verdure shed, And tip with silver every mountain's head ; Then shine the vales, the rocks in prospect rise, A flood of glory bursts from all the skies : The conscious swains, rejoicing in the sight, Eye the blue vault, and bless the useful light.
Page 295 - ... the narrowness of the definer, though a definition, which shall exclude Pope, will not easily be made. Let us look round upon the present time, and back upon the past ; let us inquire to whom the voice of mankind has decreed the wreath of poetry; let their productions be examined, and their claims stated, and the pretensions of Pope will be no more disputed.
Page 441 - ... cultivated ; that he was a man likely to love much where he loved at all, but that he was fastidious and hard to please.
Page 440 - Perhaps he was the most learned man in Europe. He was equally acquainted with the elegant and profound parts of science, and that not superficially, but thoroughly. He knew every branch of history, both natural and civil ; had read all the original historians of England, France, and Italy; and was a great antiquarian. Criticism, metaphysics...
Page 179 - Tale of a Tub" has little resemblance to his other pieces. It exhibits a vehemence and rapidity of mind, a copiousness of images and vivacity of diction, such as he afterwards never possessed or never exerted. It is of a mode so distinct and peculiar that it must be considered by itself ; what is true of that, is not true of any thing else which he has written.
Page 277 - Pope had only a little, because Dryden had more; for every other writer, since Milton, must give place to Pope ; and even of Dryden it must be said, that if he has brighter paragraphs, he has not better poems.
Page 275 - He considered poetry as the business of his life, and, however he might seem to lament his occupation, he followed it with constancy: to make verses was his first labour, and to mend them was his last.
Page 366 - This was, however, the character rather of his inclination than his genius; the grandeur of wildness, and the novelty of extravagance, were always desired by him, but were not always attained.
Page 350 - He was very often visited by Lyttelton and Pitt, who, when they were weary of faction and debates, used at Wickham to find books and quiet, a decent table, and literary conversation. There is at Wickham a walk made by Pitt; and, what is of far more importance, at Wickham Lyttelton received that conviction which produced his , Dissertation on St. Paul.