The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets;: With Critical Observations on Their Works, Volume 1C. Bathurst, J. Buckland, W. Strahan, J. Rivington and Sons, T. Davies, T. Payne, L. Davis, W. Owen, B. White, S. Crowder, T. Caslon, T. Longman, B. Law, C. Dilly, J. Dodsley, J. Wilkie, J. Robson, J. Johnson, T. Lowndes, G. Robinson, T. Cadell, J. Nichols, E. Newbery, T. Evans, P. Elmsly, R. Baldwin, G. Nicol, Leigh and Sotheby, J. Bew, N. Conant, W. Nicoll, J. Murray, S. Hayes, W. Fox, and J. Bowen., 1783 - English poetry |
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Page 17
... wrote a Song of Triumph . But this was a time of fuch general hope , that great num- bers were inevitably disappointed ; and Cow- ley found his reward very tediously delayed . He had been promised by both Charles the first and fecond ...
... wrote a Song of Triumph . But this was a time of fuch general hope , that great num- bers were inevitably disappointed ; and Cow- ley found his reward very tediously delayed . He had been promised by both Charles the first and fecond ...
Page 25
... , inftead of writing poe- try , they only wrote verfes , and very often fuch verfes as ftood the trial of the finger better than of the ear ; for the modulation was was fo imperfect , that they were only found to COWLEY , 25 ल .
... , inftead of writing poe- try , they only wrote verfes , and very often fuch verfes as ftood the trial of the finger better than of the ear ; for the modulation was was fo imperfect , that they were only found to COWLEY , 25 ल .
Page 28
... wrote ra ther as beholders than partakers of human nature ; as Beings looking upon good and evil , impaffive and at leifure ; as Epicurean deities making remarks on the actions of men , and the viciffitudes of life , without intereft ...
... wrote ra ther as beholders than partakers of human nature ; as Beings looking upon good and evil , impaffive and at leifure ; as Epicurean deities making remarks on the actions of men , and the viciffitudes of life , without intereft ...
Page 35
... wrote poefies for rings . They , who above do various circles find , Say , like a ring th ' æquator heaven does bind . When heaven shall be adorn'd by thee , ( Which then more heaven than ' tis , will be ) ' Tis thou must write the ...
... wrote poefies for rings . They , who above do various circles find , Say , like a ring th ' æquator heaven does bind . When heaven shall be adorn'd by thee , ( Which then more heaven than ' tis , will be ) ' Tis thou must write the ...
Page 86
... wrote with abun- dant fertility , but negligent or unskilful se- lection ; with much thought ; but with little imagery ; that he is never pathetick , and rarely fublime , but always either ingenious or learned , either acute or profound ...
... wrote with abun- dant fertility , but negligent or unskilful se- lection ; with much thought ; but with little imagery ; that he is never pathetick , and rarely fublime , but always either ingenious or learned , either acute or profound ...
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Common terms and phrases
againſt almoſt anſwer appears becauſe cauſe cenfured compofitions confidered Cowley daugh deferve defign defire diſcovered Dryden eafily Earl elegance Engliſh fafe faid fame fatire fays fecond feems fent fentiments fhall fhew fhould fince firft firſt fome fomething fometimes foon ftill ftudies ftyle fubject fuch fufficiently fupply fuppofed greateſt Hiftory higheſt himſelf houſe Hudibras images itſelf kindneſs King known laft laſt Latin learning leaſt lefs Lord Lord Conway maſter meaſure Milton mind moft moſt muft muſt nature neceffary never NIHIL numbers obferved occafion paffage paffed paffion Paradife Loft perfon perhaps Philips Pindar pleaſe pleaſure poem poet poetical poetry praiſe prefent profe publick publiſhed purpoſe raiſe reader reafon repreſented rhyme ſeems ſhe ſkill ſome ſtate ſtill ſtudy ſtyle ſuch ſuppoſed thefe themſelves theſe thing thofe thoſe thou thought thouſand tion tranflation underſtanding univerfally uſe verfe verfification verſes Waller whofe whoſe write
Popular passages
Page 109 - Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer; Willing to wound and yet afraid to strike, Just hint a fault and hesitate dislike; Alike...
Page 52 - To move, but doth if th' other do. And though it in the centre sit, Yet, when the other far doth roam, It leans and hearkens after it, And grows erect as that comes home. Such wilt thou be to me, who must Like th
Page 246 - Lost' has this inconvenience, that it comprises neither human actions nor human manners. The man and woman who act and suffer are in a state which no other man or woman can ever know. The reader finds no transaction in which he can be engaged ; beholds no condition in which he can by any effort of imagination place himself; he has, therefore, little natural curiosity or sympathy.
Page 29 - Their attempts were always analytick: they broke every image into fragments, and could no more represent by their slender conceits and laboured particularities the prospects of...
Page 251 - The confusion of spirit and matter, which pervades the whole narration of the war of Heaven, fills it with incongruity; and the book in which it is related is, I believe, the favourite of children, and gradually neglected as knowledge is increased.
Page 82 - Wash'd from the morning beauties' deepest red ; An harmless flatt'ring meteor shone for hair, And fell adown his shoulders with loose care ; He cuts out a silk mantle from the skies, Where the most sprightly azure...
Page 249 - Paradise Lost is one of the books which the reader admires and lays down, and forgets to take up again. None ever wished it longer than it is. Its perusal is a duty rather than a pleasure.
Page 28 - Nor was the sublime more within their reach than the pathetic; for they never attempted that comprehension and expanse of thought which at once fills the whole mind, and of which the first effect is sudden astonishment, and the second rational admiration.
Page 28 - As they were wholly employed on something unexpected and surprising, they had no regard to that uniformity of sentiment which enables us to conceive and to excite the pains and the pleasure of other minds...
Page 256 - Regained has been too much depreciated, Samson Agonistes has in requital been too much admired. It could only be by long prejudice, and the bigotry of learning, that Milton could prefer the ancient tragedies, with their encumbrance of a chorus, to the exhibitions of the French and English stages...