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william hazlitt

Lectures on the English Poets

First published 1818 · the second edition (1819)
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contents

i
Introductory.—On Poetry in General
The best general notion which I can give of poetry is, that it is the natural impression of any object or event, by its vividness exciting…
ii
On Chaucer and Spenser
Having, in the former Lecture, given some account of the nature of poetry in general, I shall proceed, in the next place, to a more…
iii
On Shakspeare and Milton
In looking back to the great works of genius in former times, we are sometimes disposed to wonder at the little progress which has since…
iv
On Dryden and Pope
Dryden and Pope are the great masters of the artificial style of poetry in our language, as the poets of whom I have already treated,…
v
On Thomson and Cowper
Thomson, the kind-hearted Thomson, was the most indolent of mortals and of poets. But he was also one of the best both of mortals and of…
vi
On Swift, Young, Gray, Collins, &c.
I shall in the present Lecture go back to the age of Queen Anne, and endeavour to give a cursory account of the most eminent of our poets,…
vii
On Burns, and the Old English Ballads
I am sorry that what I said in the conclusion of the last Lecture respecting Chatterton, should have given dissatisfaction to some persons,…
viii
On the Living Poets
Genius is the heir of fame; but the hard condition on which the bright reversion must be earned is the loss of life. Fame is the recompense…