LECTURES ON THE ENGLISH POETS
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
The Lectures on The English Poets. Delivered at the Surrey Institution. By William Hazlitt, were published in 8vo. (8¾ × 5¼), in the year of their delivery, 1818; a second edition was published in 1819, of which the present issue is a reprint. The imprint reads, ‘London: Printed for Taylor and Hessey, 93, Fleet Street. 1819,’ and the volume was printed by ‘T. Miller, Printer, Noble Street, Cheapside.’ Behind the half-title appears the following advertisement: ‘This day is published, Characters of Shakespear’s Plays, by William Hazlitt. Second Edition, 8vo. price 10s. 6d. boards.’ A four-page advertisement of ‘Books just published by Taylor and Hessey’ ends the volume, with ‘Characters of Shakspeare’s Plays’ at the top, and a notice of it from the Edinburgh Review.
CONTENTS
| LECTURE I. | |
| PAGE | |
|---|---|
| Introductory.—On Poetry in General | [1] |
| LECTURE II. | |
| On Chaucer and Spenser | [19] |
| LECTURE III. | |
| On Shakspeare and Milton | [44] |
| LECTURE IV. | |
| On Dryden and Pope | [68] |
| LECTURE V. | |
| On Thomson and Cowper | [85] |
| LECTURE VI. | |
| On Swift, Young, Gray, Collins, etc. | [104] |
| LECTURE VII. | |
| On Burns, and the Old English Ballads | [123] |
| LECTURE VIII. | |
| On the Living Poets | [143] |
LECTURES ON
THE ENGLISH POETS
LECTURE 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 an involuntary movement of imagination and passion, and producing, by sympathy, a certain modulation of the voice, or sounds, expressing it.
In treating of poetry, I shall speak first of the subject-matter of it, next of the forms of expression to which it gives birth, and afterwards of its connection with harmony of sound.