Lives of the English Poets : Prior, Congreve, Blackmore, Pope

This collection offers concise biographical sketches and close literary criticism of several English poets, blending anecdote, historical detail, and sustained critical judgment. Each life recounts career highlights, patronage, and social context, then examines major poems for style, wit, and moral tone. The critic often separates transgressions against social convention from violations of morality, praises technical mastery of versification while noting limitations of character or taste, and weighs religious or encomiastic aims alongside aesthetic merit. The largest section gives a prolonged, admiring account of one poet’s craftsmanship, while other profiles emphasize theatrical wit, devotional purpose, and the interplay of reputation and patronage.