ABSTRACT
Early in July 1793, the character of JOAN of ARC was the subject of conversation between myself and an intimate friend: the adventures of this extraordinary woman appeared to me well adapted for an Epic Poem; in the course of a few days I formed the rude outlines of a plan, and wrote the first three hundred lines; the remainder of the month was employed in travelling, and I made no progress even in idea. The subject was resumed on the 13th of August, and the original poem in TWELVE books, finished in six weeks, from that time.2
