ABSTRACT
Poetry and aesthetics from the 1740s take on a curious air of paradox. Themes multiply, horizons expand, new forms open up. Taste becomes more cosmopolitan: Robert Lowth began to work on Hebrew poetry and published his lectures (in Latin) in 1753. The Faerie Queene was used by critics like the influential Bishop Hurd as a touchstone of 'Gothic', as opposed to classical, propriety - the poem's asymmetrical, episodic nature now seen as artistically liberating. The Faerie Queene was used by critics like the influential Bishop Hurd as a touchstone of 'Gothic', as opposed to classical, propriety - the poem's asymmetrical, episodic nature now seen as artistically liberating. The pleasure of Shenstone was all in his eye: he valued what he valued merely for its looks; nothing raised his indignation more than to ask if there were any fishes in his water. His house was mean, and he did not improve it; his care was of his grounds.
