was first published in June 1784: a slim quarto edition funded by Smith herself. It went on to expand through multiple editions, with a final total of ninety-two sonnets by 1800, and met with popular and critical acclaim. Smith is widely credited with reviving the moribund sonnet form in the late eighteenth century, which had been used little during the hundred years following Milton’s death in 1674, yet became one of the most popular poetic forms of the Romantic period. As well as for reviving the sonnet, Smith has been celebrated as “the first poet in England whom in retrospect we would call Romantic” (Curran “Introduction” xix; see also
Poetic Form30), echoing Wordsworth’s earlier description of…
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Citation: Roberts, Bethan. "Elegiac Sonnets, and Other Essays". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 January 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5419, accessed 03 December 2024.]
