Edward Young (1638-1765) was one of the most influential British writers of the eighteenth century. Although primarily known as a poet on the back of his monumental

Night Thoughts

(1742-46), a religious consolation in blank verse which established his place as a proto-Romantic writer and as a member of the “graveyard school”, Young was also a satirist, a tragedian, and an important contributor to literary criticism. Although biographer Harold Forster suggests Young was “a poet born in the wrong age” (Forster, 1986, 1), tracking Young’s literary career is a useful way to trace changing literary tastes from the early to mid-century, exemplifying the paradigmatic shift from neoclassical ideals of imitation and formal restraint to those of originality and imaginative spontaneity.…

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Citation: Parisot, Eric. "Edward Young". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 February 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4840, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4840 Edward Young 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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