Alexander Pope, The Discovery: or, The Squire turn’d Ferret

Pat Rogers (University of South Florida)

Ed. by Nicholas Seager, University of Keele
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1726

Places

England (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Ballad
Poem
Satire

Resources

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This “Excellent New Ballad” of 88 verses is a satire on those involved in a famous episode, concerning the supposed birth of seventeen rabbits to a woman named Mary Toft, and singles out in particular the reaction of certain establishment figures. It comprises twenty-two stanzas, rhyming ABAB. It was published just before Christmas in 1726 under the title

The Discovery: or, The Squire turn’d Ferret.

Some years later Alexander Pope acknowledged privately that the lines were written by himself along with the politician William Pulteney (1684–1764). Subsequently Pulteney defected from Robert Walpole’s government and became a leader of the Opposition movement with which Pope was allied. However, the two men were not close friends at the time the poem appeared. The style and approach…

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2404 words

Citation: Rogers, Pat. "The Discovery: or, The Squire turn’d Ferret". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 March 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40723, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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