Chapter III: The English Precursors

The first group 53
Mediæval reaction 53
Gray 54
Peculiarity of his critical position 55
The Letters 56
The _Observations_ on Aristophanes and Plato 59
The _Metrum_ 60
The Lydgate Notes 61
Shenstone 63
Percy 64
The Wartons 66
Joseph’s _Essay on Pope_ 66
The _Adventurer_ Essays 67
Thomas Warton on Spenser 68
His _History of English Poetry_ 70

Hurd: his Commentary on Addison 72

The Horace 73

The Dissertations 74

Other Works 75

The _Letters on Chivalry and Romance_ 75

Their doctrine 76

His real importance 78

Alleged imperfections of the group 79

Studies in Prosody 80

John Mason: his _Power of Numbers_ in Prose and
Poetry 81

Mitford: his _Harmony of Language_ 83

Importance of prosodic inquiry 86

Sterne and the stop-watch 86