Chapter XXXI: History of Poetry From 1650 to 1700

Improved Tone of Italian Poetry 776
Filicaja 777
Guidi 777
Menzini 778
Salvator Rosa--Redi 778
Other Poets 778
Christina’s Patronage of Letters 778
Society of Arcadians 778
La Fontaine 779
Character of his Fables 779
Boileau: His Epistles 780
His Art of Poetry 780
Comparison with Horace 780
The Lutrin 780
General Character of his Poetry 780
Lyric Poetry lighter than before 781
Benserade 781
Chaulieu 781
Pastoral Poetry 781
Segrais 781
Deshouliéres 781
Fontenelle 782
Bad Epic Poems 782
German Poetry 782
Waller 782
Butler’s Hudibras 783
Paradise Lost--Choice of Subject 783
Open to some Difficulties 783
Its Arrangement 783
Characters of Adam and Eve 784
He owes less to Homer than the Tragedians 784
Compared with Dante 784
Elevation of his Style 785
His Blindness 786
His Passion for Music 786
Faults in Paradise Lost 786
Its Progress to Fame 786
Paradise Regained 787
Samson Agonistes 787
Dryden--His earlier Poems 787
Absalom and Achitophel 788
Mac Flecknoe 788
The Hind and Panther 789
Its Singular Fable 789
Its Reasoning 789
The Fables 789
His Odes--Alexander’s Feast 790
His Translation of Virgil 790
Decline of Poetry from the Restoration 790
Some Minor Poets enumerated 790
Latin Poets of Italy 791
Ceva 791
Sergardi 791
Of France--Quillet 791
Menage 792
Rapin on Gardens 792
Santeul 793
Latin Poetry in England 793