A Full Enquiry into the Nature of the Pastoral (1717)

This newly reproduced essay offers a rare glimpse into early‑ eighteenth‑century literary criticism, reviving a work that vanished after its original publication and only recently resurfaced in a university archive. Its author, an active poet‑critic of the period, tackles the pastoral genre with a seriousness that belies its bucolic reputation, arguing that the form deserves more than mere imitation of Theocritus and Virgil. The introduction frames the treatise as a response to the dominant, authority‑driven aesthetics of the age, positioning it as a fresh, empirical inquiry into how poetry engages the human mind.

Drawing on the philosophical currents of Hobbes and Locke, the essay proposes that the rules of poetry should arise from the pleasures and mental processes of readers rather than from rigid classical models. It critiques the prevailing reverence for “golden‑age” pastoral ideals, suggesting instead that irregular, lively works can better stimulate imagination and profit. By reorganizing Aristotle’s categories of fable, character, sentiment, and diction, the author builds a systematic, rational framework that seeks to align poetic practice with the natural capacities of the audience.