An Essay on Criticism

Set against the heated literary quarrels of early eighteenth‑century England, this study examines John Oldmixon’s Essay on Criticism and the circumstances of its emergence. Tracing the essay from Oldmixon’s earlier Critical History of England through his public disputes with Dr. Zachary Grey and Alexander Pope, the introduction shows how the work was meant both as a practical guide to “right thinking” and as a Whig‑leaned rebuttal to rival writers. Oldmixon deliberately avoids abstract theory, preferring concrete examples to teach readers while furthering his own agenda.

The analysis follows Oldmixon’s choice of examples—praise for Pope’s Homer, criticism of Clarendon and Laurence Echard—to illustrate how the essay acts as a mirror of contemporary taste and a vehicle for personal disputes. It also places him within the French tradition of Bouhours and Longinus, revealing the cross‑national exchange that shaped early modern criticism. Listeners gain a clearer picture of how a modest pamphlet could both reflect and fuel the fierce rivalries of the Augustan literary world.