The Personal Religion of Five Representative Eighteenth-Century Poets

Preface: This thesis had its inception in a study of the personal religion of Samuel Johnson, done in the fall quarter of 1942 for Dr. Emperor's seminar. That study, which forms the second chapter here, was extended to include the personal religion of Thomas Gray, James Thomson, Edward Young, and William Shenstone because of my interest in the subject. The selection of the men to be studied was largely arbitrary; five seemed to be all that the scope of a thesis would permit me to treat adequately.

Hoxie Neale Fairchild's Religious Trends in English Poetry, I am sorry to say, I was unable to secure until this thesis was completed. The thesis may be regarded as supplementary to his excellent study: Johnson he does not treat at all, Gray and Shenstone he treats very briefly. My studies of Thomson and Young I believe are in some respects fuller than are Dr. Fairchild's, though I should have profited greatly had I had the benefit of his survey in making my own. As it is, however, my study is completely independent.

In the writing of this paper I have received many kindnesses for which I am grateful. I wish to thank the librarians for their generous and friendly aid, especially Miss Goehring, who has been most helpful in obtaining inter-library loans for me; I am grateful to Dr. Thaler for reading and commenting on my Chapter dealing with Samuel Johnson and to Dr. Peck for his helpful criticism of my Chapter dealing with Thomas Gray. And I wish to express my very real gratitude to Dr. Emperor, who has been my best critic and constant guide.