Abstract:In the course of many years collecting and studying early New England epitaph verse, I have found a surprising abundance of works by Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Johnson, Isaac Watts, Edward Young, and many lesser poets. Recently I was asked if Classical literature was also chosen for use on these Congregationalist gravestones. An admiring emulation of ancient Rome is observable in many aspects of eighteenth-century American culture, from principles of government, to the details of fancy dress and formal… Show more
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