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Rev. George Gilfillan, in his introductory essay to the 1865 edition of The poetical works, describes Shenstone as "this true but self-stunted Poet" and as " …possessed of great accomplishments, much true talent, and a distinct although narrow vein of poetic genius." Certainly Shenstone's contemporaries, apart from a small circle of close friends, seemed to be more impressed by his work in landscaping his estate at the Leasowes than by his poetry. There was a great deal of poetry: his first published work, The judgement of Hercules, appeared in 1740, and this was followed throughout the poet's relatively short life by the publication of works as varied as odes, elegies, ballads, and Latin inscriptions.
The poems have a period charm of their own, as the products of
a well-educated, gifted amateur who seems to have written largely
for his own and his friends' entertainment.
The Elegies were written on many different occasions, and the subjects covered range from "posthumous reputation" to "the state of the woollen manufacture." And, many years on, they are still worth reading, if only to delight in Shenstone's poetical musings on subjects as varied as the "novelty of life", and "the character of the ancient Britons."
The full text of Elegies can be read online or downloaded free of charge. It is in XHTML format, like this page. Please note the file size is 99.1kb and it may take some time to open-up if you choose to read it online. Downloading for reading later may be the preferred option and this can be typically achieved by calling up an option box. If you have a mouse and it is configured for left click to select, right clicking the link may give you this option.
The Elegies are perhaps the poems in which it is most difficult to discern Shenstone's individual voice and character. His customary wit and charm are not much in evidence, and occasionally Gilfillan's strictures about classical references seems justified. But that is the worst than can be said of them: they may not sparkle, but they are competent productions by a man who wrote for pleasure.
Page created 13 December 2002 and last
updated 6 February 2003
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