Third edition of Prince Arthur, Richard Blackmore’s celebration of William III in the form of an epic based on The Aeneid and using historical material from Geoffrey of Monmouth. (The first edition appeared in 1695 and the second in the same year with an added index). It is found here bound with King Arthur in its first edition of 1697. Two variants exist, this copy having “near the Inner-Temple-gate” in the imprint.
Physician and epic poetry enthusiast Blackmore (1654-1729) is now primarily remembered as an object of satire. In 1700 he was accused by John Dryden of being not only a plagiarist but also a poet whose work read to the rhythm of wagon wheels because it had been written in the back of hackney cabs on journeys between patients (The Pilgrim, prologue). Having used Virgil as his model for Prince Arthur and Milton for King Arthur, Blackmore was less successful in his emulation of other poets in subsequent works. He became the target of particular scorn from Pope in The Dunciad (1728), which immortalised him as ‘Neverending Blackmore’, a poet so boring he could send even lawyers to sleep.
ESTC R23258; Wing B 3082.