This spirited poem, utilizing political gossip, theatrical tattle and sexual intrigue, first appeared on 31 January 1717. The imprint is that of Rebecca Burleigh, but she was a front for the notorious Edmund Curll, who included it in a miscellany two weeks later, and reprinted it on at least five occasions. Although Pope never included it in his own collections, it has subsequently been accepted by all editors. In support of this attribution we have a draft in the poet’s own hand, surviving in the British Library, as well as a number of internal clues that point to his responsibility. Many of these concern matters that would have come to his attention through his close involvement at this juncture with the court, notably the maids …
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Citation: Rogers, Pat. "The Court Ballad". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 March 2022 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40721, accessed 21 November 2024.]
