Alexander Pope, The Discovery: or, The Squire turn’d Ferret

Pat Rogers (University of South Florida)

Ed. by Nicholas Seager, University of Keele
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1726

Places

England (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Ballad
Poem
Satire

Resources

This “Excellent New Ballad” of 88 verses is a satire on those involved in a famous episode, concerning the supposed birth of seventeen rabbits to a woman named Mary Toft, and singles out in particular the reaction of certain establishment figures. It comprises twenty-two stanzas, rhyming ABAB. It was published just before Christmas in 1726 under the title The Discovery: or, The Squire turn’d Ferret. Some years later Alexander Pope acknowledged privately that the lines were written by himself along with the politician William Pulteney (1684–1764). Subsequently Pulteney defected from Robert Walpole’s government and became a leader of the Opposition movement with which Pope was allied. However, the …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2404 words

Citation: Rogers, Pat. "The Discovery: or, The Squire turn’d Ferret". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 March 2022 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40723, accessed 21 November 2024.]

Save this article