Sinopsis

"THE SHEPHERD'S WEEK," "A LETTER TO A LADY."
The outstanding literary event in Gay's career in 1714 was the pastoral, "The
Shepherd's Week," which was published by R. Burleigh on April 15th, which
contained a "Proeme to the Courteous Reader," and a "Prologue to the Right
Honourable the Lord Viscount Bolingbroke," which was, in fact, a dedication:
—
Lo, I who erst beneath a tree
Sung Bumkinet and Bowzybee,
And Blouzelind and Marian bright,
In apron blue or apron white,
Now write my sonnets in a book,
For my good lord of Bolingbroke.
The author then states that he had heard of the Queen's illness and how the
skill of Arbuthnot had restored her to health:—
A skilful leech (so G...