Dr. Johnson extolled Night-Thoughts for its magnificence of thought and diversity and cited Edward Young extensively when compiling his Dictionary, published in 1755. [1]
Edward Young was an English poet, best known for his long-form works, including Night-Thoughts, a series of philosophical writings. Young died on 5 April 1765. He left directions which, apparently, were not executed, that all his papers should be destroyed.
Consisting of 10,000 lines in blank verse, Night-Thoughts is a series of nine poems published between 1742 and 1745 exploring themes of death, mortality, and the afterlife. They are notable for their sombre tone reflecting Young’s state of mind following the death of his wife Lady Elizabeth Lee in 1741, and they ranked among the most popular poems of that century. William Blake illustrated the work in the late 1790s.
Despite the popularity of Night-Thoughts, Young’s later years were marked by financial difficulty and personal tragedy including the death of his son in 1760. He continued writing and publishing poetry, including several satirical works that targeted the political and social issues of his day. Young also took holy orders, and wrote many fawning letters in search of preferment, attracting accusations of insincerity.
Today, Young is remembered as one of the leading poets of the 18th century, and Night-Thoughts remains a significant work of English literature. Its influence can be seen in the works of later writers such as Goethe, Samuel Johnson, William Wordsworth, and Percy Bysshe Shelley, who all drew inspiration from his themes and style.
Young died at his rectory at Welwyn in 1765 and was ‘decently buried’ under the communion table of his parish church near his wife.