1/25 _The Borough_ was begun at Rendham in Suffolk in 1801, continued at Muston after the return thither in 1805, and finally completed during a long visit to Aldeburgh in the autumn of 1809. That the Poem should have been "in the making" during at least eight years is quite what might be inferred from the finished work. It proved, on appearance, to be of portentous length--at least ten thousand lines. Its versification included every degree of finish of which Crabbe was capable, from his very best to his very worst. |