'At 7 [...] I read the History of England and Rome -- at 8 I perused the History of Greece and it was at this age that I first found real delight in poetry -- "The Minstrel" Popes "Iliad"[,] some parts of the "Odyssey" passages from "Paradise lost" selected by my dearest Mama and some of Shakespeares plays among which were "The Tempest," "Othello," and a few historical dramatic pieces constituted my studies! -- I was enchanted with all these but I think the story interested me more that [sic] the poetry till "The Minstrel" met my sight [...] The brilliant imagery[,] the fine metaphors and the flowing numbers of "the Minstrel" truly astonished me.'