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John Gay
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John Gay, oil painting by William Aikman; in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.
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John Gay, oil painting by William Aikman; in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.
John Gay summary
Quizzes
Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry
A Study of Poetry
4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul
Famous Poets and Poetic Form
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:
Poetry: First Lines
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John Gay: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

The standard biography is David Nokes, John Gay: A Profession of Friendship (1995). Editions of Gay’s poems include Vinton A. Dearing and Charles E. Beckwith (eds.), Poetry and Prose, 2 vol. (1974).

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Anniversary information added. Nov 30, 2025
Anniversary information added. Jun 26, 2025
First paragraph modernization. Mar 05, 2024
Invalidated site: The University of Adelaide - Biography of John Gay. Feb 04, 2020
Add new Web site: British Library - Biography of John Gay. May 03, 2019
Add new Web site: The University of Adelaide - Biography of John Gay. Mar 07, 2017
Add new Web site: Poetry Foundation - Biography of John Gay. Apr 07, 2015
Add new Web site: Westminster Abbey - Biography of John Gay. Jul 23, 2013
Add new Web site: AllMusic - Biography of John Gay. Jul 23, 2013
Added new Web site: Pegasos - Biography of John Gay. Mar 26, 2008
Bibliography revised. Feb 09, 2007
Article revised and updated. Feb 09, 2007
Added new Web site: Renascence Editions - "The Beggar's Opera" by John Gay. Jun 20, 2006
Article added to new online database. May 04, 1999
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