Christopher Smart

Christopher Smart was an English poet of the 18th century, often associated with the Augustan literary period but distinct for his religious enthusiasm and personal idiosyncrasy. He wrote much of his most famous work while confined in asylums, where he experienced intense religious visions. His poetry frequently combines elaborate biblical imagery with a playful, associative style, as seen in the long antiphonal sections of 'Jubilate Agno'. That poem contains the well-known lines celebrating his cat Jeoffry, blending everyday observation with spiritual exaltation. 'A Song to David' is a structured hymn of praise, notable for its intricate stanzaic form and thematic breadth. Though his contemporaries often regarded him as mad, later critics have recognized the originality and power of his verse. He contributed to periodicals and wrote hymns, fables, and a translation of the Psalms. Smart's work prefigures elements of Romanticism through its emphasis on individual vision and the natural world. His poetry continues to be studied for its unique fusion of wit, devotion, and linguistic experimentation.