Overview of the events of 1742 in poetry
Overview of the events of 1742 in poetry
At thirty, a man suspects himself a fool;
Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan;
At fifty chides his infamous delay,
Pushes his prudent purpose to resolve;
In all the magnanimity of thought
Resolves, and re-resolves; then dies the same.
- — Edward Young, Night Thoughts, "Night 1"
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).
Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
- February 14 – Peter Wilhelm Hensler [de] (died 1779), German writer, poet and lawyer
- February 17 - Dositej Obradović (died 1811), Serbian author, philosopher, linguist, polyglot and the first minister of education of Serbia
- March 25 – William Combe, born William Combes (died 1823), English writer, poet and adventurer
- July 1 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (died 1799), German writer, poet, mathematician and the first German professor of experimental physics
- September 9 – Thomas Penrose (died 1779), English poet
- October 6 – Johan Herman Wessel (died 1785), Norwegian poet
- December 12 – Anna Seward, called "the Swan of Lichfield" (died 1809), English poet
- December 25 – Charlotte von Stein (died 1827), German member of the court at Weimar, poet and close friend of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (on whom she is a strong influence) and Friedrich Schiller
- Approximate date
Deaths
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article: