Date: 1717

Shakespeare was "the Genius of our Isle, whose Mind / (The universal Mirror of Mankind) / Express'd all Images"

— Fenton, Elijah (1683-1730)

Date: 1733

Reason's "clear Mirror" can reflect the past actions and represent passions

— Masters, Mary (1694-1771)

Date: w. 1739, 1762

Melancholy's "transient Forms like Shadows pass, / Frail Offspring of the magic Glass, / Before the mental Eye."

— Carter, Elizabeth (1717-1806)

Date: w. 1739, 1762

"Thro' Reason's clearer Optics view'd, / How stript of all it's Pomp, how rude / Appears the painted Cheat."

— Carter, Elizabeth (1717-1806)

Date: 1766

"In judgment's sunshine fancy's flow'rets bloom, / And innocence exalts their fresh perfume: / No weeds of envy choke the fertile soil"

— Woodhouse, James (bap. 1735, d. 1820)

Date: 1766

"She, whose bright presence, dull December's day / Might metamorphose into sprightly May; / Whose virtuous manners, and whose polish'd mind, / May stand the test and mirror of mankind."

— Woodhouse, James (bap. 1735, d. 1820)

Date: 1785

"In thy mild rhetoric dwells a social love / Beyond my wild conceptions, optics false!/ Thro' which I falsely judg'd of polish'd life"

— Yearsley, Ann (bap. 1753, d. 1806)