1758 in poetry

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).

Events

 * Christopher Smart writes "Jubilate Agno" (about 1758-63), only published in 1939

United Kingdom

 * Mark Akenside, An Ode to the Country Gentlemen of England
 * John Gilbert Cooper, The Call of Aristippus
 * Robert Dodsley:
 * Cleone: A tragedy, verse drama performed in December; the work also contains the author's poem "Melpomene", on the sublime
 * Collection of Poems, volumes five and six
 * James Macpherson, The Highlander
 * Thomas Parnell, Posthumous Works

English, Colonial America

 * Thomas Prince, The Psalms, Hymns, & spiritual Songs of the Old and new Testaments, English, Colonial America
 * Annis Boudinot Stockton, "To the Honorable Colonel Peter Schuyler" published in New-York Mercury and New American Magazine; her first published poem; Colonial America

Other

 * Anica Bošković, Dijalog Serbian published in Venice
 * Solomon Gessner, Der Tod Abels, Switzerland, German-language work akin to an idyllic pastoral
 * Heyat Mahmud, Āmbiyābāṇī; Bengal, Bengali-language

Oliver Goldsmith's "poetical scale"
In the January 1758 edition of the Literary Magazine, an anonymous writer widely believed to be English poet and author Oliver Goldsmith presented a table comparing 29 English poets, rating them on a scale in each of four aspects of literary greatness. A score of 20 was literary perfection. Some of his estimations:

Some other poets Goldsmith placed on the scale: Michael Drayton, Lee, Aaron Hill, Nicholas Rowe, Garth, Southern and Hughes. John Donne was not listed, because, wrote Goldsmith, "Dr Donne was a man of wit, but he seems to have been at pains not to pass for a poet." (See also Mark Akenside's "Balance of Poets" of 1746.)

Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
 * February 3
 * Vasily Kapnist (died 1823), Ukrainian poet and playwright
 * Valentin Vodnik (died 1819), Carniolan Slovene poet, writer and priest
 * March 15 – Magdalene Sophie Buchholm (died 1825), Norwegian poet
 * April 6 – Sir George Dallas, 1st Baronet (died 1833), English politician and poet
 * April 30 – Jane West, born Iliffe, publishing under the pen names "Prudentia Homespun" and "Mrs. West" (died 1852), English novelist, poet, playwright and writer of conduct literature and educational tracts
 * December – Mary Leadbeater (died 1826), Irish poet and writer
 * Also:
 * Ryōkan 良寛, born Eizō Yamamoto (died 1831), Japanese waka poet, calligrapher, Buddhist monk and often a hermit
 * year uncertain – Joseph Fawcett (died 1804), English Presbyterian minister and poet

Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
 * January 1 – Johann Friedrich von Cronegk (born 1731), German dramatist, poet and essayist
 * January 7 – Allan Ramsay (born 1686), Scottish poet
 * July 15 – Ambrosius Stub (born 1705), Danish poet