It would be out of place here to study all the radical changes in the approach to poetry and the new trends in intellectual development which – via various early romantic stages and tendencies – led to English romanticism, and hence also contributed to the rise of the English verse narrative. The literature on the subject would fill a library, and any abbreviated outline would carry with it the risk of simplification and distortion. It is, however, undoubtedly necessary to isolate from the myriad developmental trends those which were instrumental in the creation and rise to popularity of the genre under discussion. In the interests of brevity, the poetological change with which every connoisseur of eighteenth-century culture will be familiar will be given in summary form, indicating the implications for the romantic tale in verse.