Romantic literature in English an English essayist, best known for his "Confessions of an English Opium-Eater" (1821), an autobiographical account of his laudanum use and its effect on his life. William Hazlitt (1778–1830), friend of both Coleridge and Wordsworth, is another important essayist at this time, though today he is best known for his literary criticism, especially "Characters of Shakespeare's Plays" (1817–18). The second generation of Romantic poets includes Lord Byron (1788–1824), Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) and John Keats (1795–1821). Byron, however, was still influenced by 18th-century satirists and was, perhaps the least 'romantic' of the three, preferring "the brilliant wit of Pope to
English Romantic sonnets – which now characterizes the English or Shakespearean sonnet. Romantic literature in English includes both Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets. The sonnet has been a popular literary form since its creation, made famous by Dante, Petrarch, Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, John Donne, and John Milton, but during the late 17th century and early 18th century the sonnet fell out of favor. Many sonnets were still being produced but were not as popular. Revival began with poets like Thomas Edwards and Charlotte Turner Smith before later including the other Romantics such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats and Shelley. The Romantic poets