To a Young Ass in the 18th-century, with many philosophers and writers, including Godwin, William Shield, and others, releasing their horses and mules to walk alongside them. A direct literary connection is to William Crowe's "To an Ass" (1793) and the poem incorporates a quote from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet". The idea of connecting with a lowly form of animal also appears in many literary works, including Robert Burns poems (example – "To a Mouse"), Southey's poems (example – "To a Spider"), the works of Laurence Sterne (both "Tristram Shandy" and "A Sentimental Journey") and Cervantes's "Don Quixote". Richard Holmes, Coleridge's 20th-century biographer, points out
British literature of Wakefield" (1766), a pastoral poem "The Deserted Village" (1770) and two plays, "The Good-Natur'd Man" 1768 and "She Stoops to Conquer" 1773. Sheridan was born in Dublin, but his family moved to England in the 1750s. His first play, "The Rivals" 1775, was performed at Covent Garden and was an instant success. He went on to become the most significant London playwright of the late 18th century with plays like "The School for Scandal" and "The Critic". Sterne published his famous novel "Tristram Shandy" in parts between 1759 and 1767. The sentimental novel or the novel of sensibility is