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
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman stylistic ends". A major influence on "Tristram Shandy" is Rabelais' "Gargantua and Pantagruel". Rabelais was by far Sterne's favourite author, and in his correspondence he made clear that he considered himself Rabelais's successor in humorous writing. One passage Sterne incorporated pertains to "the length and goodness of the nose". Sterne had written an earlier piece called "A Rabelaisian Fragment" that indicates his familiarity with the work of the French monk and doctor. Sterne was no friend of gravitas, a quality which excited his disgust. "Tristram Shandy" gives a ludicrous turn to solemn passages from respected authors that it incorporates, as