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The article critiques poet Ben Jonson's 17th-century poem "Ode to Sir William Sydney, on His Birth-day" as an early example of the formal ode in English literature. It addresses how Jonson conforms to the austere ethos of the household of Sir Robert Sidney, the poem's maintenance of a delicate decorum, and the demonstration of Jonson's control of imitation and allusion.

The article presents poetry criticism of the epic poems "The Odyssey" by Homer and "The Aeneid" by Virgil. The author looks at the references to the mythic character Tithonos in both of the classic epic poems and suggests that Virgil's inclusion of the Tithonos myth in "The Aeneid" is an example of his creative imitation of Homer's work. Further, the author suggests that by portraying Tithonos as a victim of passionate love Virgil is responding to and quietly correcting Homer.