of the Preposition before the Relative is more graceful, as well as more perspicuous; and agrees much better with the solemn and elevated Style."2 Others had previously expressed this opinion; the earliest known is John Dryden in 1672. Lowth's method included criticising "false syntax"; his examples of false syntax were culled from Shakespeare, the King James Bible, John Donne, John Milton, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and other famous writers. His understanding of grammar, like that of all linguists of his period, was influenced by the study of Latin, though he was aware that this was problematic and condemned "forcing the English under the rules of a foreign Language"1. Thus Lowth condemns Addison's sentence "Who should I meet the other night, but my old friend?" on the grounds that the thing acted upon should be in the "Objective Case" (corresponding, as he says earlier, to an oblique case in Latin), rather than taking this example and others as evidence from noted writers that "who" can refer to direct objects. Lowth's dogmatic assertions appealed to those who wished for certainty and authority in their language. Lowth's grammar was not written for children; however, within a decade after it appeared, versions of it adapted for the use of schools had appeared, and Lowth's stylistic opinions acquired the force of law in the schoolroom. The textbook remained in standard usage throughout educational institutions until the early 20th century. Literary critic Lowth has been regarded as the first imagery critic of Shakespeare's plays and highlighted the importance of the imagery in the interpretation of motives and actions of characters and dramatic movement of the plot and narrative structure.3 See also Linguistic prescription Lindley Murray Notes 1A Short Introduction to English Grammar, p. 107, condemning Richard Bentley's "corrections" of some of Milton's constructions. 2A Short Introduction to English Grammar., pp. 127–128. 3"Notes & Queries (OUP)" in 1983 Vol. 30, pp. 55–58 by Sailendra Kumar Sen, Robert Lowth :the first imagery critic of Shakespeare. Citations Further reading Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade, "The anonymity of Lowth's grammar". In: Ontheven aan de tijd. Linguïstisch-historische studies voor Jan Noordegraaf bij zijn zestigste verjaardag. Ed. by Lo van Driel & Theo Janssen. Amsterdam: Stichting Neerlandistiek VU, Amsterdam & Münster: Nodus Publikationen 2008, 125–134. Tieken-Boon van Ostade, I. M. (2010), The Bishop's Grammar: Robert Lowth and the Rise of Prescriptivism. Oxford: OUP External links Robert Lowth at the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)