Beyond “De Rerum Naturâ, Esqr.”: Lucretius, Poe, and John Mason Good

Scholars have previously noted Poe’s passing references to the long didactic poem De Rerum Natura by the Roman poet Lucretius (ca. 99 BCE–55 BCE). This article asserts much greater significance to Poe’s reception of this poem, particularly via a largely overlooked 1805 edition translated and annotated by the English writer John Mason Good (1764–1827). Careful comparative examination reveals the profound degree to which Poe’s writings draw on Good’s interpretations both in his version of The Nature of Things and his later work of natural theology, Book of Nature.