Among Smart's biographers, the quality of the work is very debatable : Arthur Sherbo claims that the work " is remarkable for the poorness of the blank verse and the stilted Latinate quality of its language " while Chris Mounsey responds, " Possibly because of its complexity, allied to the fact that it does not meet with the expectations of most readers of Smart, the poem has hitherto been ill interpreted . " However, they both agree that the work provides valuable insight into Smart's earlier years and portrays nature and farming in a realistic manner.
