A Philosophical Inquiry into the Source of the Pleasures Derived from the Tragic Representations: from which is Deduced the Secret of Giving Dramatic Interest to Tragedies Intended for the Stage. Preceded by a Critical Examination of the Various Theories…

viii, 405, [1] pp. A summary of aesthetic theories related to stage productions in various European traditions, along with the author's analysis of the same. This work references the works of Edmund Burke, Karl Schlegel, and Richard Knight. M'Dermot seems to have had a general interest in aesthetics: he also wrote A Critical Dissertation on the Nature and Principles of Taste; Essays on the Sources of the Pleasures Received from Literary Compositions; etc.