A versatile poet, Young is best remembered for his Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality (1742-1746), which attained phenomenal popularity and went through hundreds of printings over the century following its publication. His satires were published as The Universal Passion (1725-1728) and revised as a single volume, Love of Fame, the Universal Passion (1728). He also authored the tragedies Busiris (1719), The Revenge (1721), and The Brothers (1752) as well as the poem Resignation (1762).