Unborn ages may crowd on the soul
— Gray, Thomas (1716-1771)
Author
Work Title
Date
w. 1755-1757, 1768
Metaphor
Unborn ages may crowd on the soul
Metaphor in Context
"Edward, lo! to sudden fate
"(Weave we the woof. The thread is spun)
"Half of thy heart we consecrate.
"(The web is wove. The work is done.)"
'Stay, oh stay! nor thus forlorn
'Leave me unblessed, unpitied, here to mourn:
'In yon bright track, that fires the western skies,
'They melt, they vanish from my eyes.
'But oh! what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height
'Descending slow their glittering skirts unroll?
'Visions of glory, spare my aching sight,
'Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul!
'No more our long-lost Arthur we bewail.
'All-hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's issue, hail!
(ll. 97-110, pp. 195-6)
"(Weave we the woof. The thread is spun)
"Half of thy heart we consecrate.
"(The web is wove. The work is done.)"
'Stay, oh stay! nor thus forlorn
'Leave me unblessed, unpitied, here to mourn:
'In yon bright track, that fires the western skies,
'They melt, they vanish from my eyes.
'But oh! what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height
'Descending slow their glittering skirts unroll?
'Visions of glory, spare my aching sight,
'Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul!
'No more our long-lost Arthur we bewail.
'All-hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's issue, hail!
(ll. 97-110, pp. 195-6)
Categories
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
At least 36 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1757, 1768, 1770, 1771, 1775, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1782, 1786, 1787, 1790, 1793, 1795, 1800).
See Odes by Mr. Gray. ([London]: Printed at Strawberry-Hill, for R. and J. Dodsley in Pall-Mall, 1757). <Link to ESTC>
Reading Roger Lonsdale's The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, and Oliver Goldsmith (London and New York: Longman and Norton: 1972). [Lonsdale follows the 1768 text]
See Odes by Mr. Gray. ([London]: Printed at Strawberry-Hill, for R. and J. Dodsley in Pall-Mall, 1757). <Link to ESTC>
Reading Roger Lonsdale's The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, and Oliver Goldsmith (London and New York: Longman and Norton: 1972). [Lonsdale follows the 1768 text]
Date of Entry
11/11/2003
