A scene may appear bright to Fancy's eye
— Barbauld, Anna Letitia [née Aikin] (1743-1825)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Joseph Johnson
Date
1773
Metaphor
A scene may appear bright to Fancy's eye
Metaphor in Context
How bright the scene to Fancy's eye appears,
Through the long perspective of distant years,
When this, this little group their country calls
From academic shades and learned halls,
To fix her laws, her spirit to sustain,
And light up glory through her wide domain!
Their various tastes in different arts displayed,
Like tempered harmony of light and shade,
With friendly union in one mass shall blend,--
And this adorn the state, and that defend.
These the sequestered shade shall cheaply please,
With learned labour and inglorious ease:
While those, impelled by some resistless force,
O'er seas and rocks shall urge their venturous course;
Rich fruits matured by glowing suns behold,
And China's groves of vegetable gold;
From every land the various harvest spoil,
And bear the tribute to their native soil:
But tell each land,--while every toil they share,
Firm to sustain, and resolute to dare,--
Man is the nobler growth our realms supply,
And souls are ripened in our northern sky.
(ll. 133-154, p. 54)
Through the long perspective of distant years,
When this, this little group their country calls
From academic shades and learned halls,
To fix her laws, her spirit to sustain,
And light up glory through her wide domain!
Their various tastes in different arts displayed,
Like tempered harmony of light and shade,
With friendly union in one mass shall blend,--
And this adorn the state, and that defend.
These the sequestered shade shall cheaply please,
With learned labour and inglorious ease:
While those, impelled by some resistless force,
O'er seas and rocks shall urge their venturous course;
Rich fruits matured by glowing suns behold,
And China's groves of vegetable gold;
From every land the various harvest spoil,
And bear the tribute to their native soil:
But tell each land,--while every toil they share,
Firm to sustain, and resolute to dare,--
Man is the nobler growth our realms supply,
And souls are ripened in our northern sky.
(ll. 133-154, p. 54)
Categories
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
McCarthy, William and Kraft, Elizabeth, eds. Anna Letitia Barbauld: Selected Poetry and Prose. Ontario: Broadview Press, 2002.
Theme
Mind's Eye
Date of Entry
01/03/2004
