The sight of someone may raise a tempest in the mind
— Cowper, William (1731-1800)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Joseph Johnson
Date
1791
Metaphor
The sight of someone may raise a tempest in the mind
Metaphor in Context
Alas! my son, trouble for thy dear sake
Distracts me. Jove surely of all mankind
Thee hated most, though ever in thy heart
Devoutly given; for never mortal man
So many thighs of fatted victims burn'd,
And chosen hecatombs produced as thou
To Jove the Thunderer, him entreating still
That he would grant thee a serene old age,
And to instruct, thyself, thy glorious son.
Yet thus the God requites thee, cutting off
All hope of thy return:--oh ancient sir!
Him too, perchance, where'er he sits a guest
Beneath some foreign roof, the women taunt,
As all these shameless ones have taunted thee,
Fearing whose mockery thou forbidd'st their hands
This office, which Icarius' daughter wise
To me enjoins, and which I, glad, perform.
Yes, I will wash thy feet; both for her sake
And for thy own,--for sight of thee hath raised
A tempest in my mind . Hear now the cause!
Full many a guest forlorn we entertain,
But never any have I seen, whose size,
The fashion of whose foot, and pitch of voice,
Such likeness of Ulysses show'd, as thine.
Distracts me. Jove surely of all mankind
Thee hated most, though ever in thy heart
Devoutly given; for never mortal man
So many thighs of fatted victims burn'd,
And chosen hecatombs produced as thou
To Jove the Thunderer, him entreating still
That he would grant thee a serene old age,
And to instruct, thyself, thy glorious son.
Yet thus the God requites thee, cutting off
All hope of thy return:--oh ancient sir!
Him too, perchance, where'er he sits a guest
Beneath some foreign roof, the women taunt,
As all these shameless ones have taunted thee,
Fearing whose mockery thou forbidd'st their hands
This office, which Icarius' daughter wise
To me enjoins, and which I, glad, perform.
Yes, I will wash thy feet; both for her sake
And for thy own,--for sight of thee hath raised
A tempest in my mind . Hear now the cause!
Full many a guest forlorn we entertain,
But never any have I seen, whose size,
The fashion of whose foot, and pitch of voice,
Such likeness of Ulysses show'd, as thine.
Categories
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
2 entries in ESTC (1791, 1792).
Text from The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated Into English Blank Verse, by W. Cowper, of the Inner Temple, Esq., 2 vols. (London: Printed for J. Johnson, No 72, St. Paul’s Church-Yard, 1791). <Link to ESTC>
Text from The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated Into English Blank Verse, by W. Cowper, of the Inner Temple, Esq., 2 vols. (London: Printed for J. Johnson, No 72, St. Paul’s Church-Yard, 1791). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
01/02/2004
