"Light sits my bosom's Master on his throne; / Airy and disencumber'd feels my Soul."
— Dodd, William (1729-1777)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for C. Dilly, in the Poultry
Date
1777, 1793
Metaphor
"Light sits my bosom's Master on his throne; / Airy and disencumber'd feels my Soul."
Metaphor in Context
Adieu, then, to its hope; its earthly hope!
Elsewhere we'll seek it. Forth--oh forth, my Friends;
My generous, supporting, weeping Friends,
Forth from the Bar conduct me. It is past.
Justice has done her office! Mercy's fled:
And smiling, lo! she sits upon a cloud
Of fleecy whiteness, ting'd with azur'd gold,
And beams ineffable composure on me!
Light sits my bosom's Master on his throne;
Airy and disencumber'd feels my Soul;
And, panting, wishes to spring instant up
To that white cloud,--the golden vehicle
To Realms of Rest immortal! In my Eyes,
So languid late, and all suffus'd with Tears,
Methinks I see Hope's lamp rekindle bright;
A living lustre; shedding like the Sun,
After thick mists, Illumination's smile
O'er all my countenance, marr'd, dimm'd, and wan.
(pp. 131-2 in 1777 ed.)
Elsewhere we'll seek it. Forth--oh forth, my Friends;
My generous, supporting, weeping Friends,
Forth from the Bar conduct me. It is past.
Justice has done her office! Mercy's fled:
And smiling, lo! she sits upon a cloud
Of fleecy whiteness, ting'd with azur'd gold,
And beams ineffable composure on me!
Light sits my bosom's Master on his throne;
Airy and disencumber'd feels my Soul;
And, panting, wishes to spring instant up
To that white cloud,--the golden vehicle
To Realms of Rest immortal! In my Eyes,
So languid late, and all suffus'd with Tears,
Methinks I see Hope's lamp rekindle bright;
A living lustre; shedding like the Sun,
After thick mists, Illumination's smile
O'er all my countenance, marr'd, dimm'd, and wan.
(pp. 131-2 in 1777 ed.)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry); text confirmed in ECCO.
Citation
10 entries in ESTC (1777, 1778, 1781, 1783, 1789, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796).
Text from Thoughts in Prison, in Five Parts, viz. The Imprisonment--The Retrospect--Public Punishment--The Trial--Futurity; By the Rev. William Dodd. To which are added, His Last Prayer, Written in the Night before his Death; The Convict's Address to his Unhappy Brethren; and Other Miscellaneous Pieces: With an Account of the Author, and a List of his Works, 4th ed. (London: Printed for C. Dilly, in the Poultry, 1793). <Link to ESTC>
Compare Thoughts in Prison: In Five Parts. Viz. the Imprisonment. The Retrospect. Publick Punishment. The Trial. Futurity. By the Rev. William Dodd, LLD. To Which Are Added, His Last Prayer, Written in the Night Before His Death: and Other Miscellaneous Pieces. (London: Printed for Edward and Charles Dilly, in the Poultry; and G. Kearsly, at No 46, in Fleet-Street, 1777). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Thoughts in Prison, in Five Parts, viz. The Imprisonment--The Retrospect--Public Punishment--The Trial--Futurity; By the Rev. William Dodd. To which are added, His Last Prayer, Written in the Night before his Death; The Convict's Address to his Unhappy Brethren; and Other Miscellaneous Pieces: With an Account of the Author, and a List of his Works, 4th ed. (London: Printed for C. Dilly, in the Poultry, 1793). <Link to ESTC>
Compare Thoughts in Prison: In Five Parts. Viz. the Imprisonment. The Retrospect. Publick Punishment. The Trial. Futurity. By the Rev. William Dodd, LLD. To Which Are Added, His Last Prayer, Written in the Night Before His Death: and Other Miscellaneous Pieces. (London: Printed for Edward and Charles Dilly, in the Poultry; and G. Kearsly, at No 46, in Fleet-Street, 1777). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
07/30/2004
