"Domestic troubles long my mind oppress'd, / And made the muse a stranger to my breast"
— Blacklock, Thomas (1721-1791)
Work Title
Date
1756, 1793
Metaphor
"Domestic troubles long my mind oppress'd, / And made the muse a stranger to my breast"
Metaphor in Context
While friendship's gentle pow'rs my bosom fire,
Damon accept the lays which you inspire:
My long-neglected muse thy worth revives,
And gen'rous ardour from thy flame receives.
Domestic troubles long my mind oppress'd,
And made the muse a stranger to my breast;
Not friendship's softest charms could raise my song,
Till wak'd to life by thy persuasive tongue.
O Damon, could I boast thy wondrous skill,
Were but my genius equal to my will,
Thy praises I unweary'd would proclaim;
And place thee with the brightest sons of fame.
Sure, Damon, 'tis some god thy breast inspires,
And fills thy soul with those celestial fires:
Thy thoughts so just, so noble, so refin'd,
That elegant, that virtuous turn of mind,
May justly claim the praise of all mankind.
Damon accept the lays which you inspire:
My long-neglected muse thy worth revives,
And gen'rous ardour from thy flame receives.
Domestic troubles long my mind oppress'd,
And made the muse a stranger to my breast;
Not friendship's softest charms could raise my song,
Till wak'd to life by thy persuasive tongue.
O Damon, could I boast thy wondrous skill,
Were but my genius equal to my will,
Thy praises I unweary'd would proclaim;
And place thee with the brightest sons of fame.
Sure, Damon, 'tis some god thy breast inspires,
And fills thy soul with those celestial fires:
Thy thoughts so just, so noble, so refin'd,
That elegant, that virtuous turn of mind,
May justly claim the praise of all mankind.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "breast" and "stranger" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 3 entries in ESTC (1756, 1793).
See Poems by Mr. Thomas Blacklock. To which is Prefix'd, An Account of the Life, Character, and Writings, of the Author, By the Reverend Mr. Spence, Late Professor of Poetry, at Oxford. (London: Printed for the author, by R. and J. Dodsley, in Pallmall, 1756). <Link to ECCO>
Text from Poems by the Late Reverend Dr. Thomas Blacklock; Together With an Essay on the Education of the Blind. To Which Is Prefixed a New Account of the Life and Writings of the Author. (Edinburgh: Printed by Alexander Chapman and Company; sold by W. Creech, Edinburgh, and T. Cadell, London, 1793). <Link to ESTC>
See Poems by Mr. Thomas Blacklock. To which is Prefix'd, An Account of the Life, Character, and Writings, of the Author, By the Reverend Mr. Spence, Late Professor of Poetry, at Oxford. (London: Printed for the author, by R. and J. Dodsley, in Pallmall, 1756). <Link to ECCO>
Text from Poems by the Late Reverend Dr. Thomas Blacklock; Together With an Essay on the Education of the Blind. To Which Is Prefixed a New Account of the Life and Writings of the Author. (Edinburgh: Printed by Alexander Chapman and Company; sold by W. Creech, Edinburgh, and T. Cadell, London, 1793). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
03/06/2006
