"And what a crowd of wild ideas press / Distracting on the soul!"
— Dodd, William (1729-1777)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for C. Dilly, in the Poultry
Date
1777, 1793
Metaphor
"And what a crowd of wild ideas press / Distracting on the soul!"
Metaphor in Context
But, that shriek--
Thrilling with dread--whence is it? 'Tis the voice
Of female misery, bursting thro' the crowd
To the lone dungeon: view that lovely form[1]
Deck'd in the neatest white,--yet not so white
And wan as her wild visage: "Keep me not,"
Raving she cries, "Keep me not, cruel, from him.
"He dies this morn; I know it: he's condemn'd;
"The dreadful judge has done it! He must die,
"My husband! and I'm come, clad in my best,
"To go and suffer with him! I have brought
"Sweet flowers to cheer him, and to strew his corse,
"Pale, pale, and speechless lies it!--Husband, come!
"The little infant, fruit of our glad loves,
"Smil'd on me, as with parting breath I blest,
"And kiss'd the dear babe for thee! 'Tis but young;
"'Tis tender yet;--seven days is young in life:
"Angels will guard my little innocent:
"They'll feed it, tho' thou could'st not find it food,
"And its poor mother too!--And so thou dy'st!
"For me and it thou dy'st! But not alone,
"Thou shalt not go alone; I will die with thee:
"Sweet mercy be upon us! Hence, hence, hence!"
Impetuous then, her white arms round his neck
She threw; and, with deep groans would pierce a rock,
Sunk fainting. Oh the husband's, father's pangs,
Stopping all utterance! Up to Heaven he roll'd
His frantic eyes; and staring wildly round
In desperation's madness, to his heart
Drove the destructive steel!--Fell death,
Would'st thou a fuller triumph?--Oh my wife,
How dismal to our ears the shrieks, the groans!--
And what a crowd of wild ideas press
Distracting on the soul! "Merciful Heaven,
"In pity spare us! Say, It is enough,
"And bid the avenging angel stay his hand!"
Thrilling with dread--whence is it? 'Tis the voice
Of female misery, bursting thro' the crowd
To the lone dungeon: view that lovely form[1]
Deck'd in the neatest white,--yet not so white
And wan as her wild visage: "Keep me not,"
Raving she cries, "Keep me not, cruel, from him.
"He dies this morn; I know it: he's condemn'd;
"The dreadful judge has done it! He must die,
"My husband! and I'm come, clad in my best,
"To go and suffer with him! I have brought
"Sweet flowers to cheer him, and to strew his corse,
"Pale, pale, and speechless lies it!--Husband, come!
"The little infant, fruit of our glad loves,
"Smil'd on me, as with parting breath I blest,
"And kiss'd the dear babe for thee! 'Tis but young;
"'Tis tender yet;--seven days is young in life:
"Angels will guard my little innocent:
"They'll feed it, tho' thou could'st not find it food,
"And its poor mother too!--And so thou dy'st!
"For me and it thou dy'st! But not alone,
"Thou shalt not go alone; I will die with thee:
"Sweet mercy be upon us! Hence, hence, hence!"
Impetuous then, her white arms round his neck
She threw; and, with deep groans would pierce a rock,
Sunk fainting. Oh the husband's, father's pangs,
Stopping all utterance! Up to Heaven he roll'd
His frantic eyes; and staring wildly round
In desperation's madness, to his heart
Drove the destructive steel!--Fell death,
Would'st thou a fuller triumph?--Oh my wife,
How dismal to our ears the shrieks, the groans!--
And what a crowd of wild ideas press
Distracting on the soul! "Merciful Heaven,
"In pity spare us! Say, It is enough,
"And bid the avenging angel stay his hand!"
Categories
Provenance
Searching "idea" and "crowd" in HDIS (Poetry)
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
03/07/2006
Date of Review
06/26/2011
