"Behold the wretch, who from that cavern [a madhouse?--"Sad habitation of the lost, insane"] flies, / Hell in his heart, destruction in his eyes"
— Merry, Robert (1755-1798)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson
Date
1796
Metaphor
"Behold the wretch, who from that cavern [a madhouse?--"Sad habitation of the lost, insane"] flies, / Hell in his heart, destruction in his eyes"
Metaphor in Context
Behold the wretch, who from that cavern flies,
Hell in his heart, destruction in his eyes;
His bosom burns, his aggregated grief
Feeds on his being, and disdains relief;
Around he throws his solitary gaze,
Already dead to hope, and love, and praise;
By sharp sensation wounded to the soul,
He ponders on the world,--abhors the whole;
While black as night, his gloomy thought expands
O'er life's perplexing paths, and barren sands:
In the dire workings of his wakeful dreams,
The human race a race of demons seems,
All is unjust, discordant and severe,
He asks not mercy's smiles, or pity's tear:
Guilt, hate, and horror drive him to the steep,
Reckless and fierce, he plunges in the deep;
Breathes his rash spirit on the roaring tide,
And glories that he dies a suicide.
Alas! he only strove to set him free
From thy abhorr'd dominion, memory!
(pp. 24-25)
Hell in his heart, destruction in his eyes;
His bosom burns, his aggregated grief
Feeds on his being, and disdains relief;
Around he throws his solitary gaze,
Already dead to hope, and love, and praise;
By sharp sensation wounded to the soul,
He ponders on the world,--abhors the whole;
While black as night, his gloomy thought expands
O'er life's perplexing paths, and barren sands:
In the dire workings of his wakeful dreams,
The human race a race of demons seems,
All is unjust, discordant and severe,
He asks not mercy's smiles, or pity's tear:
Guilt, hate, and horror drive him to the steep,
Reckless and fierce, he plunges in the deep;
Breathes his rash spirit on the roaring tide,
And glories that he dies a suicide.
Alas! he only strove to set him free
From thy abhorr'd dominion, memory!
(pp. 24-25)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry). Text and pagination from ECCO.
Citation
3 entries in ESTC (1796, 1797).
Merry, Robert. The Pains of Memory. A Poem, by Robert Merry. A.M. (London: Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1796).
Merry, Robert. The Pains of Memory. A Poem, by Robert Merry. A.M. (London: Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1796).
Date of Entry
01/18/2006
