" For, Cupid, well thou know'st, the tender soul, / That Poesy inspires, is very wax / To Beauty's piercing ray"
— Mason, William (1725-1797)
Author
Work Title
Date
1797
Metaphor
" For, Cupid, well thou know'st, the tender soul, / That Poesy inspires, is very wax / To Beauty's piercing ray"
Metaphor in Context
Ven.
Chang'd as he was, the youth repair'd to Lesbos,
Where Sappho saw, and, need I add, ador'd him.
For, Cupid, well thou know'st, the tender soul,
That Poesy inspires, is very wax
To Beauty's piercing ray: the blooming boy,
More raptur'd with her lyre than with her form,
Feign'd real passion; swore eternal truth.
Yet scarce the waning moon had heard his vows,
Ere all those vows were broke, and perjur'd Phaon
Parted for Sicily; where now he reigns
Here like ourselves, my Son, all-absolute,
Conquering each heart he lists, nor needs thy shafts
To aid his victories.
Chang'd as he was, the youth repair'd to Lesbos,
Where Sappho saw, and, need I add, ador'd him.
For, Cupid, well thou know'st, the tender soul,
That Poesy inspires, is very wax
To Beauty's piercing ray: the blooming boy,
More raptur'd with her lyre than with her form,
Feign'd real passion; swore eternal truth.
Yet scarce the waning moon had heard his vows,
Ere all those vows were broke, and perjur'd Phaon
Parted for Sicily; where now he reigns
Here like ourselves, my Son, all-absolute,
Conquering each heart he lists, nor needs thy shafts
To aid his victories.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "wax" and "soul" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Text from The Works of William Mason 4 vols. (London: Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1811). <Link to Google Books>
See also Poems by William Mason, M.A., (York: Printed by W. Blanchard, 1797). <Link to Vol. III in Google Books>
See also Poems by William Mason, M.A., (York: Printed by W. Blanchard, 1797). <Link to Vol. III in Google Books>
Date of Entry
03/27/2005
