"For scenes that frequent views of death impart, / Nerve the bold arm, and steel the manly heart"
— Pye, Henry James (1745-1813)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by W. Bulmer
Date
1798
Metaphor
"For scenes that frequent views of death impart, / Nerve the bold arm, and steel the manly heart"
Metaphor in Context
And shall the warrior meet his timeless doom,
No requiem chanted o'er his watery tomb,
Who Britain's conquering flag has oft unfurl'd
To every region of the peopled world,
And with bold prow the hostile coast explor'd,
When, louder than the surge, the battle roar'd?--
Ah no!--to him the weeping Muse shall pay
The votive tribute of a mournful lay;
Watch o'er his azure hearse with sorrowing care,
Hang her fresh wreaths, and bid them flourish there.
Yet, while she pours the unavailing tear,
Some transient gleams the night of horror cheer;
For scenes that frequent views of death impart,
Nerve the bold arm, and steel the manly heart;
And he who oft has seen his ghastly form
Glare in the fight, or thunder in the storm,
Will with firm breast his dreadful power engage;--
And while he combats, mitigates his rage.
No requiem chanted o'er his watery tomb,
Who Britain's conquering flag has oft unfurl'd
To every region of the peopled world,
And with bold prow the hostile coast explor'd,
When, louder than the surge, the battle roar'd?--
Ah no!--to him the weeping Muse shall pay
The votive tribute of a mournful lay;
Watch o'er his azure hearse with sorrowing care,
Hang her fresh wreaths, and bid them flourish there.
Yet, while she pours the unavailing tear,
Some transient gleams the night of horror cheer;
For scenes that frequent views of death impart,
Nerve the bold arm, and steel the manly heart;
And he who oft has seen his ghastly form
Glare in the fight, or thunder in the storm,
Will with firm breast his dreadful power engage;--
And while he combats, mitigates his rage.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "sterling" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
2 entries in ESTC (1798, 1798).
Naucratia; or Naval Dominion. A Poem. By Henry James Pye. (London: Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. For George Nicol, 1798). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Henry James Pye. Naucratia; or Naval Dominion. A Poem. 2nd edition. (London: Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. for George Nicol, Bookseller to his Majesty, Pall-Mall, 1798). <Link to ECCO>
Naucratia; or Naval Dominion. A Poem. By Henry James Pye. (London: Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. For George Nicol, 1798). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Henry James Pye. Naucratia; or Naval Dominion. A Poem. 2nd edition. (London: Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. for George Nicol, Bookseller to his Majesty, Pall-Mall, 1798). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
06/10/2005
