"Where'er they rov'd, young Fancy and the Muse / Wav'd high their mirror of a thousand hues."
— Mathias, Thomas James (1753/4-1835)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for T. Becket
Date
1794, 1796, 1797, rev. 1798
Metaphor
"Where'er they rov'd, young Fancy and the Muse / Wav'd high their mirror of a thousand hues."
Metaphor in Context
The Bards who once the wreaths of glory wore,
Cloath'd in translucent veil their wondrous lore;
The tales they sung a willing age believ'd,
Charm'd into truth, and without guile deceiv'd.
Where'er they rov'd, young Fancy and the Muse
Wav'd high their mirror of a thousand hues;
They gaz'd; and as in varying guise pourtray'd
Aëreal phantoms hov'ring round them play'd,
Gave to each fleeting form, that shot along,
Existence everlasting as their song;
And as by nature's strength the tablet grew,
Rapture the pencil guided as they drew.
Cloath'd in translucent veil their wondrous lore;
The tales they sung a willing age believ'd,
Charm'd into truth, and without guile deceiv'd.
Where'er they rov'd, young Fancy and the Muse
Wav'd high their mirror of a thousand hues;
They gaz'd; and as in varying guise pourtray'd
Aëreal phantoms hov'ring round them play'd,
Gave to each fleeting form, that shot along,
Existence everlasting as their song;
And as by nature's strength the tablet grew,
Rapture the pencil guided as they drew.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "fancy" and "mirror" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Published anonymously in four dialogues: the first on June 7, 1794, the second and third on July 14, 1796, and the fourth on July 19, 1797. A succès de scandale, the poem went through 14 editions. 33 entries in ESTC (1794, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1799, 1800).
Text from The Pursuits of Literature. A Satirical Poem in Four Dialogues, With Notes, 7th ed. rev. (London: Printed for T. Becket, 1798). <Link to ECCO>
Text from The Pursuits of Literature. A Satirical Poem in Four Dialogues, With Notes, 7th ed. rev. (London: Printed for T. Becket, 1798). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
11/26/2005
