"I fell at his feet, embrac'd his knees, and wept; conjur'd him, supplicated; the tears, the supplications of his father, never reach'd his iron heart"
— Craven, Keppel (1779-1851); Schiller (1759-1805)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for W. Wigstead and M. Hooper
Date
1799
Metaphor
"I fell at his feet, embrac'd his knees, and wept; conjur'd him, supplicated; the tears, the supplications of his father, never reach'd his iron heart"
Metaphor in Context
OLD MOOR.
I fainted at the news: they must have thought me dead; for, when I came to myself, I was upon a bier, and shrouded as a corpse. I beat upon the lid of the coffin: it was open'd; 'twas in the dead of night. My son Francis stood before me: "What, (said he) must you then live for ever?" and with these words, he shut the lid of the coffin. The thunder of that voice bereav'd me of my senses: when I again recover'd them, I found the bier in motion. After some time it stopp'd. At the entry of this dungeon, I found my son Francis; I fell at his feet, embrac'd his knees, and wept; conjur'd him, supplicated; the tears, the supplications of his father, never reach'd his iron heart: "Throw down that carcase," said he, with a voice like thunder: "he has liv'd too long." They thrust me into the tower, and Francis lock'd the iron door upon me.
I fainted at the news: they must have thought me dead; for, when I came to myself, I was upon a bier, and shrouded as a corpse. I beat upon the lid of the coffin: it was open'd; 'twas in the dead of night. My son Francis stood before me: "What, (said he) must you then live for ever?" and with these words, he shut the lid of the coffin. The thunder of that voice bereav'd me of my senses: when I again recover'd them, I found the bier in motion. After some time it stopp'd. At the entry of this dungeon, I found my son Francis; I fell at his feet, embrac'd his knees, and wept; conjur'd him, supplicated; the tears, the supplications of his father, never reach'd his iron heart: "Throw down that carcase," said he, with a voice like thunder: "he has liv'd too long." They thrust me into the tower, and Francis lock'd the iron door upon me.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "iron" in HDIS (Drama)
Citation
A translation and abridgment. First performed in 1797? Only 1 entry in ESTC (1799).
See The Robbers; A Tragedy: In Five Acts. Translated and Altered from the German. As it was Performed at Brandenburgh-House Theatre. With a Preface, Prologue and Epilogue, written by Her Serene Highness The Margravine of Anspach (London: Printed for W. Wigstead and M. Hooper, 1799). <Link to ESTC>
See The Robbers; A Tragedy: In Five Acts. Translated and Altered from the German. As it was Performed at Brandenburgh-House Theatre. With a Preface, Prologue and Epilogue, written by Her Serene Highness The Margravine of Anspach (London: Printed for W. Wigstead and M. Hooper, 1799). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
06/08/2005
