"'Twas Instinct rushing thro' her beating breast! / Instinct, the lamp divine that lights the soul"
— Robinson [Née Darby], Mary [Perdita] (1758-1800)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Date
1793, 1806
Metaphor
"'Twas Instinct rushing thro' her beating breast! / Instinct, the lamp divine that lights the soul"
Metaphor in Context
'Twas Instinct rushing thro' her beating breast!
Instinct, the lamp divine that lights the soul;
For many a night, depriv'd of balmy rest,
Her fev'rish eye-balls had been taught to roll:
Oh! what can conscious agony control?
And, when she ponder'd on the foaming tide,
From her shrunk heart Hope's soothing visions stole;
And sick'ning was the luxury of Pride,
While all the mother's fears beat high against her side.
Instinct, the lamp divine that lights the soul;
For many a night, depriv'd of balmy rest,
Her fev'rish eye-balls had been taught to roll:
Oh! what can conscious agony control?
And, when she ponder'd on the foaming tide,
From her shrunk heart Hope's soothing visions stole;
And sick'ning was the luxury of Pride,
While all the mother's fears beat high against her side.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "soul" and "lamp" in HDIS (Poetry); found again "breast"
Citation
Text from The Poetical Works of the Late Mrs Mary Robinson: Including Many Pieces Never Before Published. 3 vols. (London: Printed for Richard Phillips, 1806). <Link to vol. I in Google Books><Vol. II><Vol. III>
Date of Entry
01/19/2006
