"But when thy envied sanction crowns my lays, / A ray of pleasure lights my languid mind, / For well I know the value of thy praise."
— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
J. Dodsley
Date
1786
Metaphor
"But when thy envied sanction crowns my lays, / A ray of pleasure lights my languid mind, / For well I know the value of thy praise."
Metaphor in Context
Sonnet XXXIV.
To A Friend
Charm'd by thy suffrage, shall I yet aspire,
(All inauspicious as my fate appears,
By troubles darken'd, that increase with years,)
To guide the crayon, or to touch the lyre?
Ah me!--the sister Muses still require
A spirit free from all intrusive fears,
Nor will they deign to wipe away the tears
Of vain regret, that dim their sacred fire.
But when thy envied sanction crowns my lays,
A ray of pleasure lights my languid mind,
For well I know the value of thy praise;
And to how few, the flattering meed confin'd,
That thou,--their highly favour'd brows to bind,
Wilt weave green myrtle, and unfading bays!
To A Friend
Charm'd by thy suffrage, shall I yet aspire,
(All inauspicious as my fate appears,
By troubles darken'd, that increase with years,)
To guide the crayon, or to touch the lyre?
Ah me!--the sister Muses still require
A spirit free from all intrusive fears,
Nor will they deign to wipe away the tears
Of vain regret, that dim their sacred fire.
But when thy envied sanction crowns my lays,
A ray of pleasure lights my languid mind,
For well I know the value of thy praise;
And to how few, the flattering meed confin'd,
That thou,--their highly favour'd brows to bind,
Wilt weave green myrtle, and unfading bays!
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
At least 13 entries in the ESTC (1786, 1787, 1789, 1790, 1792, 1795, 1797, 1800).
Text drawn and corrected from OCR of 1789 edition in Google Books. Reading and comparing The Poems of Charlotte Smith, ed. Stuart Curran (New York and Oxford: OUP, 1993).
See Elegiac Sonnets by Charlotte Smith. 4th ed, corr. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley, H. Gardner, and J. Bew, 1786).
See also Elegiac Sonnets and Other Poems, by Charlotte Smith, 9th edition, 2 vols. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies, 1800). <Link to volume I in Google Books> <Link to volume II in ECCO> -- Note, Curran uses this edition as his base text for Sonnets 1 through 59.
Text drawn and corrected from OCR of 1789 edition in Google Books. Reading and comparing The Poems of Charlotte Smith, ed. Stuart Curran (New York and Oxford: OUP, 1993).
See Elegiac Sonnets by Charlotte Smith. 4th ed, corr. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley, H. Gardner, and J. Bew, 1786).
See also Elegiac Sonnets and Other Poems, by Charlotte Smith, 9th edition, 2 vols. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies, 1800). <Link to volume I in Google Books> <Link to volume II in ECCO> -- Note, Curran uses this edition as his base text for Sonnets 1 through 59.
Date of Entry
06/13/2013
