"At such a Time, it was, it was too much! / To pluck the soaring Pinion of my Soul, / While Eagle-ey'd she held her Flight to Heav'n, / O'er Pain and Death triumphant!"
— Brooke, Henry (c. 1703-1783)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Dodsley
Date
1739
Metaphor
"At such a Time, it was, it was too much! / To pluck the soaring Pinion of my Soul, / While Eagle-ey'd she held her Flight to Heav'n, / O'er Pain and Death triumphant!"
Metaphor in Context
ARVIDA.
Off, off, vain Cumbrance, ye conflicting Thoughts!
Leave me to Heav'n. O Peace!--It will not be--
Just when I rose above Mortality,
To pour her wond'rous Weight of Charms upon me!
At such a Time, it was, it was too much!
To pluck the soaring Pinion of my Soul,
While Eagle-ey'd she held her Flight to Heav'n,
O'er Pain and Death triumphant! Help ye Saints,
Angelic Ministers descend, descend!
And lift me to myself; hold, bind my Heart
Firm and unshaken in th' approaching Ruin,
The Wreck of Earth-born Frailty! and O Heav'n!
For ev'ry Pang these tortur'd Limbs shall feel,
Descend in ten-fold Blessings on Gustavus !
Yes, bless him, bless him! Crown his Hours with Joy,
His Head with Glory, and his Arms with Conquest;
Set his firm Foot upon the Neck of Tyrants,
And be his Name the Balm of every Lip
That breathes thro' Sweden ! Worthiest to be stil'd
Their Friend, their Chief, their Father, and their King!
(p. 24)
Off, off, vain Cumbrance, ye conflicting Thoughts!
Leave me to Heav'n. O Peace!--It will not be--
Just when I rose above Mortality,
To pour her wond'rous Weight of Charms upon me!
At such a Time, it was, it was too much!
To pluck the soaring Pinion of my Soul,
While Eagle-ey'd she held her Flight to Heav'n,
O'er Pain and Death triumphant! Help ye Saints,
Angelic Ministers descend, descend!
And lift me to myself; hold, bind my Heart
Firm and unshaken in th' approaching Ruin,
The Wreck of Earth-born Frailty! and O Heav'n!
For ev'ry Pang these tortur'd Limbs shall feel,
Descend in ten-fold Blessings on Gustavus !
Yes, bless him, bless him! Crown his Hours with Joy,
His Head with Glory, and his Arms with Conquest;
Set his firm Foot upon the Neck of Tyrants,
And be his Name the Balm of every Lip
That breathes thro' Sweden ! Worthiest to be stil'd
Their Friend, their Chief, their Father, and their King!
(p. 24)
Categories
Provenance
LION
Citation
21 entries in the ESTC (1739, 1753, 1761, 1763, 1773, 1778, 1780, 1791, 1792, 1794, 1796).
Gustavus Vasa, the Deliverer of His Country. A Tragedy. As It Was to Have Been Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane. by Henry Brooke (London: Printed for R. Dodsley, 1739). <Link to ESTC>
Gustavus Vasa, the Deliverer of His Country. A Tragedy. As It Was to Have Been Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane. by Henry Brooke (London: Printed for R. Dodsley, 1739). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
09/16/2013
