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The Triumphs of Owen. A Fragment


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The Triumphs of Owen. A Fragment


from Mr. Evans's Specimens of the Welch Poetry;
London, 1764, Quarto.

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Owen succeeded his father Griffin in the principality of
North-Wales, A. D. 1120. This battle was fought near forty
years afterwards.


1 Owen's praise demands my song,
2 Owen swift, and Owen strong;
3 Fairest flower of Roderic's stem,
4 Gwyneth's shield and Britain's gem.
5 He nor heaps his brooded stores,
6 Nor on all profusely pours;
7 Lord of every regal art,
8 Liberal hand and open heart.

9 Big with hosts of mighty name,
10 Squadrons three against him came;
11 This the force of Eirin hiding;
12 Side by side as proudly riding,
13 On her shadow long and gay
14 Lochlin ploughs the watery way;
15 There the Norman sails afar
16 Catch the winds and join the war:
17 Black and huge along they sweep,
18 Burthens of the angry deep.

19 Dauntless on his native sands
20 The Dragon-son of Mona stands;
21 In glittering arms and glory dressed,
22 High he rears his ruby crest.
23 There the thundering strokes begin,
24 There the press and there the din;
25 Talymalfra's rocky shore
26 Echoing to the battle's roar.
27 Where his glowing eye-balls turn,
28 Thousand banners round him burn.
29 Where he points his purple spear,
30 Hasty, hasty Rout is there,
31 Marking with indignant eye
32 Fear to stop and shame to fly.
33 There Confusion, Terror's child,
34 Conflict fierce and Ruin wild,
35 Agony that pants for breath,
36 Despair and honourable Death.

Gray's annotations

4
[Gwyneth, Gwynned or Gwynedd] North-Wales.
14
[Lochlin] Denmark.
20
[The Dragon-son] The red Dragon is the device of Cadwallader, which all his descendents bore on their banners.

Expanding the poem lines (+) shows the results of a computationally facilitated analysis of the text. These results should be considered as a basis for deeper interpretative enquiry such as can be found in the notes and queries.

0 The Triumphs of Owen. A Fragment

Metrical notation:  +-|+-|+-|+/
Metrical foot type:  trochaic (+-)
Metrical foot number:  tetrameter (4 feet) (catalectic)
Rhyme scheme:  aa
Rhyme (stanza position):  pair (aabb)
Syllable pattern:  7
Stanza:  couplet (2 lines)
Genre(s):  ode, Ossianic verse
Theme(s):  characters

Notation symbols: | (foot boundary), || (caesura), / (metrical line boundary), + (metrically prominent), - (metrically non-prominent)


from Mr. Evans's Specimens of the Welch Poetry;
London, 1764, Quarto.

Advertisement.

Owen succeeded his father Griffin in the principality of
North-Wales, A. D. 1120. This battle was fought near forty
years afterwards.


1 Owen's praise demands my song,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  song   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɒŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Owen's/demands /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): demands/my /m/

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2 Owen swift, and Owen strong;    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  strong   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɒŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): swift/strong /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Owen/Owen /əʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Owen/Owen /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): swift/strong /s/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Owen/Owen

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3 Fairest flower of Roderic's stem,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  stem   |   Rhyme sound:  /em/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Fairest/flower /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Roderic's/stem /e/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Fairest/Roderic's /r/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Fairest/flower /f/

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4 Gwyneth's shield and Britain's gem.    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  gem   |   Rhyme sound:  /em/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Gwyneth's/Britain's /ɪ/

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5 He nor heaps his brooded stores,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  stores   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): He/heaps/his /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): He/heaps /iː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): nor/stores /ɔː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): He/heaps/his /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): his/stores /z/

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6 Nor on all profusely pours;    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  pours   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): profusely/pours /p/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Nor/all/pours /ɔː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Nor/on /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): profusely/pours /p/

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7 Lord of every regal art,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  art   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɑːt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  consonance (phonological): of/every /v/

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8 Liberal hand and open heart.    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  heart   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɑːt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): hand/heart /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): hand/and /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): hand/heart /h/

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9 Big with hosts of mighty name,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  name   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪm/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Big/with /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): mighty/name /m/

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10 Squadrons three against him came;    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  came   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪm/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  consonance (phonological): him/came /m/

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11 This the force of Eirin hiding;    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  hiding   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪdɪŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  consonance (phonological): This/force /s/

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12 Side by side as proudly riding,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  riding   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪdɪŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Side/side /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Side/by/side/riding /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Side/side/proudly/riding /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Side/side /s/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Side/side

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13 On her shadow long and gay    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  gay   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  assonance (phonological): On/long /ɒ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): shadow/and /æ/

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14 Lochlin ploughs the watery way;    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  way   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): watery/way /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): watery/way /w/

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15 There the Norman sails afar    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  afar   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɑː/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7

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16 Catch the winds and join the war:    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  war   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔː/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): winds/war /w/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Catch/and /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): winds/war /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): winds/join /n/

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17 Black and huge along they sweep,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  sweep   |   Rhyme sound:  /iːp/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Black/and /æ/

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18 Burthens of the angry deep.    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  deep   |   Rhyme sound:  /iːp/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7

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19 Dauntless on his native sands    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  sands   |   Rhyme sound:  /ændz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Dauntless/on/native/sands /n/

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20 The Dragon-son of Mona stands;    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  stands   |   Rhyme sound:  /ændz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Dragon-son/stands /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Dragon-son/Mona/stands /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Dragon-son/stands /s/

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21 In glittering arms and glory dressed,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  dressed   |   Rhyme sound:  /est/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): glittering/glory /g/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): In/glittering /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): glittering/glory /g/

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22 High he rears his ruby crest.    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  crest   |   Rhyme sound:  /est/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): High/he/his /h/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): rears/ruby /r/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): High/he/his /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): rears/ruby /r/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): rears/his /z/

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23 There the thundering strokes begin,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  begin   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  consonance (phonological): thundering/begin /n/
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): There the

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24 There the press and there the din;    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  din   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): There/there /ð/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): There/there /eə/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): There/there /ð/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): There/there
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): There the

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25 Talymalfra's rocky shore    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  shore   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔː/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7

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26 Echoing to the battle's roar.    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  roar   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔː/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7

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27 Where his glowing eye-balls turn,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  turn   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɜːn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7

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28 Thousand banners round him burn.    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  burn   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɜːn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): banners/burn /b/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Thousand/round /aʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): banners/round/burn /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): banners/burn /b/

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29 Where he points his purple spear,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  spear   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): he/his /h/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): points/purple /p/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): he/his /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): points/purple /p/

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30 Hasty, hasty Rout is there,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  there   |   Rhyme sound:  /eə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Hasty/hasty /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Hasty/hasty /eɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Hasty/hasty /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Hasty/hasty /s/
Figure:  epizeuxis (morphological): Hasty/hasty
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Hasty/hasty

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31 Marking with indignant eye    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  eye   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  assonance (phonological): with/indignant /ɪ/

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32 Fear to stop and shame to fly.    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  fly   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Fear/fly /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): to/to /uː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Fear/fly /f/

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33 There Confusion, Terror's child,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  child   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪld/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7

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34 Conflict fierce and Ruin wild,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  wild   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪld/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Conflict/Ruin /n/

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35 Agony that pants for breath,    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  breath   |   Rhyme sound:  /eθ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Agony/that/pants /æ/

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36 Despair and honourable Death.    
Rhyme:  aa   |   Rhyme word(s):  Death   |   Rhyme sound:  /eθ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  +-|+-|+-|+/   |   Syllables:  7
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Despair/Death /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Despair/Death /d/

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Gray's annotations

4
[Gwyneth, Gwynned or Gwynedd] North-Wales.
14
[Lochlin] Denmark.
20
[The Dragon-son] The red Dragon is the device of Cadwallader, which all his descendents bore on their banners.

Expanding the poem lines (+) shows notes and queries taken from various critical editions of Gray's works, as well as those contributed by users of the Archive. There are 18 textual and 76 explanatory notes/queries.

All notes and queries are shown by default.

0 The Triumphs of Owen. A Fragment 13 Explanatory, 10 Textual

Title/Paratext] "[Of the Triumphs of Owen [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"[Of the Triumphs of Owen no MS. is known to exist in Gray's handwriting. It was probably composed in 1764. It was published in the volume of 1768, with this Advertisement by Gray: - ''Owen succeeded his Father Griffin in the Principality of North-Wales, A.D. 1120. This battle was fought near forty Years afterwards.'' - Ed.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 68.

Title/Paratext] "Gray wrote this ode probably [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Gray wrote this ode probably in the year 1764, immediately after the publication of the Rev. Evan Evans's Specimens of the Antient Welsh Bards (see Introduction, part iv). This was a collection of Welsh poems with English prose translations, followed by a Dissertatio de Bardis; Gray turned one of the pieces into rime. The poem was first published in the 1768 edition."

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 170.

Title/Paratext] "The prose version which Gray [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The prose version which Gray versified runs as follows [([a] revision of Evans's translation may be found in The Literary Remains of the Rev. Thomas Price, 1854, I, 195.)]: ''A Panegyric upon Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, by Gwalchmai, the son of Melir, in the Year 1157.
''I will extol the generous hero, descended from the race of Roderic, the bulwark of his country, a prince eminent for his good qualities, the glory of Britain, Owain the brave and expert in arms, a prince that neither hoardeth nor coveteth riches. - Three fleets arrived, vessels of the main, three powerful fleets of the first rate, furiously to attack him on a sudden. One from Iwerddon, the other full of well-armed Lochlynians, making a grand appearance on the floods, the third from the transmarine Normans, which was attended with an immense, though successless toil.
''The Dragon of Mona's sons were so brave in action, that there was a great tumult on their furious attack, and before the prince himself, there was vast confusion, havock, conflict, honourable death, bloody battle, horrible consternation, and upon Tal Moelvre a thousand banners. There was an outrageous carnage, and the rage of spears, and hasty signs of violent indignation. Blood raised the tide of the Menai, and the crimson of human gore stained the brine. There were glittering cuirasses, and the agony of gashing wounds, and the mangled warriors prostrate before the chief, distinguished by his crimson lance. Lloegria was put into confusion, the contest and confusion was great, and the glory of our prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in an hundred languages to give him his merited praise.''"

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 170/171.

Title/Paratext] "[Advertisement.] A convenient account of [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"[Advertisement.] A convenient account of Owain Gwynedd may be found in B. B. Woodward, History of Wales, London, 1859, pp. 265-288. He succeeded his father Gruffydd ab Cynan (the last prince of North Wales who bore the title of king) in 1137, and died in 1169 (or, less probably, 1171). The Battle of Tal y Moelvre, which this poem celebrates, is thought to be identical with ''the defeat of the fleet entrusted by Henry II. to Madoc ab Meredydd in 1157.'' See Thomas Stephens, Literature of the Kymry, 2d ed., p. 17."

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 171.

Title/Paratext] "The original Welsh of the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The original Welsh of the above poem was the composition of Gwalchmai, the son of Melir, immediately after Prince Owen Gwynedd had defeated the combined fleets of Iceland, Denmark, and Norway, which had invaded his territory on the coast of Anglesea. There is likewise another poem which describes this famous battle, written by Prince Howel, the son of Owen Gwynedd. - Mitford."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 209/210.

Title/Paratext] "Published by Gray with the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Published by Gray with the Norse Odes in 1768, in place of the Long Story.
In the title, perhaps reprinted according to ed. 1768, Evan's should be Evans' or Evans's. The name was Evan Evans, but Gray gives the gentleman's possessive case just in the same way elsewhere. (See Gray and His Friends, p. 190.) But in 1760 (June), he writes to Wharton, after speaking of Macpherson's Fragments, ''the Welch Poets are also coming to light: I have seen a Discourse in MS. about them (by one Mr Evans, a Clergyman) with specimens of their writings. This is in Latin, and tho' it don't approach the other, there are fine scraps among it.''
In Johnson's Notes of a Journey into North Wales in 1774 (in Birkbeck Hill's Boswell's L. of Johnson, vol. V. p. 443), under Aug. 5 we have, ''Poor Evan Evans was mentioned as incorrigibly addicted to strong drink.'' He was Curate of Llanvair Talyhaern in Denbighshire (ib. VI. 71), and the title of his work was Some Specimens of the Poetry of Antient Welsh Bards translated into English, with Explanatory Notes on the Historical Passages, and a short account of Men and Places mentioned in the Bards, in order to give the Curious some Idea of the Tastes and Sentiments of our Ancestors, and their Manner of Writing. London, R. and J. Dodsley, 1764.
This volume included, I believe, the Latin 'Dissertatio de Bardis' of which Gray speaks in his letter to Wharton. (See on following Versions.)"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 264.

Title/Paratext] "Whilst Gray refers to Evans's [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Whilst Gray refers to Evans's published work as his authority, it is quite possible that this and the following versions were made between 1760 and 1764, from the MSS. which Gray had seen, and perhaps made excerpts from."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 265/266.

Title/Paratext] "Gray prefixed to his rendering [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray prefixed to his rendering the following:
''Advertisement.   Owen succeeded his Father Griffin in the Principality of North-Wales, A.D. 1120. This battle was fought near forty years afterwards.'' [The father's name is now said to be Gruffydd ab Cynan, and the date of Owain's succession, 1137.]"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 265.

Title/Paratext] "''The Battle of Tal y [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"''The Battle of Tal y Moelvre, which this poem celebrates, is thought to be identical with 'the defeat of the fleet entrusted by Henry II. to Madoc ab Meredydd in 1159.' See Thomas Stephens, Literature of the Kymry, 2nd ed. p. 17.''   Phelps."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 265.

Title/Paratext] "Mason says, ''Mr Gray entitles [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Mason says, ''Mr Gray entitles this Ode a Fragment, but from the prose version of Mr Evans it will appear that nothing is omitted except a single hyperbole at the end, which I print in italics:
Panegyric upon Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North-Wales, by Gwalchmai, the son of Melir, in the year 1157 [footnote: See Evans's Specimens of Welch Poetry, p. 25, and for the original Welch, p. 127. [Mason.]].

  1. I will extol the generous Hero, descended from the race of Roderic, the bulwark of his country; a prince eminent for his good qualities, the glory of Britain, Owen the brave and expert in arms, a Prince that neither hoardeth nor coveteth riches.
  2. Three fleets arrived, vessels of the main; three powerful fleets of the first rate, furiously to attack him on the sudden; one from Jwerddon [footnote: Ireland. [Mason.]], the other full of well-armed Lochlynians [footnote: Danes and Normans. [Mason.]], making a grand appearance on the floods, the third from the transmarine Normans, which was attended with an immense, though successless toil.
  3. The Dragon of Mona's Sons was so brave in action, that there was a great tumult on their furious attack; and before the Prince himself there was vast confusion, havoc, conflict, honourable death, bloody battle, horrible consternation, and upon Tal Malvre a thousand banners; there was an outrageous carnage, and the rage of spears, and hasty signs of violent indignation. Blood raised the tide of Menai, and the crimson of human gore stained the brine. There were glittering cuirasses, and the agony of gashing wounds, and the mangled warriors prostrate before the chief, distinguished by his crimson lance. Lloegria was put into confusion; the contest and confusion was great; and the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in an hundred languages to give him his merited praise.''"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 265.

Title/Paratext] "See [textual] note on the [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"See [textual] note on the Fatal Sisters. The original Welsh of the above poem was the composition of Gwalchmai, the son of Melir, immediately after Prince Owen Gwynedd had defeated the combined fleets of Iceland, Denmark, and Norway, which had invaded his territory on the coast of Anglesea. The battle was fought in the year 1157. 'It seems' (says Dr. Evans, Specimens of Welsh Poetry, 1764) 'that the fleet landed in some part of the frith of Menai, and that it was a kind of mixt engagement, some fighting from the shore, others from the ships; and probably the great slaughter was owing to its being low-water, and that they could not sail.' Gray depended upon Evans's Specimens. (Mitford.)"

Gray: Poetry and Prose. With essays by Johnson, Goldsmith and others. With an Introduction and Notes by J. Crofts. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1948 [1st ed. 1926], 164.

Title/Paratext] "[The ode, written probably in [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"[The ode, written probably in 1761 (see Correspondence, Appendix M), was first published with the advertisement and notes in the edition of 1768. It is preserved in Gray's handwriting among the Pembroke MSS.]"

The Poems of Gray and Collins. Edited by Austin Lane Poole. Revised by Leonard Whibley. Third edition. Oxford editions of standard authors series. London: Oxford UP, 1937, reprinted 1950 [1st ed. 1919], 82.

Title/Paratext] "Of the three fragments which [...]" W.C. Eppstein, 1959.

"Of the three fragments which Gray translated from the Welsh this is one. They have not the same merit as the Scandinavian paraphrases, though one is rather striking for its epigrammatic form:

''Have ye seen the tusky boar,
Or the bull with sudden roar,
On surrounding foes advance?
So Caradoc bore his lance.''
This poem was written in Welsh by Gwalchmai, immediately after Owen Gwynedd had defeated the combined fleets of Iceland, Denmark, and Norway, the rout being rendered the more decisive by the inability of the ships to set sail, due most probably to their being stranded at low tide in the Menai Straits."

Poems of Thomas Gray. Edited by W. C. Eppstein. London and Glasgow: Blackie & Son Ltd., 1959, xxiv.

Title/Paratext] "The Fatal Sisters,The Descent of [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

The following three poems are Gray's renderings of Latin translations of Old Norse and Welsh poems. Although he copied the original as well as the Latin translation of The Fatal Sisters, for example, into C[ommonplace] B[ook], his limited knowledge of the original languages apparently led him to rely primarily on the Latin translations, since he has reproduced errors found in the Latin (see individual notes below). For the Scandinavian poems, he drew most of his data from the Orcades of Thormodus Torfaeus and from Thomas Bartholinus, Antiquitatum Danicarum de causis contemptae . . . mortis (Copenhagen, 1689). Mason reprints in his notes (ii. 99-102) the Latin translation used by Gray (see explanatory notes).
Gray told Beattie (T & W no. 466), 1 Feb. 1768, that the three poems were to be published in the 1768 editions 'to make up (in bulk) for the omission' of the Long Story."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 25.

Title/Paratext] "First published in P[oems, 1768]." H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"First published in P[oems, 1768]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 35.

Title/Paratext] "Title: . . . Fragment [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Title: . . . Fragment from the Welch. C[ommonplace] B[ook], M[ason]. The present title is the one Gray gave Dodsley in T & W no. 465."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 35.

Title/Paratext] "The poem was probably written [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"The poem was probably written in 1760 or 1761 (see T & W, Appendix M); and, as when writing the Death of Hoël, Gray relied mainly upon a Latin translation by Evan Evans of Gwalchmai's Ode to Owen Gwynned. In his notes (ii. 104-5) Mason prints Evans's English version (which probably Gray had also seen in MS.) from Some Specimens of the Poetry of Antient Welsh Bards, p. 25, with this comment, '... it will appear that nothing is omitted, except a single hyperbole at the end, which I print in italics':

Panegyric upon Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North-Wales, by
Gwalchmai, the son of Melir, in the year 1157.
  1. I will extol the generous Hero, descended from the race of Roderic, the bulwark of his country; a prince eminent for his good qualities, the glory of Britain, Owen the brave and expert in arms, a Prince that neither hoardeth nor coveteth riches.
  2. Three fleets arrived, vessels of the main; three powerful fleets of the first rate, furiously to attack him on the sudden: one from Jwerddon [Mason's note: Ireland], the other full of well-armed Lochlynians [Mason's note: Danes and Normans], making a grand appearance on the floods, the third from the transmarine Normans, which was attended with an immense, though successless toil.
  3. The Dragon of Mona's Sons was so brave in action, that there was a great tumult on their furious attack; and before the Prince himself there was vast confusion, havoc, conflict, honourable death, bloody battle, horrible consternation, and upon Tal Malvre a thousand banners; there was an outrageous carnage, and the rage of spears and hasty signs of violent indignation. Blood raised the tide of the Menai, and the crimson of human gore stained the brine. There were glittering cuirasses, and the agony of gashing wounds, and the mangled warriors prostrate before the chief, distinguished by his crimson lance. Lloegria was put into confusion; the contest and confusion was great; and the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in an hundred languages to give him his merited praise.
There is, incidentally, a translation of a Welsh epitaph on Prince Madoc 'by a young lady ... daughter of ... a divine of the Church of England ... [wife of] a young gentleman of Gl[amo]rganshire' in the Gentleman's Magazine, x (1740), 409, which illustrates the contemporary interest in medieval Welsh:
Here lies the mighty Owen's Heir
    In glorious Death, as well as Birth.
I scorn'd of Lands the menial Care,
    And sought thro' Seas a foreign Earth."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 220/221.

Title/Paratext] "Advertisement. Owen (Owain, d. 1170) [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Advertisement. Owen (Owain, d. 1170) succeeded his father in 1137, not 1120. The date of the battle is 1157."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

Title/Paratext] "Written in 1760 or 1761. [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Written in 1760 or 1761. G[ray].'s research for his proposed 'History of English Poetry' (see headnote to The Fatal Sisters) had soon brought him to the study of early Welsh literature. Some knowledge of Welsh history and literature is implicit in The Bard (1755-57) and the essays in G.'s Commonplace Book indicate that he had at least attempted to investigate the subject with his characteristic thoroughness. In the essay 'Pseudo-Rhythmus' he speculated about the connection between Welsh and Anglo-Saxon poetry, and by 1758 he had written the elaborate entries on the metre and technique of Welsh poetry, entitled 'Cambri'. Although he did not understand Welsh, he could grasp some of the prosodic principles involved, many of which he found discussed in J. D. Rhys's Cymraecaeve Linguae Institutiones et Rudimenta (1592). From Rhys he transcribed not only notes on prosody but also texts of medieval Welsh poetry."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 228.

Title/Paratext] "G[ray]. prefixed the following 'Advertisement' [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. prefixed the following 'Advertisement' to The Triumphs of Owen in 1768: 'Owen succeeded his Father Griffin in the Principality of North-Wales, A.D. 1120. This battle was fought near forty years afterwards.' Owen was in fact Prince of North Wales from 1137 to 1170. Gwalchmai's Ode probably celebrates his victory over the three fleets sent against him by Henry II in 1157, at Tal y Moelfre on the north-east coast of Wales, where the islanders defeated a number of marauding knights. For further information and discussion of the location of the battle, see J. E. Lloyd, A History of Wales (1938) ii 498-9 and n."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 230.

Title/Paratext] "A modern literal translation of [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"A modern literal translation of the Welsh is given by K. H. Jackson, A Celtic Miscellany (1951) p. 254. Although Evan Evans's English translation in his Specimens pp. 25-6 (the Welsh text appears on pp. 127-8) was not G[ray].'s source and although both his Latin and English versions are no longer considered satisfactory, it is not irrelevant to an appreciation of G.'s translation:
'A Panegyric upon Owain Gwynnedd, Prince of North Wales, by Gwalchmai, the Son of Meilir, in the Year 1157.
'I will extol the generous hero descended from the race of Roderic, the bulwark of his country, a prince eminent for his good qualities, the glory of Britain, Owain the brave and expert in arms, a prince that neither hoardeth nor coveteth riches. - Three fleets arrived, vessels of the main, three powerful fleets of the first rate, furiously to attack him on a sudden. One from Iwerddon, the other full of well-armed Lochlynians, making a grand appearance on the floods, the third from the transmarine Normans, which was attended with an immense, though successless toil.
'The Dragon of Mona's sons were so brave in action, that there was a great tumult on their furious attack, and before the prince himself, there was vast confusion, havock, conflict, honourable death, bloody battle, horrible consternation, and upon Tal Moelvre a thousand banners. There was an outrageous carnage, and the rage of spears, and hasty signs of violent indignation. Blood raised the tide of the Menai, and the crimson of human gore stained the brine. There were glittering cuirasses, and the agony of gashing wounds, and the mangled warriors prostrate before the chief, distinguished by his crimson lance. Lloegria was put into confusion, the contest and confusion was great, and the glory of our prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in an hundred languages to give him his merited praise.'
It will be seen that G. did not translate the whole poem, which was no doubt why he described it as 'A Fragment'. For the four lines omitted by G. in 1768, see l. 36 n."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 230/231.

Title/Paratext] "By Sept. 1758 Evan Evans, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"By Sept. 1758 Evan Evans, the most distinguished Welsh scholar of the period, had given to Daines Barrington, a friend of G[ray]., literal Latin translations of three Welsh poems. One of them was 'Arwyain Owain Gwynnedd' by Gwalchmai ap Meilyr (fl. 1130-80), upon which G. was to base The Triumphs of Owen (Letters of Lewis, Richard, William and John Morris 1728-65 ed. J. H. Davies, Aberystwyth, 1906-9, ii 86). When G. received the translations from Barrington is uncertain, but it is unlikely that they were in his possession by 'the summer of 1758', as has been stated by Arthur Johnston in the article cited below. All that is certain is that he had seen them by April 1760 and the evidence suggests that he had then seen them only recently. It is likely that he was shown them by Barrington at some time after July 1759, when he was living in London. Nor is it true that G.'s interest in his 'History' was 'at its height' between 1758 and 1761: in 1758 G. turned from the study of the origins of English poetry to English history and antiquities, so that it is unlikely that, even if he had received Evans's translations in 1758, he would have thought of translating them into English at this period.
By the end of 1759 Evan Evans had completed a Latin dissertation on the Welsh Bards and was being encouraged to publish it, together with additional translations into Latin of Welsh poetry. On 23 April 1760 Evans (Additional Letters of the Morrises, ed. Hugh Owen, (1947-9) p. 453) wrote to Richard Morris, another Welsh scholar, that Daines Barrington had told him 'that Mr Grey of Cambridge admires Gwalchmai's Ode to Owain Gwynnedd, and I think deservedly. He says he will shew the Dissertation to Mr Grey, to have his judgement of it, and to correct it where necessary; so that I hope it will be fit for the press when I have it.'
G. mentioned that he had seen the MS of Evans's De Bardis Dissertatio in a letter of about 20 June 1760 to Wharton (Corresp ii 679-80). After admitting that he had 'gone mad' about Macpherson's supposed translations of Erse poetry, he continued: 'the Welch Poets are also coming to light: I have seen a Discourse in MSS. about them (by one Mr Evans, a Clergyman) with specimens of their writings. This is in Latin, & tho' it don't approach the other, there are fine scraps among it.' It was no doubt at about this time that G. added to the list of 'Gothic' poems in his Commonplace Book (see headnote to The Fatal Sisters), which he intended to translate as illustrations to the Introduction to his 'History', the titles of five 'Erse' ('Very ancient (if genuine)') and five 'Welsh' poems. The Welsh poems include 'End of Aneurin's Gododin ... about A:D: 570' and 'Gwalchmai's Triumph of Owen ... about 1260'. It can be assumed that G. made his translations from the Welsh not long after he had seen Evans's Dissertatio and almost certainly not later than 1761. He copied them into his Commonplace Book (iii 1068-70) at the same point as The Fatal Sisters and The Descent of Odin, which had been written by May 1761.
Of the Welsh translations only The Triumphs of Owen was included in 1768 (for the reason for the inclusion of the translations see headnote to The Fatal Sisters). G. described it there as 'From Mr. EVANS'S Specimens of the Welch Poetry; LONDON, 1764, Quarto.' Evans's Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Antient Welsh Bards. Translated into English, which incorporated the Latin De Bardis Dissertatio, was not G.'s actual source, although this acknowledgement of it has misled scholars into the assumption that his translations were based on Evans's English translations. As has been shown, G. had Evans's Latin translation of 'Arwyain Owain Gwynnedd' in his possession by April 1760 at the latest and by the following June had seen Latin translations in the Dissertatio of the fragments of the Gododdin which he also translated. In Oct. 1761, by which time G. had probably completed his translations, Evans had not yet decided to include English versions in his book; see The Correspondence of Thomas Percy and Evan Evans, ed. A. Lewis (Baton Rouge, 1957) p. 20. G.'s use of Evans's original Latin translation of Gwalchmai's poem, a copy of which was preserved by Percy, and the elements in the poem which suggest that he attempted to imitate techniques of the original Welsh, have been discussed in detail by Arthur Johnston, who also examines G.'s technique as a translator, in 'Gray's ''The Triumphs of Owen'' ', RES xi (1960) 275-85. See also the appendix 'Gray's Studies of Welsh Poetry', in Corresp iii 1229-31; and W. Powell Jones, Thomas Gray, Scholar pp. 90-9. The Percy-Evans Correspondence referred to above gives a good picture of Welsh scholarship in the mid-eighteenth century; for a more general discussion, which places G.'s contribution to Welsh studies in a larger context, see E. D. Snyder, The Celtic Revival in English Literature 1760-1800 (Cambridge, Mass., 1923)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 228-230.

Title/Paratext] "First translated in 1760 or [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"First translated in 1760 or 1761. First printed in 1768. 'The Triumphs of Owen' was taken from the Arwyain Orwain Gwynned by Gwalchmai ap Meilyr (fl. 1130-80). Gray was provided with a Latin translation by the Welsh scholar Evan Evans."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 85.

Add a note or query to this line


from Mr. Evans's Specimens of the Welch Poetry;
London, 1764, Quarto.

Advertisement.

Owen succeeded his father Griffin in the principality of
North-Wales, A. D. 1120. This battle was fought near forty
years afterwards.


1 Owen's praise demands my song,
2 Owen swift, and Owen strong;
3 Fairest flower of Roderic's stem, 6 Explanatory

3.4-5 Roderic's stem,] "''Owain Gwynedd ... was descended [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"''Owain Gwynedd ... was descended in a direct line from Roderic the Great (Rhodri Mawr), prince of all Wales (in the tenth century), who (according to tradition) divided his principality amongst his three sons.'' Evans's note."

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 171.

3.4-5 Roderic's stem,] "''Owain Gwynedd ... was descended [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"''Owain Gwynedd ... was descended in a direct line from Roderic the Great (Rhodri Mawr), prince of all Wales (in the tenth century), who (according to tradition) divided his principality amongst his three sons.'' Evans's note (ap. Phelps)."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 266.

3.4 Roderic's] "Rhodri Mawr (Roderick the Great), [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Rhodri Mawr (Roderick the Great), king of Gwynedd, A.D. 844-78."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

3.4-5 Roderic's stem,] "See Evans's note to his [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"See Evans's note to his English translation: 'Owain Gwynnedd ... was descended in a direct line from Roderic the Great, prince of all Wales, who divided his principality amongst his three sons.' Roderick, or Rhodri Maur, was King of Gwynedd 844-78."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 231.

3.4 Roderic's] "a prince who had divided [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"a prince who had divided Wales among his sons."

The Complete English Poems of Thomas Gray. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by James Reeves. The Poetry Bookshelf series. London: Heinemann; New York: Barnes & Noble, 1973, 116.

3.4-5 Roderic's stem,] "Owen was descended from Roderic [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Owen was descended from Roderic the Great, Prince of Wales, whose son Rhodri Maur was King of Gwynedd, 844-78."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 85.

Add a note or query to this line

4 Gwyneth's shield and Britain's gem. 4 Explanatory

4.1 Gwyneth's] "North-Wales (Gray). I.e., Gwynedd (Venedotia). [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"North-Wales (Gray). I.e., Gwynedd (Venedotia). Owain took the surname Gwynedd on succeeding to this principality."

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 171.

4.1 Gwyneth's] "''i.e. Gwynedd (Venedotia). Owain took [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"''i.e. Gwynedd (Venedotia). Owain took the surname Gwynedd on succeeding to this principality.''   Phelps."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 266.

4.1 Gwyneth's] "North Wales." J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"North Wales."

Gray: Poetry and Prose. With essays by Johnson, Goldsmith and others. With an Introduction and Notes by J. Crofts. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1948 [1st ed. 1926], 164.

4.1 Gwyneth's] "North Wales." J. Reeves, 1973.

"North Wales."

The Complete English Poems of Thomas Gray. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by James Reeves. The Poetry Bookshelf series. London: Heinemann; New York: Barnes & Noble, 1973, 116.

Add a note or query to this line

5 He nor heaps his brooded stores, 1 Explanatory

5.5 brooded] "One meaning of 'brood' given [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"One meaning of 'brood' given by Johnson is 'to cherish by care'. Cp. 'But the base Miser starves amidst his Shore, / Broods on his Gold', Dryden, Wife of Bath 468-9."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 231.

Add a note or query to this line

6 Nor on all profusely pours; 2 Explanatory

6.1-5 Nor ... pours;] "I do not know that [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"I do not know that Gray had any original for this line; and it has rather a modern savour."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 266.

6.4-5 profusely pours;] "'Powrd forth profuse', Par. Lost [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'Powrd forth profuse', Par. Lost iv 243; 'Or pours profuse on earth', Pope, Essay on Man iii 117; 'Profusely pours', Thomson, Summer 738."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 231.

Add a note or query to this line

7 Lord of every regal art,
8 Liberal hand and open heart. 1 Explanatory

8.1-5 Liberal ... heart.] "Scott, Marmion, Canto I. x. [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Scott, Marmion, Canto I. x. 101: ''Welcome to Northern Marmion! / Stout heart, and open hand!''   Cf. on Fatal Sisters, ll. 17-26."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 266.

Add a note or query to this line


9 Big with hosts of mighty name,
10 Squadrons three against him came; 3 Explanatory

10.1-2 Squadrons three] "The fleets from the three [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The fleets from the three countries mentioned below."

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 171.

10.1-2 Squadrons three] "The fleets of Ireland (Eirin), [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The fleets of Ireland (Eirin), Denmark (Lochlin), and Norway."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

10.1-2 Squadrons three] "Cp. Fairfax's Tasso XVIII xcvi [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Fairfax's Tasso XVIII xcvi 5: 'A battle round of squadrons three'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 231.

Add a note or query to this line

11 This the force of Eirin hiding; 3 Explanatory

11.1 - 14.5 This ... way;] "The construction is: ''This (squadron) [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The construction is: ''This (squadron) hiding (concealing) the Irish force; Lochlin, riding side by side as proudly, ploughs the way,'' etc."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

11.5 Eirin] "Ireland." W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Ireland."

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 171.

11.5 Eirin] "Ireland, cf. Fatal Sisters, l. [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Ireland, cf. Fatal Sisters, l. 45."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 266.

Add a note or query to this line

12 Side by side as proudly riding, 2 Explanatory

11.1 - 14.5 This ... way;] "The construction is: ''This (squadron) [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The construction is: ''This (squadron) hiding (concealing) the Irish force; Lochlin, riding side by side as proudly, ploughs the way,'' etc."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

12.1 - 13.6 Side ... gay] "'And on her shadow rides [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'And on her shadow rides in floating gold', Dryden, Annus Mirabilis 604, and Bard 72 (p. 191 above)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 231.

Add a note or query to this line

13 On her shadow long and gay 5 Explanatory

11.1 - 14.5 This ... way;] "The construction is: ''This (squadron) [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The construction is: ''This (squadron) hiding (concealing) the Irish force; Lochlin, riding side by side as proudly, ploughs the way,'' etc."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

12.1 - 13.6 Side ... gay] "'And on her shadow rides [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'And on her shadow rides in floating gold', Dryden, Annus Mirabilis 604, and Bard 72 (p. 191 above)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 231.

13.1 - 14.5 On ... way;] "''The Danish fleet (Lochlin) in [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"''The Danish fleet (Lochlin) in a long and gay line, sails on its own shadow.''"

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 171.

13.1-3 On ... shadow] "The Danish fleet sails on [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The Danish fleet sails on the shadow it makes in the water. Canning, in his celebrated simile, speaks of ''those tremendous fabrics now reposing on their shadows in perfect stillness.'' - Candy. Her stands for Lochlin, an army or fleet being often described by the name of the country itself. long and gay agree with Lochlin."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

13.1-3 On ... shadow] " ''Canning, in his celebrated [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" ''Canning, in his celebrated simile, speaks of 'those tremendous masses now reposing on their shadows in perfect stillness'.'' Candy.
Dr Bradshaw and Dr Phelps agree to refer ''long and gay'' to ''Lochlin'' in the next line; and Dr Phelps interprets ''The Danish fleet (Lochlin) in a long and gay line, sails on its own shadow.'' I cannot think that Gray, to express this, would have been contented to say ''long and gay Lochlin'' at all; still less that he would have divided ''Lochlin'' from its epithets in this awkward fashion. The epithets undoubtedly belong to ''shadow,'' though a ''gay shadow'' is very like nonsense. He surely wrote ''Upon her shadow long and gray'' &c. He has sufficiently expressed ''making a grand appearance upon the floods'' in Evans's version by ''proudly riding,'' v. 12, and it will be noted that he enlarges freely, here and elsewhere, upon his thin and prosaic original."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 266.

Add a note or query to this line

14 Lochlin ploughs the watery way; 7 Explanatory

11.1 - 14.5 This ... way;] "The construction is: ''This (squadron) [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The construction is: ''This (squadron) hiding (concealing) the Irish force; Lochlin, riding side by side as proudly, ploughs the way,'' etc."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

13.1 - 14.5 On ... way;] "''The Danish fleet (Lochlin) in [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"''The Danish fleet (Lochlin) in a long and gay line, sails on its own shadow.''"

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 171.

14.1 - 15.5 Lochlin ... afar] "See Scott's ''Lay of the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"See Scott's ''Lay of the Last Minstrel,'' vi. 22: -

''For thither came, in times afar,
Stern Lochlin's sons of roving war,
The Norsemen trained to spoil and blood.'' - 324-326."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

14.1 Lochlin] "Cf. Lay of the Last [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Cf. Lay of the Last Minstrel, Canto vi. l. 325: ''For thither [to the Orkneys] came, in times afar, / Stern Lochlin's sons of roving war.''   and also Norna in ''the Pirate'' passim; also Macpherson's Ossian, passim."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 266.

14.1 Lochlin] "Denmark." J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"Denmark."

Gray: Poetry and Prose. With essays by Johnson, Goldsmith and others. With an Introduction and Notes by J. Crofts. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1948 [1st ed. 1926], 164.

14.1 Lochlin] "Lochlin was the Welsh for [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Lochlin was the Welsh for Denmark or Norway."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 85.

14.2-5 ploughs ... way;] "'To plough the watery way' [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'To plough the watery way' is a common epic formula. Cp. Dryden, Aeneid ix 118; Pope, Iliad ii 685, viii 655; Odyssey xiii 363."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

Add a note or query to this line

15 There the Norman sails afar 4 Explanatory

14.1 - 15.5 Lochlin ... afar] "See Scott's ''Lay of the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"See Scott's ''Lay of the Last Minstrel,'' vi. 22: -

''For thither came, in times afar,
Stern Lochlin's sons of roving war,
The Norsemen trained to spoil and blood.'' - 324-326."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

15.3 Norman] "Warriors from Norway, not northern [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Warriors from Norway, not northern France."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

15.3 Norman] "Norwegian, not French." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Norwegian, not French."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

15.3 Norman] "Norwegian not French." J. Reeves, 1973.

"Norwegian not French."

The Complete English Poems of Thomas Gray. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by James Reeves. The Poetry Bookshelf series. London: Heinemann; New York: Barnes & Noble, 1973, 116.

Add a note or query to this line

16 Catch the winds and join the war: 1 Explanatory

16.1-3 Catch ... winds] "'their Sails / ... catch [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'their Sails / ... catch the Gales', Dryden, Ceyx and Alcyone 93-4; 'catch the driving gale', Pope, Essay on Man iii 178."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

Add a note or query to this line

17 Black and huge along they sweep, 1 Explanatory

17.1 - 18.5 Black ... deep.] "'my navy, at whose burthen [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'my navy, at whose burthen / The angered ocean foams', Antony and Cleopatra II vi 20; and 'the angry flood', Julius Caesar I ii 103."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

Add a note or query to this line

18 Burthens of the angry deep. 1 Explanatory

17.1 - 18.5 Black ... deep.] "'my navy, at whose burthen [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'my navy, at whose burthen / The angered ocean foams', Antony and Cleopatra II vi 20; and 'the angry flood', Julius Caesar I ii 103."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

Add a note or query to this line


19 Dauntless on his native sands
20 The Dragon-son of Mona stands; 9 Explanatory

20.1-5 The ... stands;] "Cadwallader (Gray's note). Cf. Henry [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cadwallader (Gray's note). Cf. Henry V., v, 1, 28: ''Not for Cadwallader, and all his goats.''"

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 172.

20.1-5 The ... stands;] "See note on Bard, v. [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"See note on Bard, v. 28."

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 172.

20.1-4 The ... Mona] "''The Dragon-Son of Mona'' is [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"''The Dragon-Son of Mona'' is Owen."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 267.

20.1-2 The Dragon-son] "'The red dragon is the [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"'The red dragon is the device of Cadwallader, which all his descendants bore on their banners.' (Mason.)"

Gray: Poetry and Prose. With essays by Johnson, Goldsmith and others. With an Introduction and Notes by J. Crofts. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1948 [1st ed. 1926], 164.

20.1-5 The ... stands;] "Mona was the ancient name [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Mona was the ancient name of Anglesey. The red dragon of Cadwallader became the standard of his decendants."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 85/86.

20.4 Mona] "Anglesea. Cf. Gray's letter to [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Anglesea. Cf. Gray's letter to Mason, 25 July 1756 (Works, II, 286): ''I can only tell you not to go and take Mona for the Isle of Man; it is Anglesey, a tract of plain country, very fertile, but picturesque only from the view it has of Caernarvonshire, from which it is separated by the Menai, a narrow arm of the sea.''"

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 172.

20.4 Mona] "Anglesey. When Mason was writing [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Anglesey. When Mason was writing his Caractacus, and Gray his Bard, Gray wrote ''I see, methinks, as I sit on Snowdon, some glimpse of Mona [the scene of Caraciacus] and her haunted shades, and hope we shall be very good neighbours.'' It is pretty certain that Mason was puzzled at this, mistaking the locality of his own Mona, and wondering how he and Gray could be 'neighbours.' For Gray says (July 25, 1756), ''I can only tell you not to go and take the Mona for the Isle of Man [also called Mona]; it is Anglesey, a tract of plain country, very fertile, but picturesque only from the view it has of Caernarvonshire, from which it is separated by the Menai, a narrow arm of the sea. Forgive me for supposing in you such a want of erudition.'' Mason, by combining these two passages of Gray's in one letter, has smothered up the fact that he really fell into this blunder, and his own letter, which would have betrayed it, has disappeared. Nevertheless, the descriptive colouring of Caractacus conforms not to Anglesey but to the Isle of Man."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 267.

20.4 Mona] "Anglesey." H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Anglesey."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

20.4 Mona] "Cp. G[ray]. to Mason, 23 [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. G[ray]. to Mason, 23 July 1756 (Corresp ii 467): 'I can only tell you not to go & take the Mona for the Isle of Man. it is Anglesey, a tract of plain country, very fertile, but picturesque only from the view it has of Caernarvonshire, from w[hi]ch it is separated by the Menai, a narrow arm of the Sea.' See Collins, Ode to Liberty 82 n (p. 450 below)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

Add a note or query to this line

21 In glittering arms and glory dressed, 1 Explanatory

21.2-3 glittering arms] "'glitt'ring Arms', Dryden, Aeneid ii [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'glitt'ring Arms', Dryden, Aeneid ii 640, vi 312, x 749, xi 1132; Palamon and Arcite iii 450."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

Add a note or query to this line

22 High he rears his ruby crest. 2 Explanatory

22.1-6 High ... crest.] "'his rough crest he rears', [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'his rough crest he rears', Dryden, Hind and the Panther i 164."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

22.5-6 ruby crest.] "A red dragon was the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"A red dragon was the device Owen wore."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

Add a note or query to this line

23 There the thundering strokes begin, 1 Textual

23.1 - 24.7 There ... din;] "Transposed in [MS. sent to] [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Transposed in [MS. sent to] D[odsley], but present order indicated by numbers in margin."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 36.

Add a note or query to this line

24 There the press and there the din; 1 Textual

23.1 - 24.7 There ... din;] "Transposed in [MS. sent to] [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Transposed in [MS. sent to] D[odsley], but present order indicated by numbers in margin."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 36.

Add a note or query to this line

25 Talymalfra's rocky shore 7 Explanatory

25.1 Talymalfra's] "A little bay on the [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"A little bay on the N.E. coast of Anglesea."

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 172.

25.1 Talymalfra's] "Moelfre, a small bay on [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Moelfre, a small bay on the north-east coast of Anglesea."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

25.1 Talymalfra's] "Moelfre, a small bay on [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Moelfre, a small bay on the north-east coast of Anglesea.   (Bradshaw.)"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 267.

25.1 Talymalfra's] "Moelfre, a small bay on [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Moelfre, a small bay on the north-east coast of Anglesey. Br[adshaw]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

25.1 Talymalfra's] "Bradshaw describes Moelfre as 'a [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Bradshaw describes Moelfre as 'a small bay on the north-east coast of Anglesey'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

25.1 Talymalfra's] "a small bay in north-east [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"a small bay in north-east Anglesey."

The Complete English Poems of Thomas Gray. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by James Reeves. The Poetry Bookshelf series. London: Heinemann; New York: Barnes & Noble, 1973, 116.

25.1-3 Talymalfra's ... shore] "Malf was a small bay [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Malf was a small bay on the north east coast of Anglesey."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 86.

Add a note or query to this line

26 Echoing to the battle's roar. 1 Explanatory, 3 Textual

26.1-5 Echoing ... roar.] "[Check'd by the torrent-tide of [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"[Check'd by the torrent-tide of blood,
Backward Meinai rolls his flood;
While, heap'd his master's feet around,
Prostrate warriors gnaw the ground.]
[These] lines are not in the former editions, but are now added from the author's MS. - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

26.1-5 Echoing ... roar.] "In Mason's edition of Gray's [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"In Mason's edition of Gray's poems (1775), he added after this line the following four lines, saying they were ''from the Author's MS.'':

''Check'd by the torrent-tide of blood
Backward Meinai rolls his flood;
While, heap'd his master's feet around,
Prostrate Warriors gnaw the ground.''"

Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894, 172.

26.1-5 Echoing ... roar.] "Gray did not print these [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray did not print these four lines though they have their counterpart in Evans' version (q. v.) supra. Perhaps because ll. 27, 28 are an exaggeration of an exaggeration. Mason printed them in 1775, as an ''addition from the Author's MS.''"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 267.

26.1-5 Echoing ... roar.] "[After this line in the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"[After this line in the omitted stanza in MS.] Meinai. The Menai Strait."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

Add a note or query to this line

27 Where his glowing eye-balls turn, 3 Explanatory, 4 Textual

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1-5 Where ... turn,] "After line 26 there are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"After line 26 there are the four following lines in the MS.; but, though Gray never printed them, Mason inserted them in his edition, and they have been retained in the text by all subsequent editors: -

Checked by the torrent-tide of blood,
Backward Meinai rolls his flood;
While, heaped his master's feet around,
Prostrate warriors gnaw the ground."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

27.1-5 Where ... turn,] "The following four lines are [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"The following four lines are added at the end of the Pembroke MS.

Check'd by the torrent-tide of blood
Backward Meinai rolls his flood:
While heap'd his Master's feet around
Prostrate Warriors gnaw the ground."

The Poems of Gray and Collins. Edited by Austin Lane Poole. Revised by Leonard Whibley. Third edition. Oxford editions of standard authors series. London: Oxford UP, 1937, reprinted 1950 [1st ed. 1919], 174.

27.1-5 Where ... turn,] "    [Check'd by the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"    [Check'd by the torrent-tide of blood
Backward Meinai rolls his flood:
While heap'd his Master's feet around
Prostrate Warriors gnaw the ground.]
Omitted from [MS. sent to] D[odsley] and P[oems, 1768], but in C[ommonplace] B[ook] and M[ason]; the text is from CB and the location that given in M."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 36.

27.1-5 Where ... turn,] "The following lines appear at [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"The following lines appear at the end of the fragment in G[ray].'s Commonplace Book:

Check'd by the torrent-tide of blood
Backward Meinai rolls his flood:
While heap'd his Master's feet around
Prostrate Warriors gnaw the ground.
Mason inserted these lines after l. 26 in 1775 (Poems p. 57). But G. treats Evans's Latin freely in this part of the poem and the lines could be placed equally well after l. 28. In any case, G. himself evidently thought them unsatisfactory and omitted them in 1768."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 233.

27.3-4 glowing eye-balls] "'glowing eye-balls', Dryden, Hind and [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'glowing eye-balls', Dryden, Hind and the Panther ii 223; 'Like fiery meteors his red eyeballs glow', Pope, Iliad xv 731."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232.

Add a note or query to this line

28 Thousand banners round him burn. 2 Explanatory

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

Add a note or query to this line

29 Where he points his purple spear, 3 Explanatory

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

29.1 - 32.7 Where ... fly.] "Cp. Fairfax's Tasso VIII xix [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Fairfax's Tasso VIII xix 7-8: 'And whereso'er he turn'd his fatal Brand, / Dread in his Looks, and Death sat in his Hand'; Oldham, The Praise of Homer st. iii: 'Where-e'er he does his dreadful Standards bear, / Horror stalks in the Van, and Slaughter in the Rear'; and Prior, Seeing the Duke of Ormond's Picture 6-9: 'Let His keen Sabre, Comet-like, appear, / Where-e'er it points, denouncing Death: below / Draw routed Squadrons, and the num'rous Foe / Falling beneath, or flying from His Blow.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232/233.

Add a note or query to this line

30 Hasty, hasty Rout is there, 4 Explanatory

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

29.1 - 32.7 Where ... fly.] "Cp. Fairfax's Tasso VIII xix [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Fairfax's Tasso VIII xix 7-8: 'And whereso'er he turn'd his fatal Brand, / Dread in his Looks, and Death sat in his Hand'; Oldham, The Praise of Homer st. iii: 'Where-e'er he does his dreadful Standards bear, / Horror stalks in the Van, and Slaughter in the Rear'; and Prior, Seeing the Duke of Ormond's Picture 6-9: 'Let His keen Sabre, Comet-like, appear, / Where-e'er it points, denouncing Death: below / Draw routed Squadrons, and the num'rous Foe / Falling beneath, or flying from His Blow.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232/233.

30.1 - 32.7 Hasty, ... fly.] "Gray has changed the order [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray has changed the order from that of the original in this paraphrase. I cannot find in it the 'genius' which Mitford attributes to it; nor is it easy to construe. Dr Bradshaw says 'Marking' (in l. 35) agrees with 'he' (l. 33). If this is so, surely we must transpose ll. 33 and 34,

''Hasty, hasty Rout is there
Where he points his purple spear
Marking &c.''
By the awkward 'Fear to stop, and shame to fly' we must understand, not two sets of warriors, but one, those namely who would fain run away, if they were not restrained by shame (pudor, [Greek word (omitted)]), if we take 'indignant' in its ordinary sense."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 267.

Add a note or query to this line

31 Marking with indignant eye 7 Explanatory

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

29.1 - 32.7 Where ... fly.] "Cp. Fairfax's Tasso VIII xix [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Fairfax's Tasso VIII xix 7-8: 'And whereso'er he turn'd his fatal Brand, / Dread in his Looks, and Death sat in his Hand'; Oldham, The Praise of Homer st. iii: 'Where-e'er he does his dreadful Standards bear, / Horror stalks in the Van, and Slaughter in the Rear'; and Prior, Seeing the Duke of Ormond's Picture 6-9: 'Let His keen Sabre, Comet-like, appear, / Where-e'er it points, denouncing Death: below / Draw routed Squadrons, and the num'rous Foe / Falling beneath, or flying from His Blow.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232/233.

30.1 - 32.7 Hasty, ... fly.] "Gray has changed the order [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray has changed the order from that of the original in this paraphrase. I cannot find in it the 'genius' which Mitford attributes to it; nor is it easy to construe. Dr Bradshaw says 'Marking' (in l. 35) agrees with 'he' (l. 33). If this is so, surely we must transpose ll. 33 and 34,

''Hasty, hasty Rout is there
Where he points his purple spear
Marking &c.''
By the awkward 'Fear to stop, and shame to fly' we must understand, not two sets of warriors, but one, those namely who would fain run away, if they were not restrained by shame (pudor, [Greek word (omitted)]), if we take 'indignant' in its ordinary sense."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 267.

31.1 - 32.7 Marking ... fly.] "Marking with indignant looks those [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Marking with indignant looks those who were afraid to stop, or ashamed to fly. This is a peculiar use of the abstract for the concrete. Marking agrees with he."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 211.

31.1 - 36.4 Marking ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"From this line to the end, most of the poem is Gray's work entirely, for very little of the material appears in the original."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

31.1 - 32.7 Marking ... fly.] "Pope, Iliad xvii 119-20: 'He [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Pope, Iliad xvii 119-20: 'He flies indeed, but threatens as he flies, / With heart indignant and retorted eyes.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 233.

Add a note or query to this line

32 Fear to stop and shame to fly. 7 Explanatory

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

29.1 - 32.7 Where ... fly.] "Cp. Fairfax's Tasso VIII xix [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Fairfax's Tasso VIII xix 7-8: 'And whereso'er he turn'd his fatal Brand, / Dread in his Looks, and Death sat in his Hand'; Oldham, The Praise of Homer st. iii: 'Where-e'er he does his dreadful Standards bear, / Horror stalks in the Van, and Slaughter in the Rear'; and Prior, Seeing the Duke of Ormond's Picture 6-9: 'Let His keen Sabre, Comet-like, appear, / Where-e'er it points, denouncing Death: below / Draw routed Squadrons, and the num'rous Foe / Falling beneath, or flying from His Blow.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 232/233.

30.1 - 32.7 Hasty, ... fly.] "Gray has changed the order [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray has changed the order from that of the original in this paraphrase. I cannot find in it the 'genius' which Mitford attributes to it; nor is it easy to construe. Dr Bradshaw says 'Marking' (in l. 35) agrees with 'he' (l. 33). If this is so, surely we must transpose ll. 33 and 34,

''Hasty, hasty Rout is there
Where he points his purple spear
Marking &c.''
By the awkward 'Fear to stop, and shame to fly' we must understand, not two sets of warriors, but one, those namely who would fain run away, if they were not restrained by shame (pudor, [Greek word (omitted)]), if we take 'indignant' in its ordinary sense."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 267.

31.1 - 32.7 Marking ... fly.] "Marking with indignant looks those [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Marking with indignant looks those who were afraid to stop, or ashamed to fly. This is a peculiar use of the abstract for the concrete. Marking agrees with he."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 211.

31.1 - 36.4 Marking ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"From this line to the end, most of the poem is Gray's work entirely, for very little of the material appears in the original."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

31.1 - 32.7 Marking ... fly.] "Pope, Iliad xvii 119-20: 'He [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Pope, Iliad xvii 119-20: 'He flies indeed, but threatens as he flies, / With heart indignant and retorted eyes.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 233.

Add a note or query to this line

33 There Confusion, Terror's child, 4 Explanatory

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

31.1 - 36.4 Marking ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"From this line to the end, most of the poem is Gray's work entirely, for very little of the material appears in the original."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

33.1 - 36.4 There ... Death.] "Waller, Instructions to a Painter [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Waller, Instructions to a Painter (1665) 59-60: 'There paint confusion in a various shape: / Some sink, some yield, and flying some escape'; Dryden, Aeneid xii 505, 507: 'Wrath, Terror, Treason, Tumult, and Despair / ... / Friends of the God, and Followers of the War'; Pope, Iliad xx 170: 'And these, in ruin and confusion hurled.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 233.

Add a note or query to this line

34 Conflict fierce and Ruin wild, 4 Explanatory

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

31.1 - 36.4 Marking ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"From this line to the end, most of the poem is Gray's work entirely, for very little of the material appears in the original."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

33.1 - 36.4 There ... Death.] "Waller, Instructions to a Painter [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Waller, Instructions to a Painter (1665) 59-60: 'There paint confusion in a various shape: / Some sink, some yield, and flying some escape'; Dryden, Aeneid xii 505, 507: 'Wrath, Terror, Treason, Tumult, and Despair / ... / Friends of the God, and Followers of the War'; Pope, Iliad xx 170: 'And these, in ruin and confusion hurled.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 233.

Add a note or query to this line

35 Agony that pants for breath, 4 Explanatory

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

31.1 - 36.4 Marking ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"From this line to the end, most of the poem is Gray's work entirely, for very little of the material appears in the original."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

33.1 - 36.4 There ... Death.] "Waller, Instructions to a Painter [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Waller, Instructions to a Painter (1665) 59-60: 'There paint confusion in a various shape: / Some sink, some yield, and flying some escape'; Dryden, Aeneid xii 505, 507: 'Wrath, Terror, Treason, Tumult, and Despair / ... / Friends of the God, and Followers of the War'; Pope, Iliad xx 170: 'And these, in ruin and confusion hurled.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 233.

Add a note or query to this line

36 Despair and honourable Death. 4 Explanatory

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line, to the [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"From this line, to the conclusion, the translation is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the translator: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.'' - [Mason.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 70.

27.1 - 36.4 Where ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line to the end is Gray's amplification rather than a translation, very little of it being in the original, which closes as follows: ''And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give him his merited praise.''
The omission of this sentence and his not printing the four lines quoted above [textual note to line 27] may account for Gray's describing this as ''a Fragment.''"

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891], 210/211.

31.1 - 36.4 Marking ... Death.] "From this line to the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"From this line to the end, most of the poem is Gray's work entirely, for very little of the material appears in the original."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 221.

33.1 - 36.4 There ... Death.] "Waller, Instructions to a Painter [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Waller, Instructions to a Painter (1665) 59-60: 'There paint confusion in a various shape: / Some sink, some yield, and flying some escape'; Dryden, Aeneid xii 505, 507: 'Wrath, Terror, Treason, Tumult, and Despair / ... / Friends of the God, and Followers of the War'; Pope, Iliad xx 170: 'And these, in ruin and confusion hurled.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 233.

Add a note or query to this line

Gray's annotations

4
[Gwyneth, Gwynned or Gwynedd] North-Wales.
14
[Lochlin] Denmark.
20
[The Dragon-son] The red Dragon is the device of Cadwallader, which all his descendents bore on their banners.

Works cited

  • The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. Reprinted edition. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1903 [1st edition 1891].
  • Gray: Poetry and Prose. With essays by Johnson, Goldsmith and others. With an Introduction and Notes by J. Crofts. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].
  • Poems of Thomas Gray. Edited by W. C. Eppstein. London and Glasgow: Blackie & Son Ltd., 1959.
  • The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i.
  • Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981.
  • The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969.
  • The Poems of Gray and Collins. Edited by Austin Lane Poole. Revised by Leonard Whibley. Third edition. Oxford editions of standard authors series. London: Oxford UP, 1937, reprinted 1950 [1st ed. 1919].
  • Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray. Ed. with an introduction and notes by William Lyon Phelps. The Athenaeum press series. Boston: Ginn & company, 1894.
  • The Complete English Poems of Thomas Gray. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by James Reeves. The Poetry Bookshelf series. London: Heinemann; New York: Barnes & Noble, 1973.
  • The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966.
  • Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

Spelling has been modernized throughout, except in case of conscious archaisms. Contractions, italics and initial capitalization have been largely eliminated, except where of real import. Obvious errors have been silently corrected, punctuation has been lightly modernized. Additional contextual information for Gray's notes, presented here in unmodernized form, has been taken from the Starr/Hendrickson edition. The editor would like to express his gratitude to the library staff of the Göttingen State and University Library (SUB Göttingen) for their invaluable assistance.

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Editions in the Digital Library

  • 1768: Poems by Mr. Gray. London, 1768.
  • 1768: Poems by Mr. Gray. A new edition. London, 1768 [1st ed. 1768].
  • 1768: Poems by Mr. Gray. Glasgow, 1768.
  • 1768: Poems by Mr. Gray. Dublin, 1768.
  • 1768: Poems by Mr. T. Gray. Cork, 1768.
  • 1771: Poems by Mr. Gray. A new edition. London, 1771.
  • 1771: Poems by Thomas Gray. Dublin, 1771.
  • 1773: Poems by Mr. Gray. Glasgow, 1773.
  • 1773: Poems by Mr. Gray. Edinburgh, 1773.
  • 1775: The Poems of Mr. Gray. To which are prefixed Memoirs of his Life and Writings by W[illiam]. Mason. York, 1775.
  • 1775: The Poems of Mr. Gray. To which are prefixed Memoirs of his Life and Writings by W[illiam]. Mason. Dublin, 1775.
  • 1775: Poems by Mr. Gray. A new edition. Edinburgh, 1775.
  • 1775: Poems by Mr. Gray. Dublin, 1775.
  • 1776: Poems by Mr. Gray. A new edition. London, 1776.
  • 1782: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. Edinburg, 1782.
  • 1798: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. London, 1798.
  • 1799: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. London, [1799].
  • 1799: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray, LL.B. London, 1799.
  • 1800: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray, LL.B. London, 1800.
  • 1800: The Poems of Gray. A new edition. London, 1800.
  • 1805: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. London, 1805.
  • 1814: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. London, 1814.
  • 1814: The Works of Thomas Gray, Vol. I. Ed. Thomas James Mathias. London, 1814.
  • 1816: The Works of Thomas Gray, Vol. I. Ed. John Mitford. London, 1816.
  • 1826: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. London, 1826.
  • 1836: The Works of Thomas Gray, Volume I. Ed. John Mitford. London, 1836.