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The Bard. A Pindaric Ode


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The Bard. A Pindaric Ode


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The following Ode is founded on a Tradition current in Wales,
that EDWARD the First, when he compleated the conquest of
that country, ordered all the Bards, that fell into his hands,
to be put to death.

I. 1.

1 'Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!
2 'Confusion on thy banners wait,
3 'Though fanned by Conquest's crimson wing
4 'They mock the air with idle state.
5 'Helm nor hauberk's twisted mail,
6 'Nor even thy virtues, tyrant, shall avail
7 'To save thy secret soul from nightly fears,
8 'From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears!'
9 Such were the sounds, that o'er the crested pride
10 Of the first Edward scattered wild dismay,
11 As down the steep of Snowdon's shaggy side
12 He wound with toilsome march his long array.
13 Stout Gloucester stood aghast in speechless trance:
14 'To arms!' cried Mortimer, and couched his quivering lance.

I. 2.

15 On a rock, whose haughty brow
16 Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood,
17 Robed in the sable garb of woe,
18 With haggard eyes the poet stood;
19 (Loose his beard, and hoary hair
20 Streamed, like a meteor, to the troubled air)
21 And with a master's hand, and prophet's fire,
22 Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre.
23 'Hark, how each giant-oak, and desert cave,
24 'Sighs to the torrent's awful voice beneath!
25 'O'er thee, oh king! their hundred arms they wave,
26 'Revenge on thee in hoarser murmurs breathe;
27 'Vocal no more, since Cambria's fatal day,
28 'To high-born Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellyn's lay.

I. 3.

29 'Cold is Cadwallo's tongue,
30 'That hushed the stormy main:
31 'Brave Urien sleeps upon his craggy bed:
32 'Mountains, ye mourn in vain
33 'Modred, whose magic song
34 'Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-topped head.
35 'On dreary Arvon's shore they lie,
36 'Smeared with gore, and ghastly pale:
37 'Far, far aloof the affrighted ravens sail;
38 'The famished eagle screams, and passes by.
39 'Dear lost companions of my tuneful art,
40 'Dear, as the light that visits these sad eyes,
41 'Dear, as the ruddy drops that warm my heart,
42 'Ye died amidst your dying country's cries—
43 'No more I weep. They do not sleep.
44 'On yonder cliffs, a grisly band,
45 'I see them sit, they linger yet,
46 'Avengers of their native land:
47 'With me in dreadful harmony they join,
48 'And weave with bloody hands the tissue of thy line.'

II. 1.

49 "Weave the warp, and weave the woof,
50 "The winding-sheet of Edward's race.
51 "Give ample room, and verge enough
52 "The characters of hell to trace.
53 "Mark the year and mark the night,
54 "When Severn shall re-echo with affright
55 "The shrieks of death, through Berkeley's roofs that ring,
56 "Shrieks of an agonizing King!
57 "She-wolf of France, with unrelenting fangs,
58 "That tear'st the bowels of thy mangled mate,
59 "From thee be born, who o'er thy country hangs
60 "The scourge of heaven. What terrors round him wait!
61 "Amazement in his van, with Flight combined,
62 "And Sorrow's faded form, and Solitude behind.

II. 2.

63 "Mighty victor, mighty lord,
64 "Low on his funeral couch he lies!
65 "No pitying heart, no eye, afford
66 "A tear to grace his obsequies.
67 "Is the sable warrior fled?
68 "Thy son is gone. He rests among the dead.
69 "The swarm that in thy noon-tide beam were born?
70 "Gone to salute the rising morn.
71 "Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows,
72 "While proudly riding o'er the azure realm
73 "In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes;
74 "Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm;
75 "Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway,
76 "That, hushed in grim repose, expects his evening-prey.

II. 3.

77 "Fill high the sparkling bowl,
78 "The rich repast prepare,
79 "Reft of a crown, he yet may share the feast:
80 "Close by the regal chair
81 "Fell Thirst and Famine scowl
82 "A baleful smile upon their baffled guest.
83 "Heard ye the din of battle bray,
84 "Lance to lance, and horse to horse?
85 "Long years of havoc urge their destined course,
86 "And through the kindred squadrons mow their way.
87 "Ye towers of Julius, London's lasting shame,
88 "With many a foul and midnight murther fed,
89 "Revere his consort's faith, his father's fame,
90 "And spare the meek usurper's holy head.
91 "Above, below, the rose of snow,
92 "Twined with her blushing foe, we spread:
93 "The bristled Boar in infant-gore
94 "Wallows beneath the thorny shade.
95 "Now, brothers, bending o'er the accursed loom,
96 "Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom.

III. 1.

97 "Edward, lo! to sudden fate
98 "(Weave we the woof. The thread is spun)
99 "Half of thy heart we consecrate.
100 "(The web is wove. The work is done.)"
101 'Stay, oh stay! nor thus forlorn
102 'Leave me unblessed, unpitied, here to mourn:
103 'In yon bright track, that fires the western skies,
104 'They melt, they vanish from my eyes.
105 'But oh! what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height
106 'Descending slow their glittering skirts unroll?
107 'Visions of glory, spare my aching sight,
108 'Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul!
109 'No more our long-lost Arthur we bewail.
110 'All-hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's issue, hail!

III. 2.

111 'Girt with many a baron bold
112 'Sublime their starry fronts they rear;
113 'And gorgeous dames, and statesmen old
114 'In bearded majesty, appear.
115 'In the midst a form divine!
116 'Her eye proclaims her of the Briton-line;
117 'Her lion-port, her awe-commanding face,
118 'Attempered sweet to virgin-grace.
119 'What strings symphonious tremble in the air,
120 'What strains of vocal transport round her play!
121 'Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, hear;
122 'They breathe a soul to animate thy clay.
123 'Bright Rapture calls, and soaring, as she sings,
124 'Waves in the eye of heaven her many-coloured wings.

III. 3.

125 'The verse adorn again
126 'Fierce war and faithful love,
127 'And truth severe, by fairy fiction dressed.
128 'In buskined measures move
129 'Pale Grief, and pleasing Pain,
130 'With Horror, tyrant of the throbbing breast.
131 'A voice, as of the cherub-choir,
132 'Gales from blooming Eden bear;
133 'And distant warblings lessen on my ear,
134 'That lost in long futurity expire.
135 'Fond impious man, think'st thou, yon sanguine cloud,
136 'Raised by thy breath, has quenched the orb of day?
137 'Tomorrow he repairs the golden flood,
138 'And warms the nations with redoubled ray.
139 'Enough for me: with joy I see
140 'The different doom our fates assign.
141 'Be thine despair and sceptered care;
142 'To triumph, and to die, are mine.'
143 He spoke, and headlong from the mountain's height
144 Deep in the roaring tide he plunged to endless night.

Gray's annotations

4
Mocking the air with colours idly spread.
    Shakespear's King John. [V. i. 72]
5
The Hauberk was a texture of steel ringlets, or rings interwoven, forming a coat of mail, that sate close to the body, and adapted itself to every motion.
9
— [By] The crested adder's pride.
    Dryden's Indian Queen. [III. i. 84]
11
Snowdon was a name given by the Saxons to that mountainous tract, which the Welch themselves call Craigian-eryri: it included all the highlands of Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire, as far east as the river Conway. R. Hygden[,] speaking of the castle of Conway built by King Edward the first, says, ''Ad ortum amnis Conway ad clivum montis Erery [At the source of the River Conway on the slope of Mt. Erery];'' and Matthew of Westminster, (ad ann. 1283,) ''Apud Aberconway ad pedes montis Snowdoniae fecit erigi castrum forte [Near (or at) Aberconway at the foot of Mt. Snowdon, he caused a fortified camp to be constructed.].''
13
Gilbert de Clare, surnamed the Red, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, son-in-law to King Edward.
14
Edmond de Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore. They both were Lords-Marchers, whose lands lay on the borders of Wales, and probably accompanied the King in this expedition.
18
['... haggard, wch conveys to you the the Idea of a Witch, is indeed only a metaphor taken from an unreclaim'd Hawk, wch is called a Haggard, & looks wild & farouche & jealous of its liberty.' Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755, T & W no. 205.]
19
The image was taken from a well-known picture of Raphael, representing the Supreme Being in the vision of Ezekiel: there are two of these paintings (both believed original), one at Florence, the other at Paris.
20
Shone, like a meteor, streaming to the wind.
    Milton's Paradise Lost. [i. 537]
35
The shores of Caernarvonshire opposite to the isle of Anglesey.
38
Cambden and others observe, that eagles used annually to build their aerie among the rocks of Snowdon, which from thence (as some think) were named by the Welch Craigian-eryri, or the crags of the eagles. At this day (I am told) the highest point of Snowdon is called the eagle's nest. That bird is certainly no stranger to this island, as the Scots, and the people of Cumberland, Westmoreland, &c. can testify: it even has built its nest in the Peak of Derbyshire. [See Willoughby's Ornithol. published by Ray.] [John Ray (1627-1705) published (1676) and translated (London, 1678) the Ornithologia of his patron Francis Willughby (1635-72).]
40
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops,
That visit my sad heart—
    Shakesp. Jul. Caesar. [II. i. 289-90]
47
See the Norwegian Ode, that follows. [Fatal Sisters]
54
Edward the Second, cruelly butchered in Berkley-Castle [in 1327 near the Severn River in western England].
57
Isabel of France, Edward the Second's adulterous Queen.
59
Triumphs of Edward the Third in France.
64
Death of that King, abandoned by his Children, and even robbed in his last moments by his Courtiers and his Mistress [Alice Perrers, in 1377].
67
Edward, the Black Prince, dead some time before his Father [in 1376].
71
Magnificence of Richard the Second's reign. See Froissard, and other contemporary Writers.
77
Richard the Second, (as we are told by Archbishop Scroop and the confederate Lords in their manifesto, by Thomas of Walsingham, and all the older Writers)[,] was starved to death [in 1400]. The story of his assassination by Sir Piers of Exon, is of much later date.
83
Ruinous civil wars of York and Lancaster.
87
Henry the Sixth, George Duke of Clarence, Edward the Fifth, Richard Duke of York, &c. believed to be murthered secretly in the Tower of London. The oldest part of that structure is vulgarly attributed to Julius Caesar.
89
[Consort] Margaret of Anjou, a woman of heroic spirit, who struggled hard to save her Husband and her Crown.
[Father] Henry the Fifth.
90
Henry the Sixth very near being canonized. The line of Lancaster had no right of inheritance to the Crown.
91
The white and red roses, devices of York and Lancaster [presumably woven above and below on the loom].
93
The silver Boar was the badge of Richard the Third; whence he was usually known in his own time by the name of the Boar.
99
Eleanor of Castile died a few years after the conquest of Wales. The heroic proof she gave of her affection for her Lord [she is supposed to have sucked the poison from a wound Edward I received] is well known. The monuments of his regret, and sorrow for the loss of her, are still to be seen at Northampton, Geddington, Waltham, and other places.
109
It was the common belief of the Welch nation, that King Arthur was still alive in Fairy-Land, and should return again to reign over Britain.
110
Both Merlin [Myrddin] and Taliessin had prophesied, that the Welch should regain their sovereignty over this island; which seemed to be accomplished in the House of Tudor [1768].
Accession of the House of Tudor [1757].
117
Speed relating an audience given by Queen Elizabeth to Paul Dzialinski, Ambassadour of Poland, says, 'And thus she, lion-like rising, daunted the malapert Orator no less with her stately port and majestical deporture, than with the tartnesse of her princelie checkes.' [John Speed (1552-1629) published his History of Great Britaine ... to ... King James in 1611.]
121
Taliessin, Chief of the Bards, flourished in the VIth Century. His works are still preserved, and his memory held in high veneration among his Countrymen. [His Book exists in only a thirteenth-century version and many of the poems in it may not be by Taliessin.]
126
Fierce wars and faithful loves shall moralize my song.
    Spenser's Proëme to the Fairy Queen [l. 9].
128
Shakespear.
131
Milton.
133
The succession of Poets after Milton's time.

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 Bard. A Pindaric Ode

Metrical notation:  irregular
Metrical foot type:  iambic (-+)
Metrical foot number:  tetrameter (4 feet), pentameter (5 feet)
Rhyme scheme:  irregular
Stanza:  strophe (I), antistrophe (II), epode (III)
Genre(s):  ode
Theme(s):  politics, poetry, literature, writing, history

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


Advertisement.

The following Ode is founded on a Tradition current in Wales,
that EDWARD the First, when he compleated the conquest of
that country, ordered all the Bards, that fell into his hands,
to be put to death.

I. 1.

1 'Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  king   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Ruin/ruthless /r/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Ruin/ruthless /uː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): seize/thee /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Ruin/ruthless /r/

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2 'Confusion on thy banners wait,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  wait   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Confusion/on/banners /n/

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3 'Though fanned by Conquest's crimson wing    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  wing   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Conquest's/crimson /k/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): crimson/wing /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): fanned/Conquest's /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Conquest's/crimson /k/

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4 'They mock the air with idle state.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  state   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): They/state /eɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): They/with /ð/

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5 'Helm nor hauberk's twisted mail,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  mail   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Helm/hauberk's /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): nor/hauberk's /ɔː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Helm/mail /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Helm/hauberk's /h/

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6 'Nor even thy virtues, tyrant, shall avail    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  avail   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): thy/tyrant /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): even/virtues/avail /v/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): virtues/tyrant /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): shall/avail /l/

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7 'To save thy secret soul from nightly fears,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  fears   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪəz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): save/secret/soul /s/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): from/fears /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): thy/nightly /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): save/secret/soul /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): from/fears /f/

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8 'From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears!'    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  tears   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪəz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): From/from /f/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Cambria's/curse/Cambria's /k/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): From/from /ɒ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Cambria's/Cambria's /a/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): From/Cambria's/from/Cambria's /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): From/from /f/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Cambria's/curse/Cambria's /k/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): From/from
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Cambria's/Cambria's

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9 Such were the sounds, that o'er the crested pride    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  pride   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Such/sounds /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Such/sounds/crested /s/
Figure:  syncope (morphological): o'er

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10 Of the first Edward scattered wild dismay,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  dismay   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): first/scattered/dismay /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Edward/dismay /d/

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11 As down the steep of Snowdon's shaggy side    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  side   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): steep/Snowdon's/side /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): As/shaggy /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): down/Snowdon's/side /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): steep/Snowdon's/side /s/

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12 He wound with toilsome march his long array.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  array   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): He/his /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): with/his /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): He/his /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): wound/with /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): toilsome/long /l/

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13 Stout Gloucester stood aghast in speechless trance:    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  trance   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɑːns/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Stout/stood/speechless /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): aghast/trance /ɑː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Stout/Gloucester/stood/aghast/speechless /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Stout/trance /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Gloucester/aghast /g/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): in/trance /n/

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14 'To arms!' cried Mortimer, and couched his quivering lance.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  lance   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɑːns/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): cried/couched/quivering /k/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): arms/lance /ɑː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): his/quivering /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): arms/Mortimer /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): cried/couched/quivering /k/

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I. 2.

15 On a rock, whose haughty brow    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  brow   |   Rhyme sound:  /aʊ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): whose/haughty /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): On/rock /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): whose/haughty /h/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

16 Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  flood   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Frowns/foaming/flood /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): o'er/old/foaming /əʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Frowns/Conway's /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Frowns/foaming/flood /f/
Figure:  syncope (morphological): o'er

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17 Robed in the sable garb of woe,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  woe   |   Rhyme sound:  /əʊ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Robed/woe /əʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Robed/sable/garb /b/

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18 With haggard eyes the poet stood;    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  stood   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʊd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)

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19 (Loose his beard, and hoary hair    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  hair   |   Rhyme sound:  /eə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): his/hoary/hair /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): his/hoary/hair /h/

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20 Streamed, like a meteor, to the troubled air)    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  air   |   Rhyme sound:  /eə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Streamed/meteor /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Streamed/meteor /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): meteor/troubled /t/
Figure:  simile (semantic): like...

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21 And with a master's hand, and prophet's fire,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  fire   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): And/hand/and /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): prophet's/fire /f/

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22 Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  lyre   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Struck/sorrows /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): sorrows/of /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Struck/sorrows /s/

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23 'Hark, how each giant-oak, and desert cave,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  cave   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪv/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Hark/how /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Hark/giant-oak/cave /k/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Hark/how /h/

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24 'Sighs to the torrent's awful voice beneath!    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  beneath   |   Rhyme sound:  /iːθ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Sighs/voice /s/

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25 'O'er thee, oh king! their hundred arms they wave,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  wave   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪv/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): thee/their/they /ð/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): O'er/oh /əʊ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): they/wave /eɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): thee/their/they /ð/
Figure:  syncope (morphological): O'er
Figure:  ecphonesis (pragmatic): oh...

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26 'Revenge on thee in hoarser murmurs breathe;    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  breathe   |   Rhyme sound:  /iːð/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Revenge/in /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): thee/breathe /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Revenge/on/in /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): thee/breathe /ð/

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27 'Vocal no more, since Cambria's fatal day,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  day   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Vocal/no /əʊ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): fatal/day /eɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Vocal/Cambria's /k/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): no/since /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): more/Cambria's /m/

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28 'To high-born Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellyn's lay.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  lay   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): high-born/Hoel's/harp /h/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Llewellyn's/lay /l/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): high-born/or /ɔː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): high-born/Hoel's/harp /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Hoel's/Llewellyn's/lay /l/

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I. 3.

29 'Cold is Cadwallo's tongue,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  tongue   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Cold/Cadwallo's /k/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Cold/Cadwallo's /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Cold/Cadwallo's /k/

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30 'That hushed the stormy main:    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  main   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): stormy/main /m/

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31 'Brave Urien sleeps upon his craggy bed:    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  bed   |   Rhyme sound:  /ed/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Brave/bed /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Brave/bed /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): sleeps/upon /p/

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32 'Mountains, ye mourn in vain    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  vain   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Mountains/mourn /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Mountains/mourn/in/vain /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Mountains/mourn /m/

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33 'Modred, whose magic song    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  song   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɒŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Modred/magic /m/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Modred/song /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Modred/magic /m/

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34 'Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-topped head.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  head   |   Rhyme sound:  /ed/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): huge/his/head /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Plinlimmon/his /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): bow/cloud-topped /aʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Made/cloud-topped/head /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): huge/his/head /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Plinlimmon/cloud-topped /p/

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35 'On dreary Arvon's shore they lie,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  lie   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)

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36 'Smeared with gore, and ghastly pale:    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  pale   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): gore/ghastly /g/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Smeared/ghastly /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): gore/ghastly /g/

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37 'Far, far aloof the affrighted ravens sail;    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  sail   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Far/far /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Far/far /ɑː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): aloof/affrighted /ə/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Far/far/aloof/affrighted /f/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): aloof/sail /l/
Figure:  epizeuxis (morphological): Far/far
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Far/far

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38 'The famished eagle screams, and passes by.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  by   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): famished/and /æ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): eagle/screams /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): famished/screams /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): screams/passes /s/

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39 'Dear lost companions of my tuneful art,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  art   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɑːt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): lost/of /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): companions/tuneful /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): companions/my /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): tuneful/art /t/
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): Dear

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40 'Dear, as the light that visits these sad eyes,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  eyes   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): that/these /ð/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): as/that/sad /æ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): light/eyes /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Dear/sad /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): as/visits/these/eyes /z/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): light/that /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): that/these /ð/
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): Dear as the
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): Dear

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41 'Dear, as the ruddy drops that warm my heart,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  heart   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɑːt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Dear/drops /d/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): as/that /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Dear/ruddy/drops /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): that/heart /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): warm/my /m/
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): Dear as the

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42 'Ye died amidst your dying country's cries—    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  cries   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Ye/your /j/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): died/dying /d/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): country's/cries /k/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): died/dying/cries /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Ye/your /j/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): died/amidst/dying /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): country's/cries /k/
Figure:  polyptoton (morphological): died/dying

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43 'No more I weep. They do not sleep.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  sleep   |   Rhyme sound:  /iːp/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): No/not /n/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): weep/sleep /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): No/not /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): weep/sleep /p/

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44 'On yonder cliffs, a grisly band,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  band   |   Rhyme sound:  /ænd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): On/yonder /ɒ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): cliffs/grisly /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): On/yonder/band /n/

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45 'I see them sit, they linger yet,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  yet   |   Rhyme sound:  /et/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): see/sit /s/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): them/they /ð/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): them/yet /e/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): sit/linger /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): see/sit /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): them/they /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): sit/yet /t/

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46 'Avengers of their native land:    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  land   |   Rhyme sound:  /ænd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Avengers/native/land /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Avengers/of /v/

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47 'With me in dreadful harmony they join,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  join   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): With/in /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): With/they /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): me/harmony /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): in/join /n/

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48 'And weave with bloody hands the tissue of thy line.'    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghicikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  line   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): And/hands /æ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): with/tissue /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): thy/line /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): weave/with /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): weave/of /v/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): with/thy /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): hands/line /n/

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II. 1.

49 "Weave the warp, and weave the woof,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  woof   |   Rhyme sound:  /uːf/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Weave/warp/weave/woof /w/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Weave/weave /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Weave/warp/weave/woof /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Weave/weave /v/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Weave/weave

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50 "The winding-sheet of Edward's race.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  race   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪs/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)

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51 "Give ample room, and verge enough    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  enough   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌf/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Give/enough /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): ample/and /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Give/verge /v/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): ample/room /m/

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52 "The characters of hell to trace.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  trace   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪs/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)

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53 "Mark the year and mark the night,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  night   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Mark/mark /m/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Mark/mark /ɑː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Mark/mark /k/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Mark/mark /m/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Mark/mark

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54 "When Severn shall re-echo with affright    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  affright   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): When/Severn/re-echo /e/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): When/with /w/

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55 "The shrieks of death, through Berkeley's roofs that ring,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  ring   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): roofs/ring /r/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): through/roofs /uː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): shrieks/Berkeley's /k/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): death/through /θ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): roofs/ring /r/

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56 "Shrieks of an agonizing King!    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  King   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪŋ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Shrieks/King /k/

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57 "She-wolf of France, with unrelenting fangs,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  fangs   |   Rhyme sound:  /æŋz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): France/fangs /f/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): She-wolf/unrelenting /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): She-wolf/with /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): France/unrelenting /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): France/fangs /f/

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58 "That tear'st the bowels of thy mangled mate,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  mate   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): That/thy /ð/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): mangled/mate /m/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): That/mangled /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): That/thy /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): That/tear'st/mate /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): mangled/mate /m/
Figure:  syncope (morphological): tear'st

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59 "From thee be born, who o'er thy country hangs    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  hangs   |   Rhyme sound:  /æŋz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): thee/thy /ð/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): who/hangs /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): thee/be /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): thee/thy /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): born/country /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): who/hangs /h/
Figure:  syncope (morphological): o'er

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60 "The scourge of heaven. What terrors round him wait!    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  wait   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): heaven/him /h/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): What/wait /w/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): of/What /ɒ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): heaven/terrors /e/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): of/heaven /v/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): heaven/him /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): What/wait /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): What/terrors/wait /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): terrors/round /r/

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61 "Amazement in his van, with Flight combined,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  combined   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪnd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Amazement/combined /ə/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): in/his/with /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Flight/combined /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Amazement/combined /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Amazement/his /z/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): in/van/combined /n/

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62 "And Sorrow's faded form, and Solitude behind.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  behind   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪnd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Sorrow's/Solitude /s/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): faded/form /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): And/faded/and /æ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Sorrow's/Solitude /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Sorrow's/Solitude /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): faded/Solitude /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): faded/form /f/

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II. 2.

63 "Mighty victor, mighty lord,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  lord   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Mighty/mighty /m/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Mighty/mighty /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Mighty/mighty /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Mighty/mighty /t/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Mighty/mighty

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64 "Low on his funeral couch he lies!    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  lies   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Low/lies /l/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): his/he /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Low/lies /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): on/funeral /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): his/he /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): his/lies /z/

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65 "No pitying heart, no eye, afford    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  afford   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): No/no /n/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): No/no /əʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): No/no /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): pitying/heart /t/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): No/no

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66 "A tear to grace his obsequies.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  obsequies   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)

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67 "Is the sable warrior fled?    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  fled   |   Rhyme sound:  /ed/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)

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68 "Thy son is gone. He rests among the dead.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  dead   |   Rhyme sound:  /ed/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): son/among /ʌ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): rests/dead /e/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): son/gone /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): son/rests /s/

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69 "The swarm that in thy noon-tide beam were born?    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  born   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): that/thy /ð/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): beam/born /b/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): swarm/born /ɔː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): thy/noon-tide /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): swarm/beam /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): that/thy /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): that/noon-tide /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): in/noon-tide/born /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): beam/born /b/

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70 "Gone to salute the rising morn.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  morn   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): to/salute /uː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Gone/morn /n/

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71 "Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  blows   |   Rhyme sound:  /əʊz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Fair/laughs/soft/zephyr /f/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): zephyr/blows /z/

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72 "While proudly riding o'er the azure realm    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  realm   |   Rhyme sound:  /elm/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): riding/realm /r/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): While/riding /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): While/realm /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): proudly/riding /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): riding/realm /r/
Figure:  syncope (morphological): o'er

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73 "In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes;    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  goes   |   Rhyme sound:  /əʊz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): gallant/gilded/goes /g/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): In/trim/gilded /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): gallant/gilded /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): gallant/gilded/goes /g/

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74 "Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm;    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  helm   |   Rhyme sound:  /elm/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): prow/Pleasure /p/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): and/at /æ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Pleasure/helm /e/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): prow/Pleasure /p/

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75 "Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  sway   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): sweeping/sway /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Regardless/whirlwind's /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): sweeping/sway /s/

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76 "That, hushed in grim repose, expects his evening-prey.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  evening-prey   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): hushed/his /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): in/grim/repose/expects/his /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): hushed/his /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): repose/evening-prey /p/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): repose/his /z/

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II. 3.

77 "Fill high the sparkling bowl,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  bowl   |   Rhyme sound:  /əʊl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Fill/bowl /l/

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78 "The rich repast prepare,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  prepare   |   Rhyme sound:  /eə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): rich/repast /r/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): rich/repast/prepare /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): rich/repast /r/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): repast/prepare /p/

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79 "Reft of a crown, he yet may share the feast:    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  feast   |   Rhyme sound:  /iːst/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Reft/yet /e/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): he/feast /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Reft/feast /f/

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80 "Close by the regal chair    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  chair   |   Rhyme sound:  /eə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)

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81 "Fell Thirst and Famine scowl    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  scowl   |   Rhyme sound:  /aʊl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Fell/Famine /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): and/Famine /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Fell/scowl /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Fell/Famine /f/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Thirst/scowl /s/

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82 "A baleful smile upon their baffled guest.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  guest   |   Rhyme sound:  /est/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): baleful/baffled /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): baleful/smile /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): baleful/baffled /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): smile/guest /s/

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83 "Heard ye the din of battle bray,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  bray   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): battle/bray /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Heard/din /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): battle/bray /b/

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84 "Lance to lance, and horse to horse?    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  horse   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːs/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Lance/lance /l/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): horse/horse /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Lance/lance /ɑː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): to/to /uː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): horse/horse /ɔː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Lance/lance /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Lance/lance /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): horse/horse /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): horse/horse /s/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Lance/lance
Figure:  diacope (morphological): horse/horse

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85 "Long years of havoc urge their destined course,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  course   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːs/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Long/of /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): of/havoc /v/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): destined/course /s/

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86 "And through the kindred squadrons mow their way.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  way   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)

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87 "Ye towers of Julius, London's lasting shame,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  shame   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪm/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): London's/lasting /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Julius/London's/lasting /l/

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88 "With many a foul and midnight murther fed,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  fed   |   Rhyme sound:  /ed/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): many/midnight/murther /m/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): foul/fed /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): With/midnight /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): many/fed /e/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): With/murther /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): many/midnight /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): many/midnight/murther /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): foul/fed /f/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): midnight/fed /d/

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89 "Revere his consort's faith, his father's fame,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  fame   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪm/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): his/his /h/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): faith/father's/fame /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Revere/his/his /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): faith/fame /eɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): his/his /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): his/his /z/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): faith/father's/fame /f/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): his/his

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90 "And spare the meek usurper's holy head.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  head   |   Rhyme sound:  /ed/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): holy/head /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): holy/head /h/

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91 "Above, below, the rose of snow,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  snow   |   Rhyme sound:  /əʊ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): below/rose/snow /əʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Above/below /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Above/of /v/

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92 "Twined with her blushing foe, we spread:    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  spread   |   Rhyme sound:  /ed/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): with/we /w/

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93 "The bristled Boar in infant-gore    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  infant-gore   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔː/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): bristled/Boar /b/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): bristled/in/infant-gore /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Boar/infant-gore /ɔː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): bristled/Boar /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): in/infant-gore /n/

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94 "Wallows beneath the thorny shade.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  shade   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): beneath/thorny /θ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): beneath/thorny /n/

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95 "Now, brothers, bending o'er the accursed loom,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  loom   |   Rhyme sound:  /uːm/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): brothers/bending /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Now/bending /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): brothers/bending /b/
Figure:  syncope (morphological): o'er

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96 "Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghgigkk   |   Rhyme word(s):  doom   |   Rhyme sound:  /uːm/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): deep/doom /d/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Stamp/and/ratify /æ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): we/deep /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Stamp/doom /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): deep/doom /d/

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III. 1.

97 "Edward, lo! to sudden fate    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  fate   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Edward/sudden /d/

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98 "(Weave we the woof. The thread is spun)    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  spun   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Weave/we/woof /w/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Weave/we /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Weave/we/woof /w/

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99 "Half of thy heart we consecrate.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  consecrate   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Half/heart /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Half/heart /ɑː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): of/consecrate /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Half/heart /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): heart/consecrate /t/

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100 "(The web is wove. The work is done.)"    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  done   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): web/wove/work /w/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): is/is /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): web/wove/work /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): is/is /z/

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101 'Stay, oh stay! nor thus forlorn    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  forlorn   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Stay/stay /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Stay/stay /eɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): nor/forlorn /ɔː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Stay/stay/thus /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): nor/forlorn /n/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Stay/stay
Figure:  ecphonesis (pragmatic): oh...

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102 'Leave me unblessed, unpitied, here to mourn:    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  mourn   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɔːn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): me/mourn /m/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Leave/me /iː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): unblessed/unpitied /ʌ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): me/mourn /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): unblessed/unpitied/mourn /n/

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103 'In yon bright track, that fires the western skies,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  skies   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): bright/fires/skies /aɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): track/that /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): In/yon /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): bright/track/that /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): fires/skies /z/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): western/skies /s/

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104 'They melt, they vanish from my eyes.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  eyes   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): They/they /ð/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): melt/my /m/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): They/they /eɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): my/eyes /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): They/they /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): melt/from/my /m/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): They/they

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105 'But oh! what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  height   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): solemn/scenes/Snowdon's /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): oh/Snowdon's /əʊ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): what/solemn/on /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): But/what/height /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): solemn/scenes/Snowdon's /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): scenes/on /n/
Figure:  ecphonesis (pragmatic): oh...

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106 'Descending slow their glittering skirts unroll?    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  unroll   |   Rhyme sound:  /əʊl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): slow/skirts /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Descending/glittering /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): slow/unroll /əʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Descending/unroll /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Descending/slow/skirts /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): glittering/skirts /t/

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107 'Visions of glory, spare my aching sight,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  sight   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): spare/sight /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): my/sight /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Visions/of /v/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): spare/sight /s/

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108 'Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul!    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  soul   |   Rhyme sound:  /əʊl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): not/on /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): unborn/not/on /n/

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109 'No more our long-lost Arthur we bewail.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  bewail   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): long-lost/bewail /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): we/bewail /w/

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110 'All-hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's issue, hail!    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  hail   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪl/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  strophe (I)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): All-hail/hail /eɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): kings/Britannia's/issue /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): All-hail/hail /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): All-hail/hail /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): genuine/Britannia's /n/

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III. 2.

111 'Girt with many a baron bold    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  bold   |   Rhyme sound:  /əʊld/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): baron/bold /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): baron/bold /b/

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112 'Sublime their starry fronts they rear;    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  rear   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Sublime/starry /s/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): their/they /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Sublime/starry /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): their/they /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): starry/rear /r/

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113 'And gorgeous dames, and statesmen old    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  old   |   Rhyme sound:  /əʊld/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): And/and /æ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): dames/statesmen /eɪ/

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114 'In bearded majesty, appear.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  appear   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): bearded/appear /ɪə/
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): In

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115 'In the midst a form divine!    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  divine   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): In/midst/divine /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): In/divine /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): midst/divine /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): midst/form /m/
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): In

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116 'Her eye proclaims her of the Briton-line;    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  Briton-line   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Her/her /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Her/her /ɜː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): eye/Briton-line /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Her/her /h/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Her/her
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): Her

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117 'Her lion-port, her awe-commanding face,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  face   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪs/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Her/her /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Her/her /ɜː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): lion-port/awe-commanding /ɔː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Her/her /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): lion-port/awe-commanding /n/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Her/her
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): Her

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118 'Attempered sweet to virgin-grace.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  virgin-grace   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪs/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Attempered/sweet /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): sweet/virgin-grace /s/

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119 'What strings symphonious tremble in the air,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  air   |   Rhyme sound:  /eə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): strings/symphonious /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): strings/symphonious/in /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): What/tremble /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): strings/symphonious /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): symphonious/in /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): symphonious/tremble /m/
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): What

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120 'What strains of vocal transport round her play!    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  play   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): What/of /ɒ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): strains/play /eɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): What/transport /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): strains/transport/round /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): of/vocal /v/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): transport/play /p/
Figure:  anaphora (morphological): What

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121 'Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, hear;    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  hear   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Hear/hear /h/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): grave/great /g/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Hear/hear /ɪə/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): grave/great /eɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Hear/hear /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): grave/great /g/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): great/Taliessin /t/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Hear/hear

Add a correction, note or query to this line

122 'They breathe a soul to animate thy clay.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  clay   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): They/thy /ð/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): They/animate/clay /eɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): They/breathe/thy /ð/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

123 'Bright Rapture calls, and soaring, as she sings,    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  sings   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪŋz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): soaring/sings /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Rapture/and/as /æ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): calls/soaring /ɔː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Rapture/soaring /r/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): soaring/sings /s/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

124 'Waves in the eye of heaven her many-coloured wings.    
Rhyme:  ababccddefefgg   |   Rhyme word(s):  wings   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪŋz/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  antistrophe (II)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Waves/wings /w/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): heaven/her /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): in/wings /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): heaven/many-coloured /e/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Waves/wings /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Waves/of/heaven /v/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): in/many-coloured /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): heaven/her /h/

Add a correction, note or query to this line


III. 3.

125 'The verse adorn again    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  again   |   Rhyme sound:  /en/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): adorn/again /ə/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): adorn/again /n/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

126 'Fierce war and faithful love,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  love   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌv/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Fierce/faithful /f/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Fierce/faithful /f/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

127 'And truth severe, by fairy fiction dressed.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  dressed   |   Rhyme sound:  /est/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): fairy/fiction /f/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): severe/fiction /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): severe/dressed /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): fairy/fiction /f/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

128 'In buskined measures move    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  move   |   Rhyme sound:  /uːv/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): measures/move /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): measures/move /m/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

129 'Pale Grief, and pleasing Pain,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  Pain   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Pale/pleasing/Pain /p/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Pale/Pain /eɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Grief/pleasing /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Pale/pleasing/Pain /p/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

130 'With Horror, tyrant of the throbbing breast.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  breast   |   Rhyme sound:  /est/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Horror/of/throbbing /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Horror/tyrant /r/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): throbbing/breast /b/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

131 'A voice, as of the cherub-choir,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  cherub-choir   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): voice/of /v/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

132 'Gales from blooming Eden bear;    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  bear   |   Rhyme sound:  /eə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): blooming/bear /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): from/blooming /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): blooming/bear /b/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

133 'And distant warblings lessen on my ear,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  ear   |   Rhyme sound:  /ɪə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): distant/warblings /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): distant/lessen /s/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

134 'That lost in long futurity expire.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  expire   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): lost/long /l/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): lost/long /ɒ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): in/expire /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): That/futurity /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): lost/long /l/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): lost/expire /s/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

135 'Fond impious man, think'st thou, yon sanguine cloud,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  cloud   |   Rhyme sound:  /aʊd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Fond/yon /ɒ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): impious/think'st /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): man/sanguine /æ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): thou/cloud /aʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Fond/man/yon /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): impious/man /m/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): think'st/sanguine /ŋ/
Figure:  syncope (morphological): think'st

Add a correction, note or query to this line

136 'Raised by thy breath, has quenched the orb of day?    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  day   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): by/breath /b/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Raised/day /eɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): by/thy /aɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): breath/quenched /e/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Raised/has /z/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): by/breath/orb /b/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

137 'Tomorrow he repairs the golden flood,    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  flood   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌd/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Tomorrow/repairs /r/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

138 'And warms the nations with redoubled ray.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  ray   |   Rhyme sound:  /eɪ/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): redoubled/ray /r/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): nations/ray /eɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): warms/with /w/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): redoubled/ray /r/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

139 'Enough for me: with joy I see    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  see   |   Rhyme sound:  /iː/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Enough/with /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): me/see /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Enough/for /f/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

140 'The different doom our fates assign.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  assign   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): different/doom /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): different/doom /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): different/fates /f/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

141 'Be thine despair and sceptered care;    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  care   |   Rhyme sound:  /eə/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): despair/care /eə/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): despair/sceptered /s/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

142 'To triumph, and to die, are mine.'    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  mine   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪn/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): To/to /uː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): triumph/die/mine /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): triumph/mine /m/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

143 He spoke, and headlong from the mountain's height    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  height   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): He/headlong/height /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): headlong/from /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): He/headlong/height /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): from/mountain's /m/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

144 Deep in the roaring tide he plunged to endless night.    
Rhyme:  abcbacdeedfgfghieikk   |   Rhyme word(s):  night   |   Rhyme sound:  /aɪt/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Stanza:  epode (III)
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Deep/he /iː/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): tide/night /aɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Deep/plunged /p/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Deep/tide /d/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): in/plunged/endless/night /n/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): tide/night /t/

Add a correction, note or query to this line

Gray's annotations

4
Mocking the air with colours idly spread.
    Shakespear's King John. [V. i. 72]
5
The Hauberk was a texture of steel ringlets, or rings interwoven, forming a coat of mail, that sate close to the body, and adapted itself to every motion.
9
— [By] The crested adder's pride.
    Dryden's Indian Queen. [III. i. 84]
11
Snowdon was a name given by the Saxons to that mountainous tract, which the Welch themselves call Craigian-eryri: it included all the highlands of Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire, as far east as the river Conway. R. Hygden[,] speaking of the castle of Conway built by King Edward the first, says, ''Ad ortum amnis Conway ad clivum montis Erery [At the source of the River Conway on the slope of Mt. Erery];'' and Matthew of Westminster, (ad ann. 1283,) ''Apud Aberconway ad pedes montis Snowdoniae fecit erigi castrum forte [Near (or at) Aberconway at the foot of Mt. Snowdon, he caused a fortified camp to be constructed.].''
13
Gilbert de Clare, surnamed the Red, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, son-in-law to King Edward.
14
Edmond de Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore. They both were Lords-Marchers, whose lands lay on the borders of Wales, and probably accompanied the King in this expedition.
18
['... haggard, wch conveys to you the the Idea of a Witch, is indeed only a metaphor taken from an unreclaim'd Hawk, wch is called a Haggard, & looks wild & farouche & jealous of its liberty.' Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755, T & W no. 205.]
19
The image was taken from a well-known picture of Raphael, representing the Supreme Being in the vision of Ezekiel: there are two of these paintings (both believed original), one at Florence, the other at Paris.
20
Shone, like a meteor, streaming to the wind.
    Milton's Paradise Lost. [i. 537]
35
The shores of Caernarvonshire opposite to the isle of Anglesey.
38
Cambden and others observe, that eagles used annually to build their aerie among the rocks of Snowdon, which from thence (as some think) were named by the Welch Craigian-eryri, or the crags of the eagles. At this day (I am told) the highest point of Snowdon is called the eagle's nest. That bird is certainly no stranger to this island, as the Scots, and the people of Cumberland, Westmoreland, &c. can testify: it even has built its nest in the Peak of Derbyshire. [See Willoughby's Ornithol. published by Ray.] [John Ray (1627-1705) published (1676) and translated (London, 1678) the Ornithologia of his patron Francis Willughby (1635-72).]
40
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops,
That visit my sad heart—
    Shakesp. Jul. Caesar. [II. i. 289-90]
47
See the Norwegian Ode, that follows. [Fatal Sisters]
54
Edward the Second, cruelly butchered in Berkley-Castle [in 1327 near the Severn River in western England].
57
Isabel of France, Edward the Second's adulterous Queen.
59
Triumphs of Edward the Third in France.
64
Death of that King, abandoned by his Children, and even robbed in his last moments by his Courtiers and his Mistress [Alice Perrers, in 1377].
67
Edward, the Black Prince, dead some time before his Father [in 1376].
71
Magnificence of Richard the Second's reign. See Froissard, and other contemporary Writers.
77
Richard the Second, (as we are told by Archbishop Scroop and the confederate Lords in their manifesto, by Thomas of Walsingham, and all the older Writers)[,] was starved to death [in 1400]. The story of his assassination by Sir Piers of Exon, is of much later date.
83
Ruinous civil wars of York and Lancaster.
87
Henry the Sixth, George Duke of Clarence, Edward the Fifth, Richard Duke of York, &c. believed to be murthered secretly in the Tower of London. The oldest part of that structure is vulgarly attributed to Julius Caesar.
89
[Consort] Margaret of Anjou, a woman of heroic spirit, who struggled hard to save her Husband and her Crown.
[Father] Henry the Fifth.
90
Henry the Sixth very near being canonized. The line of Lancaster had no right of inheritance to the Crown.
91
The white and red roses, devices of York and Lancaster [presumably woven above and below on the loom].
93
The silver Boar was the badge of Richard the Third; whence he was usually known in his own time by the name of the Boar.
99
Eleanor of Castile died a few years after the conquest of Wales. The heroic proof she gave of her affection for her Lord [she is supposed to have sucked the poison from a wound Edward I received] is well known. The monuments of his regret, and sorrow for the loss of her, are still to be seen at Northampton, Geddington, Waltham, and other places.
109
It was the common belief of the Welch nation, that King Arthur was still alive in Fairy-Land, and should return again to reign over Britain.
110
Both Merlin [Myrddin] and Taliessin had prophesied, that the Welch should regain their sovereignty over this island; which seemed to be accomplished in the House of Tudor [1768].
Accession of the House of Tudor [1757].
117
Speed relating an audience given by Queen Elizabeth to Paul Dzialinski, Ambassadour of Poland, says, 'And thus she, lion-like rising, daunted the malapert Orator no less with her stately port and majestical deporture, than with the tartnesse of her princelie checkes.' [John Speed (1552-1629) published his History of Great Britaine ... to ... King James in 1611.]
121
Taliessin, Chief of the Bards, flourished in the VIth Century. His works are still preserved, and his memory held in high veneration among his Countrymen. [His Book exists in only a thirteenth-century version and many of the poems in it may not be by Taliessin.]
126
Fierce wars and faithful loves shall moralize my song.
    Spenser's Proëme to the Fairy Queen [l. 9].
128
Shakespear.
131
Milton.
133
The succession of Poets after Milton's time.

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 181 textual and 348 explanatory notes/queries.

All notes and queries are shown by default.

0 The Bard. A Pindaric Ode 18 Explanatory, 13 Textual

Title/Paratext] "[The Bard was begun in [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"[The Bard was begun in December 1754, immediately upon the completion of The Progress of Poesy. The exordium was finished in March 1755; Gray nicknamed it ''Odikle,'' and worked upon it fitfully until the autumn of 1755, when he laid it aside. He had begun it at Peterhouse; he took it up again at Pembroke in May 1757, being freshly inspired by a concert given by John Parry, the famous blind harper, and then finished it promptly. It was published, together with The Progress of Poesy, in the Odes of 1757, where it bore the title of Ode II. The text of 1757, which is given here, agrees in the most minute particulars with that of 1768; but the notes, though all by Gray, differ, and are here dated. Both editions are preceded by this Advertisement: - ''The following Ode is founded on a Tradition current in Wales, that Edward the First, when he compleated the conquest of that country, ordered all the Bards, that fell into his hands, to be put to death.'' - Ed.]"

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 40.

Title/Paratext] "The selections from Gray's letters [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The selections from Gray's letters which contain the most important references to these Odes are given on pp. 73, 74, 76, and 87.

Historical Sketch of the English Pindaric Ode.

The popular notion is that the poet Cowley (1618-1667) was the first man to write Pindaric Odes in English. He published his Pindaric Odes in 1656. They were not a mere imitation, but an invention. But he was more indebted to earlier work than seems to be generally supposed. Spenser's Epithalamion (1595) reminds one instantly of later odes. His stanzas fall into three or four parts, with short lines to break the monotony, but the parts are held together by rime. The grouping of verses is somewhat similar to what we see in the Pindaric Odes.
It is sometimes claimed that Ben Jonson wrote the first Pindaric Ode. In his Underwoods there is a Pindaric Ode To the Immortal Memory and Friendship of that Noble Pair, Sir Lucius Cary, and Sir H. Morison. This is divided as Pindar's odes were divided, into Strophes, Antistrophes, and Epodes. Jonson called his Strophe a ''Turn,'' his Antistrophe a ''Counter-turn,'' and his Epode the ''Stand.'' Undoubtedly he had classic odes in mind. Thomas Randolph, in his Ode to Ben Jonson, upon the occasion of the failure of The New Inn, says: '' 'Twere fond to let all other flames expire, To sit by Pindar's fire.''; thus recognizing Jonson's Pindaric attempts. Randolph himself wrote poems that look something like Pindaric Odes.
Cowley's Pindarics are by no means a strict imitation of Pindar. They are simply groups of verses of irregular length ending with a long line. At the time (1656) his curious metrical forms surprised everybody. He thought his rhapsodies and variations made his odes Pindaric; and some of his odes were in reality paraphrases of Pindar. But of course it was his deliberately studied enthusiasm joined with his poor ear for music, that killed his odes.
Congreve wrote true Pindaric Odes, going back more to Ben Jonson's notions, without apparently knowing what Jonson had done. The most famous man to write Pindarics after Cowley and Congreve, was Gray. It is unnecessary to say that the Progress of Poesy and the Bard are the best Pindaric Odes ever written.

The Metre

As Hales pointed out, this Ode is really divided into 3 stanzas, with 41 lines in each stanza. Again, each stanza is divided into 3 parts - strophe, antistrophe, and epode - the turn, counter-turn, and after-song, Greek theatrical names. The three strophes, antistrophes, and epodes are identical in construction; hence the architecture of the whole poem is curiously symmetrical, though one could easily read it without any perception of this fact.
This was, of course, in imitation of the symmetry of the Greek odes, which particularly appealed to Gray's precise metrical sense.
His own remarks on the metre are interesting. In a letter to Wharton, 9 March 1755 (Works, II, 262), he said: ''I am not quite of your opinion with regard to Strophe and Antistrophe. Setting aside the differences, methinks it has little or no effect upon the ear, which scarce perceives the regular return of metres at so great a distance from one another. To make it succeed, I am persuaded the stanzas must not consist of above nine lines each at the most. Pindar has several such odes.'' Mason adds an interesting note: ''He often made the same remark to me in conversations, which led me to form the last Ode of Caractacus in shorter stanzas: But we must not imagine that he thought the regular Pindaric method without its use. though, as he justly says, when formed in long stanzas, it does not fully succeed in point of effect on the ear: for there was nothing which he more disliked than that chain of irregular stanzas which Cowley introduced, and falsely called Pindaric; and which from the extreme facility of execution, produced a number of miserable imitators. ... It is also to be remarked, that Mr. Congreve, who first introduced the regular Pindaric form into the English language, made use of the short stanzas which Mr. Gray here recommends.''"

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, 148-150.

Title/Paratext] "Gray began to write this [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Gray began to write this ode in 1754, and worked at it, but only occasionally, until 1757, when he finished it. We learn from a letter to Mason, 1757 (Works, II, 312), that the following incident inspired Gray to finish the Bard: ''Mr. Parry has been here and scratched out such ravishing blind harmony, such tunes of a thousand years old, with names enough to choke you, as have set all this learned body a-dancing, and inspired them with due reverence for Odikle, whenever it shall appear. Mr. Parry ... has put Odikle in motion again.'' He then encloses the conclusion of the poem. In the same year (1757) it was printed as ''Ode II'' along with the Progress of Poesy on Horace Walpole's press at Strawberry Hill. (See Introductory note to the Progress of Poesy.) Gray's own foot-notes, added chiefly in the 1768 edition of his poems, are necessary to a correct understanding of this ode."

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, 156.

Title/Paratext] "In Mason's Notes on the [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"In Mason's Notes on the Bard (p. 91 of his Poems of Gray, 1775), he gives ''the original argument of this capital Ode, as its author had set it down on one of the pages of his common-place book.'' It is as follows: ''The army of Edward I. as they march through a deep valley, are suddenly stopped by the appearance of a venerable figure seated on the summit of an inaccessible rock, who, with a voice more than human, reproaches the King with all the misery and desolation which he had brought on his country; foretells the misfortunes of the Norman race, and with prophetic spirit declares, that all his cruelty shall never extinguish the noble ardour of poetic genius in this island; and that men shall never be wanting to celebrate true virtue and valour in immortal strains, to expose vice and infamous pleasure, and boldly censure tyranny and oppression. His song ended, he precipitates himself from the mountain, and is swallowed up by the river that rolls at its foot.''
The popular reception of the Bard, as well as of the Progress of Poesy, was not altogether gratifying. See Introduction, part iv, also pp. 74-77, 87, 89, and Works, II, 323, 331."

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, 157.

Title/Paratext] "[Advertisement.] The tradition that Edward [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"[Advertisement.] The tradition that Edward I. (reign 1272-1307) hanged all the bards, Gray may have met with in Carte's History of England, Book viii, vol. II, p. 196. This second volume was published in 1750, and Gray did not begin to write until 1754. Carte says: ''The only set of men among the Welsh, that had reason to complain of Edward's severity, were the bards who used to put those of the ancient Britons in mind of the valiant deeds of their ancestors: he ordered them all to be hanged, as inciters of the people to sedition.'' He refers as his authority to a seventeenth-century work, Sir J. Wynne's History of the Gwedir Family. The so-called ''tradition,'' which has not been traced to any earlier source than Wynne, is explored by Thomas Stephens (Literature of the Kymry, 2d ed., 93 ff.), who remarks: ''It is probable that the worthy Baronet was led to form this conclusion from knowing that Edward issued an edict against the bards.'' This edict, however, Stephens shows to have been, like all the later edicts, directed merely against vagrant minstrels and not dissimilar probably to those regulations which Ritson gleefully quoted against Bishop Percy as to the English minstrels. No one will wish to contend that a vagrant Welsh harper may not at some time have been hanged; but there is no evidence for it, still less for a general massacre of bards. Henry IV.'s edict was to all intents and purposes a re-enactment of that of Edward I. (See note to Long Story, v. 51.)"

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, 157.

Title/Paratext] "In a letter, dated August [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"In a letter, dated August 6, 1755, Gray sent Dr. Wharton the first part of ''The Bard,'' and on the 21st August a bit more of the ''Prophecy'' (from line 57 to the end, but unfinished in places). In May, 1757, in a letter to Mason, he states that Parry, the Welsh harper, had been at Cambridge, and his ''ravishing blind harmony'' and ''tunes of a thousand years old'' had put the ''Odikle'' in motion again, and that he had then completed it, and he concluded his letter with the last two stanzas. It was printed, as we have seen, with ''The Progress of Poesy'' at Horace Walpole's press, and published on the 8th August, 1757, and bore the title of ''Ode II.''"

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], 196.

Title/Paratext] "In his Commonplace Book, Gray [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"In his Commonplace Book, Gray wrote the following as what he originally intended to be the argument of the ''Bard''; but he did not finish it in accordance with his original plan: - ''The army of Edward I., as they march through a deep valley, and approach Mount Snowdon, are suddenly stopped by the appearance of a venerable figure seated on the summit of an inaccessible rock, who, with a voice more than human, reproaches the king with all the desolation and misery which he had brought on his country; foretells the misfortunes of the Norman race, and with prophetic spirit declares that all his cruelty shall never extinguish the noble ardour of poetic genius in this island; and that men shall never be wanting to celebrate true virtue and valour in immortal strains, to expose vice and infamous pleasure, and boldly censure tyranny and oppression. His song ended, he precipitates himself from the mountain, and is swallowed up by the river that rolls at its foot.''"

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], 196/197.

Title/Paratext] "On Aug. 6, 1755 Gray [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"On Aug. 6, 1755 Gray writes to Wharton, ''What did you think of the Morceau I sent you?'' this was probably the opening of the Bard. On the 21st he wrote again, ''I have sent now to Stonhewer a bit more of the prophecy and desire him to show it you immediately; it is very rough and unpolish'd at present.''
It is clear from this that the MS. which follows in the Wharton correspondence, [Egerton MSS. Brit. Mus.] comprising the whole of the Bard from 'She-Wolf' to the end, was not sent with this letter, and when it was received and inserted in this place of the correspondence I cannot say. It is not that sent to Stonhewer, for it is, with the corrections, a complete thing, at least from l. 57; the last 88 lines of the poem almost verbatim as we have them now. Moreover on the same 21st of August Gray wrote to Stonhewer, ''I annex a piece of the Prophecy which must be true, at least, as it was wrote so many years after the event,'' and Mason says that this was the second Antistrophe and Epode with a few lines of the third Strophe (i.e. from l. 63 to l. 100 or thereabouts). Ten more lines were added before May, 1757 in which month Gray wrote to Mason, ''Mr Parry [the blind Welsh harper] has been here [at Cambridge] and scratched out such ravishing blind harmony, such tunes of a thousand years old, with names enough to choke you, as have set all this learned body a-dancing, and inspired them with due reverence for Odikle [the Bard] when ever it shall appear. Mr Parry (you must know) it was that has put Odikle in motion again. ... You remember the 'Visions of Glory' that descended on the heights of Snowdon, and unrolled their glittering skirts so slowly.'' And then he adds the third Antistrophe and Epode (i.e. the conclusion of the poem) in a form which varies, as will be noted, from the final text, but almost exactly as does the Wharton MS. in its uncorrected state.
In the textual notes which follow, 'Mason MS.' and 'Wharton MS.' refer to the fragments above described.
The Bard, as we have seen, was printed in 1757 with the Progress of Poesy at Strawberry Hill, for Dodsley. It was, at this its first appearance, called Ode II. It had four notes, to be indicated below by the date (the rest of Gray's notes belong to 1768), also this preface first appeared in 1757:
''The following Ode is founded on a Tradition current in Wales, that Edward the First, when he compleated the conquest of that country, ordered all the Bards, that fell into his hands, to be put to death.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 204/205.

Title/Paratext] "Mason says that the exordium [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Mason says that the exordium of the Bard was finished by March 9, 1755, at which date Gray wrote to Wharton declining to publish the 'Progress of Poesy' alone, adding ''I have two or three ideas more in my head.'' Of these it is probable that the fragmentary 'Vicissitude,' which follows, was one. And on the same page of Gray's common place book with the Argument for the Bard, given infra, Mason found the following:
''All that men of power can do for men of genius is to leave them at their liberty, compared to birds that, when confined to a cage, do but regret the loss of their freedom in melancholy strains, and lose the luscious wildness and happy luxuriance of their notes, which used to make the woods resound.'' That we have here the nucleus of a poem is very likely; and the place in which it is found, makes it possible that this was another of the ''two or three ideas'' of which Gray speaks, 'the Bard' being the third. We have only Mason's word for the date of the completion of the 'Exordium', but to Gray, on Nov. 26, 1755, he writes of ''the fragment of your Welsh Ode, now just warm from your brain.''
The Argument above mentioned runs thus:
''The army of Edward I. as they march through a deep valley, are suddenly stopped by the appearance of a venerable figure seated on the summit of an inacessible rock, who, with a voice more than human, reproaches the King with all the misery and desolation which he has brought on his country; foretells the misfortunes of the Norman race, and with prophetic spirit declares, that all his cruelty shall never extinguish the noble ardour of poetic genius in this island; and that men shall never be wanting to celebrate true virtue and valour in immortal strains, to expose vice and infamous pleasure, and boldly censure tyranny and oppression. His song ended, he precipitates himself from the mountain, and is swallowed up by the river that rolls at its foot.''
Mason regrets that Gray has departed from this scheme in as far as he has not represented the poets as exposing Vice and infamous Pleasure &c.; he suggests that Gray lacked instances in English Poets; Shakespeare made Falstaff amiable, Milton denounced tyranny in prose, Dryden was a parasite, Pope, though he detested corruption and bribery, was a Tory, and Addison, though a Whig, was not a great poet!! Mason is scarcely successful in interpreting the workings of Gray's mind. Gray's note is a most rudimentary sketch, it does not include the ghostly chorus of the brother-bards; and it is not the difficulty but the unfitness of the effort that makes him refrain from picturing the poets as satirists of vice and tyranny. It would have been mere bathos, and such a threat would have had no meaning for the ''ruthless king,'' though he might be awed by the vaguely foreshadowed horrors that awaited his descendants, and by the strange sense of a spiritual power which his barbarity could not destroy."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 203/204.

Title/Paratext] "Dr Phelps thinks that Gray [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Dr Phelps thinks that Gray may have found this tradition in the second volume of Carte's History of England, which was published in 1750. Carte asserts that Edward ordered all the bards to be hanged, as inciters to sedition, and refers to Sir J. Wynne's History of the Gwedir Family written in the 17th century. The edict was perhaps only directed against vagrant minstrels in general, like that of Henry IV. which was a re-enactment of it. See n. on Long Story l. 51. The enormous wealth of material in Welsh poetry from the reign of Edward I. to that of Elizabeth is held to prove sufficiently that neither Edward I. nor Henry IV. did much to extirpate the Welsh bards."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 205/206.

Title/Paratext] "The reception of both Odes, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The reception of both Odes, but particularly of the Bard, was curious. Gray (to Hurd, Aug. 25, 1757) says that a peer believed the last stanza of the Bard related to King Charles the First and Oliver Cromwell, and that he has heard of nobody but a player and a doctor of divinity (Garrick and Warburton) that ''profess their esteem for them.'' ''O yes,'' he adds, ''a lady of quality, a friend of Mason's, who is a great reader. She knew there was a compliment to Dryden, but never suspected there was anything said about Shakespeare or Milton, until it was explained to her; and wishes there had been titles prefixed to tell what they were about.'' Gray told Mason about the same time, ''Mr Fox, supposing the Bard sang his song but once over, does not wonder if Edward the First did not understand him. This last criticism is somewhat unhappy, for though it had been sung a hundred times under his window, it was absolutely impossible King Edward should understand him; but that is no reason for Mr Fox, who lives almost 500 years after him. It is very well; the next thing I print shall be in Welch, - that's all.'' It appears from the same letter that Lord Lyttelton and Shenstone admired the poems, but wished them clearer. Walpole's admiration of them was adroitly tempered, according to circumstances. To Lyttelton he deprecates the notion that he is ''an enthusiast to Mr Gray''; he even finds the second strophe of the first Ode ('Man's feeble race' &c.) inexcusable; he asks, about the Bard, ''What punishment was it to Edward I. to hear that his grandson would conquer France?'' and he thinks the deserted death-bed of Edward III. too common an accident of human life to be a terror worth prophesying. Gray might have retorted that, though Edward might not be scared, that was no reason why Walpole should not be impressed; that the bard's vision has a wider scope than the punishment of the King; that it was surely some Nemesis on the She-wolf of France that her native-land should be desolated by her own son, and that the miserable death of Edward III. is one of the tragic facts of history, just because a common fate of the poor and helpless befell a powerful and victorious king.
On the very same day on which Walpole thus wrote to Lyttelton, he wrote co Montagu, ''You are very particular, I can tell you, in liking Gray's Odes - but you must remember that the age likes Akenside, and did like Thomson! can the same people like both?'' He knew better; he had just been telling Lyttelton, the friend and admirer of Thomson, that his approbation of Gray was conclusive, and stamped a disgrace on the age which could see no beauty in the 'Odes.'
I have very little doubt that Macpherson had studied the Bard to purpose and returned Gray's wares upon his hands in the Poems of Ossian. The elaboration of structure in these poems, - impossible to reconcile with the story of their collection, - was probably due to Gray's example, e.g. 'Comala' is a dramatic poem with five persons and a chorus of Bards. And cf. on ll. 20, 28.
Mason has a note recording Gray's suggestions when ''Mr Smith, the Musical Composer, and worthy pupil of Mr Handel, had once an idea of setting this Ode.'' The overture, Gray says, ''should be so contrived as to be a proper introduction to the Ode; it might consist of two movements, the first descriptive of the horror and confusion of battle, the last a march grave and majestic, but expressing the exultation and insolent security of conquest. The movement should be composed entirely of wind instruments, except the kettle-drum heard at intervals. The da capo of it must be suddenly broken in upon, and put to silence by the clang of the harp in a tumultuous rapid movement, joined with the voice, and not ushered in by any symphony. The harmony may be strengthened by any other stringed instrument; but the harp should every where prevail, and form the continued running accompaniment, submitting itself to nothing but the voice.'' Compare with this sketch by Gray the beautiful setting of the Bard by Professor Villiers Stanford, who worked, as he tells me, not knowing Gray's instructions. He writes to me, ''When I began the composition with a march, I thought I was inventing what ought to be there, and lo! I see I only carried out Gray's orders.'' Again, ''The harp does enter with the voice without any symphony, and does 'everywhere prevail'.''
''The Bard'' says Johnson, ''appears, at the first view, as Algarotti and others have remarked, an imitation of the prophecy of Nereus. Algarotti thinks it superior to its original; and if preference depends only on the imagery and animation of the two poems, his judgment is right. There is in 'the Bard' more force, more thought, and more variety.''
Johnson refers to the ''Pastor cum traheret'' &c. of Horace (Carm. I. 15), wherein Nereus, the sea-god, is represented staying with a calm the voyage of Paris as he is carrying off Helen, whilst he prophesies the war that is to follow and the doom that awaits the seducer. Gray repudiated the notion that he had imitated this, though it was early suggested by a reviewer; he wrote to Wharton (Dec. 2, 1758) '' 'Pastor cum traheret' was falsely laid to my charge.'' Johnson knew only Mason's collection, in which this letter did not appear. But Algarotti, whose letter to W. T. How, Dec. 26, 1762, apud Mason, Johnson had read, does not say that Gray imitated Horace. A comparison between the two poems was nevertheless inevitable."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 206-208.

Title/Paratext] "Begun in 1754, laid aside [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"Begun in 1754, laid aside in 1755, and completed in 1757 for publication with 'The Progress of Poesy'."

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], 161.

Title/Paratext] "'The Bard' was Gray's first [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"'The Bard' was Gray's first excursion into Mediaevalism. None of his notes cite parallels from classical writers."

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], 161.

Title/Paratext] "[It was begun in December [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"[It was begun in December 1754: the first part was sent to Wharton before August 6, 1755, and a further portion was sent to Stonhewer and passed on to Wharton towards the end of the month. Gray then laid it aside until May 1757, when he was freshly inspired by hearing Parry, a Welsh harper, and finished it. It was published in August of that year (see preliminary note to Progress of Poesy). Parts of the poem, before it was finished, were sent to Bedingfield, Mason, and Wharton (see notes).]"

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], 54.

Title/Paratext] "In August 1756 Gray sent [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"In August 1756 Gray sent ll. 25-56 in a letter to Bedingfield and in May 1757 ll. 115-44 in a letter to Mason; a little later he sent or gave to Wharton a copy of ll. 57-144 with his final corrections written above the line and his earlier versions struck out (see Letter 205 A)."

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], 171.

Title/Paratext] "Gray, in a brief introduction, [...]" W.C. Eppstein, 1959.

"Gray, in a brief introduction, states that the ode is founded on a Welsh tradition that Edward I, on conquering the country, ordered all the Bards to be put to death. Although the poem was begun in 1755, it was not completed till nearly thirty months after, the immediate cause being the visit of a blind Welsh harpist to Cambridge. The poem, which for a hundred years was regarded as without rival in its sublimity, though not differing widely in form from the other Pindaric odes, gives us a much more concrete view of History, with graphic touches almost inimitable in their fidelity. Contrary to his usual practice of trusting entirely, in Baconian phrase, to his own ''fine and fastidious'' mind, Gray freely discussed the poem and its subject, during its somewhat protracted construction, with Mason and others. In the stately procession of English sovereigns that pass before us no description, perhaps, rivals that of the court of Queen Elizabeth, a description reminiscent of Hobbinol's Song in Spenser."

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

Title/Paratext] "First published by Walpole at [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"First published by Walpole at Strawberry Hill, 1757 (O[des, 1757]). [T]he designations Strophe, Antistrophe, &c. [...] [appear only in] the MSS. [...]. The only explanatory notes in O[des, 1757,] were variants of those printed below to ll. 77, 99, 121. The note to l. 110 read merely: 'Accession of the line of Tudor.'"

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 18.

Title/Paratext] "Advertisement. The following Ode [is] [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Advertisement. The following Ode [is] This Ode [in] M[ason]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 18.

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

"Title: ODE / VI. / THE / BARD. / PINDARIC. M[ason]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 18.

Title/Paratext] "Gray evidently started the poem [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Gray evidently started the poem late in 1754 and worked on it, probably very intermittently, through August of 1755 (T & W no. 199). He then seems to have lost interest in it until May 1757, when he heard John Parry 'play on the Welch Harp at a concert at Cambridge ... which he often declared inspired him with the conclusion' (Mason, ii. 92). On 24 or 31 May 1757 Gray wrote to Mason (T & W no. 238): '... Mr Parry has been here, & scratch'd out such ravishing blind Harmony, such tunes of a thousand year old with names enough to choak you, as have set all this learned body a'dancing, & inspired them with due reverence for Odikle [The Bard], whenever it shall appear. Mr Parry (you must know) it was, that has put Odikle in motion again, & with much exercise it has got a tender Tail grown, like Scroddles [Mason], and here it is, if you don't like it, you may kiss it.' Gray continued to revise the poem until its publication in August (see textual notes to Progress of Poesy). Mason (ii. 91) writes:

I promised the reader ... the original argument of this capital Ode, as its author had set it down on one of the pages of his commonplace book. It is as follows: 'The army of Edward I. as they march through a deep valley, are suddenly stopped by the appearance of a venerable figure seated on the summit of an inaccessible rock, who, with a voice more than human, reproaches the King with all the misery and desolation which he had brought on his country; foretells the misfortunes of the Norman race, and with prophetic spirit declares, that all his cruelty shall never extinguish the noble ardour of poetic genius in this island; and that men shall never be wanting to celebrate true virtue and valour in immortal strains, to expose vice and infamous pleasure, and boldly censure tyranny and oppression. His song ended, he precipitates himself from the mountain, and is swallowed up by the river that rolls at its foot.' Fine as the conclusion of this Ode is at present, I think it would have been still finer, if he could have executed it according to this plan: but unhappily for his purpose, instances of English Poets were wanting.
For the influence of Welsh rhythm and alliteration on The Bard see W. P. Jones, Thomas Gray, Scholar (Cambridge, Mass., 1937), pp. 92-94, and the notes in C[ommonplace] B[ook]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 208.

Title/Paratext] "Written between 1755 and May [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Written between 1755 and May 1757. G[ray]. told Thomas Wharton in a letter dated 9 March 1755 that, in addition to The Progress of Poesy completed in the previous year, he had 'two or three Ideas more in my head' (Corresp i 420). According to Mason, 'One of these was the BARD, the exordium of which [presumably ll. 1-22] was at this time finished' (Memoirs p. 233). G. worked hard on the poem during the summer. On 6 Aug. 1755 he asked Wharton's opinion of the 'Morceau' he had sent him, evidently ll. 1-56 of the poem (Corresp i 428). On 21 Aug. he wrote to Stonhewer: 'As you have the politeness to pretend impatience, and desire I would communicate, and all that, I annex a piece of the Prophecy; which must be true at least, as it was wrote so many hundred years after the events' (Corresp i 432-3). The extract from The Bard which accompanied this letter has not survived, but Mason described it as 'The second Antistrophe and Epode, with a few lines of the third Strophe' i.e. ll. 63 - c. 100 (Memoirs p. 241 n). This extract was to be sent on to Wharton, to whom G. also wrote on the same day, describing it as 'very rough & unpolish'd at present' and discussing Wharton's comments on what he had already seen of the poem (Corresp i 434).
At this point, with more than two-thirds of the poem in draft, G.'s creative energy suddenly flagged. In mid-Oct. 1755 he admitted to Wharton that he had 'not done a word more of Bard, having been in a very listless, unpleasant, & inutile state of Mind for this long while'; and another letter to Wharton of 9 Jan. 1756 shows that he had still added nothing to what he had written in the previous summer (Corresp i 442-3, ii 457). Late in April 1756, after discussing the Progress of Poesy, he explained to Bedingfield that, 'I have written part of another, wch intends to be much better, but my Inspiration is very apt to fail me before I come to a conclusion' (Corresp ii 462). Another letter to Bedingfield of 27 Aug. 1756 shows that he had already sent his friend ll. 1-22 of The Bard and he now sent ll. 23-56, discussing his sources and borrowings in some detail (Corresp ii 475-8). By the end of 1756, however, he had still made no further progress with the poem (Corresp ii 486, 488).
One reason for G.'s inability to finish the poem, according to Mason, Poems pp. 91-2, lay in the 'original argument' which he quoted from G.'s Commonplace Book. It is notable that in this version there is no mention of the chorus of bards:
'The army of Edward I. as they march through a deep valley, are suddenly stopped by the appearance of a venerable figure seated on the summit of an inaccessible rock, who, with a voice more than human, reproaches the King with all the misery and desolation which he had brought on his country; foretells the misfortunes of the Norman race, and with prophetic spirit declares, that all his cruelty shall never extinguish the noble ardour of poetic genius in this island; and that men shall never be wanting to celebrate true virtue and valour in immortal strains, to expose vice and infamous pleasure, and boldly censure tyranny and oppression. His song ended, he precipitates himself from the mountain, and is swallowed up by the river that rolls at its foot.'
Unfortunately, Mason believed, G. was unable in practice to persuade himself that the English poets from Spenser to Addison had been preoccupied with the celebration of 'true virtue and valour'; and Mason remembered that 'the Ode lay unfinished by him for a year or two on this very account'.
G. did not in fact complete The Bard until May 1757. At the end of that month he sent a draft of the conclusion (ll. 111-44) to Mason and described the event which had provided him with the inspiration to finish the poem (Corresp ii 501-3). This had been a visit to Cambridge by John Parry, a blind musician of Ruabon in Wales, harper to Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, and the joint editor of some of the earliest collections of Welsh music: 'Mr Parry has been here, & scratch'd out such ravishing blind Harmony, such tunes of a thousand year old with names enough to choak you, as have set all this learned body a'dancing, & inspired them with due reverence for Odikle, whenever it shall appear. Mr Parry (you must know) it was, that has put Odikle in motion again, & with much exercise it has got a tender Tail grown ...' This draft of the conclusion had been extensively revised by the time G. wrote again to Mason on 11 June 1757 (Corresp ii 503-4) when he discussed objections that his friends had been making to it and explained other alterations. A copy of ll. 57-144 of the poem in G.'s hand, now with the Wharton MSS (Corresp i 434-7), seems to embody the changes G. made between his letter to Mason at the end of May and that of 11 June. G. may well have given this corrected version to Wharton in mid-June 1757, when they met in London."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 177-179.

Title/Paratext] "G[ray]. was now anxious that [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. was now anxious that his two Pindaric Odes should be published together without delay. On 29 June 1757 he signed a receipt for 40 guineas for the copyright from Dodsley, reserving to himself only 'the right of reprinting them in any one Edition I may hereafter print of my Works' (Corresp ii 513 n). At this point, Horace Walpole, somewhat to G.'s dismay, interfered by asking that he should be allowed to print them for Dodsley at his newly established press at Strawberry Hill. Walpole himself said in a letter to Chute, 12 July 1757 (Letters, ed. Toynbee, iv 73) that he had 'snatched' the Odes 'out of Dodsley's hands'; and G. told Mason on 1 Aug. (Corresp ii 512): 'they had been out three weeks ago, but Mr W:, having taken it into his head to set up a Press of his own at Twickenham, was so earnest to handsel it with this new pamphlet, that it was impossible to find a pretence for refusing such a trifle. you will dislike this, as much as I do, but there is no help. you understand, it is he, that prints them not for me, but for Dodsley.'
Walpole's new press was 'erected' on 25 June 1757 and began to print the Odes, its first book, on 16 July. By 3 Aug. 1000 copies had been printed and on 8 August 2000 copies were published by Dodsley (Paget Toynbee, Journal of the Printing-office at Strawberry Hill (1923) p. 3). The existence of copies of the Odes on both thick and thin paper, with minor textual variants, caused at one time a considerable amount of bibliographical speculation. It is now established that the copies on thick paper belong to an independent small edn of perhaps 100 copies, printed by Thomas Kirgate at the Strawberry Hill press in about 1790. For a full discussion see A. T. Hazen, Bibliography of the Strawberry Hill Press (New Haven, 1942) pp. 23-31. In spite of G.'s uneasiness about Walpole's printing the Odes and the fact that he detected a number of errata, he admitted that the book was 'very pleasant to the eye, & will do no dishonour to your Press' (Corresp ii 513)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 179/180.

Title/Paratext] "For all his defiant awareness [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"For all his defiant awareness that the Odes would perplex many of his readers, G[ray]. had never hitherto been so anxious to learn the opinions of his friends and the world at large. He had told Bedingfield in Aug. 1756 that he expected that few female readers would be able to understand 'this kind of composition', but the reasons he gave would obviously also apply to many of his male readers (Corresp ii 478): 'there is a certain measure of learning necessary, & a long acquaintance with the good Writers ancient & modern ... and without this they can only catch here & there a florid expression, or a musical rhyme, while the Whole appears to them a wild obscure unedifying jumble.' G.'s reluctance to annotate the Odes has been described in the headnote to the Progress of Poesy, which had no notes in 1757. Walpole persuaded G. to provide an Advertisement and four short notes for The Bard, but they did not prevent a considerable amount of confusion in his readers, which G. reported to his friends with grim relish. The 'intelligent' to whom he had expected the Odes to be 'vocal' turned out to be 'still fewer, than even I expected'. In Sept. 1757 he told Mason that 'nobody understands me, & I am perfectly satisfied' (Corresp ii 518, 522). Neither statement was entirely true, for there were enthusiastic readers (see W. Powell Jones, 'The Contemporary Readers of Gray's Odes', MP xxviii (1930-1) 61-82, and R. W. Ketton-Cremer, Thomas Gray pp. 153-7); and G. was by no means satisfied about some of the misunderstandings. As he told Wharton in mid-Aug. (Corresp ii 518): 'the great objection is obscurity, no body knows what we would be at. one Man (a Peer) I have been told of, that thinks the last Stanza of [The Bard] relates to Charles the first & Oliver Cromwell.' In 1768 G. at last provided his readers with full historical notes to The Bard, but his last comment was as defiant as ever, when he explained his concession to James Beattie (Corresp iii 1002): 'as to the notes I do it out of spite, because the Publick did not understand the two odes (wch I have call'd Pindaric) tho' the first was not very dark, & the second alluded to a few common facts to be found in any six-penny History of England by way of question & answer for the use of children. the parallel passages I insert out of justice to those writers, from whom I happen'd to take the hint of any line, as far as I can recollect.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 180.

Title/Paratext] "G[ray].'s 'Advertisement' in 1757 read: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray].'s 'Advertisement' in 1757 read: 'The following Ode is founded on a Tradition current in Wales, that EDWARD the First, when he compleated the Conquest of that country, ordered all the Bards, that fell into his hands, to be put to death.' G.'s source for the tradition was a passage in Thomas Carte's General History of England ii (1750) 196, concerning Edward I's campaigns in Wales:

'The onely set of men among the Welsh, that had reason to complain of Edward's severity, were the Bards, who used to put those remains of the antient Britains in mind of the valiant deeds of their ancestors: he ordered them all to be hanged, as inciters of the people to sedition. Politicks in this point got the better of the king's natural lenity: and those, who were afterwards entrusted with the government of the country, following his example, the profession becoming dangerous, gradually declined, and, in a little time, that sort of men was utterly destroyed.'

Carte's acknowledged source for this information was 'Sir J. Wynne's Hist. of the Gwedir Family, p. 31'. G. seems to have come across the passage in Carte in 1755, for he made a note on the fly-leaf of his pocketbook for that year of 'J. Wynne's Account of the Gwedir Family', presumably intending to consult it. Wynne's History was in fact still in MS and was not published until 1770.
The passage in Carte provided G. with a sufficient source for The Bard, but his interest in the tradition did not cease with the publication of the poem nor did he accept it as necessarily authentic. At some date before 1759, in the course of the historical review of Anglo-Welsh relations in the long article 'Cambri' in his Commonplace Book, G. wrote of Edward I: 'he is said to have hanged up all their Bards, because they encouraged the Nation to rebellion, but their works (we see), still remain, the Language (tho' decaying) still lives, & the art of their versification is known, and practised to this day among them.' Later in the essay G. prefaced quotations from records and documents of the reign of Edward I from William Wotton's edition of Leges Wallicae (1730), with another qualification of Carte's story: 'Whatever severity Edward the first might exercise at the time, when he reduced that Country, on some of the Welch Bards; yet it appears, he proceeded no farther against them in general, than to order that they should not travel (as usual) about Wales, nor ask any rewards from the Inhabitants.'
G. thus arrived at the modern conclusion about the tradition preserved by Carte: that Edward I did not in fact suppress the bards but merely issued an edict against vagrancy. Nevertheless, it is not surprising that G. welcomed evidence to suggest that his poem had some historical basis, as is clear from the correspondence between Thomas Percy and Evan Evans, the Welsh scholar. Percy wrote to Evans on 21 July 1761, mentioning that he had been told that Evans was 'acquainted with Mr Gray the Poet', and asking whether there was any truth in the tradition that Edward I hanged the Welsh bards, as G. had asserted in his poem.
Evans replied on 8 Aug. 1761 that he did not know G., but that the tradition about the bards was 'very true' and quoted as evidence the passage from Wynne's MS History of the Gwedir Family (in the Mostyn Library) which had been Thomas Carte's source. On 15 Oct. 1761 Percy wrote to tell Evans that he had recently visited Cambridge and that early in Sept. he had spent an afternoon with G.: 'Our discourse turned on you and the Welsh Poetry: I shewed him your Letter, and he desired leave to transcribe the passage relating to K. Edwd's massacre of the Welsh bards. - All the authority he had before, it seems, was only a short hint in Carte's History. He seemed very glad of this authentic extract.' See The Correspondence of Thomas Percy and Evan Evans, ed. Aneirin Lewis (Baton Rouge, 1957) pp. 5, 11-12, 14-15; and for further discussion, E. D. Snyder, The Celtic Revival 1760-1800 (1923) pp. 42-5; W. Powell Jones, Thomas Gray, Scholar (1937) pp. 95-8; and Corresp ii 746-7 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, 180-182.

Title/Paratext] "A few minor points in [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"A few minor points in connection with The Bard may be mentioned in conclusion. On several occasions it was stated that G.'s model was Nereus's prophecy of the destruction of Troy, in Horace's Odes I xv. The suggestion was first made by Goldsmith in the Monthly Review xvii (1757) 242, and the resemblance was again noted by Algarotti in a letter to William Taylor How dated 26 Dec. 1762, printed by Mason in 1775, Poems p. 85. Johnson also stated in his Life of G. (Lives of the Poets, ed. G. B. Hill, iii 438) that 'The Bard appears, at the first view, to be ... an imitation of the prophecy of Nereus'. In a letter to Wharton in Oct. 1757, G. stated that he particularly admired Goldsmith's suggestion of his indebtedness to Horace, which might appear to be an acknowledgement of this source; but in Dec. 1758 he described the imitation of Horace as 'falsely laid to my charge' (Corresp ii 532, 602). It is likely that the idea of the Bard's prophecy was in fact suggested to G. by some such work as Thomas Pugh's British and Out-landish Prophesies: Most Of above a 1000 years Antiquity, the rest very Antient: Foretelling The several Revolutions which hath and shall befall the Scepter of ENGLAND .. published in Welsh and English for the satisfaction of the Intelligent in either TONGUE, 1658. This work purported to show that English history had been prophesied by the ancient Welch poets. Rose M. Davis, Stephen Duck, Univ. of Maine Studies, 1926, pp. 170-1, points out that, although there is no verbal resemblance between The Bard and Duck's Caesar's Camp (1755), in each of them occurs 'an ancient seer of Celtic race, who censures a victorious conqueror of his native land and then beholds the future unroll'd in a vision, which he uses as a weapon of reproach against the warrior'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 182.

Title/Paratext] "From G[ray].'s writings on Welsh [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"From G[ray].'s writings on Welsh poetry in his Commonplace Book it is clear that he understood at least some its principles. How far they can be assumed to have affected the versification of The Bard has not been settled and would not be easy to establish. G. himself admitted to attempting to imitate 'a peculiar measure in the Welch Prosody' by a recurring 'double cadence' (see l. 43 n) and this may support suggestions that to some extent he also tried to reproduce the alliterative patterns of the Welsh cynghanedd in The Bard. See E. D. Snyder, 'Thomas Gray's interest in Celtic', MP xi (1914) 562; and W. Powell Jones, Thomas Gray, Scholar pp. 92-3. The idea is rejected, however, by Roger Martin, Essai sur Thomas Gray p. 453, on the grounds that the Elegy can be shown to contain alliteration as frequent and complex as any in The Bard. Arthur Johnston, 'Gray's use of the Gorchest y Beirdd in The Bard', MLR lix (1964) 335-8, discusses the relationship of ll. 43-6 to Welsh metrical practice and examines earlier and closer example of the metre in English poetry. He points out that the 'Gorchest y Beirdd' was not in use at the time of Edward's supposed massacre of the Welsh bards: it was first used in the mid-fifteenth century."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 182.

Title/Paratext] "Mason, Poems p. 92, gives [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Mason, Poems p. 92, gives an account of a plan for a setting of The Bard by the composer John Christopher Smith, the pupil of Handel, with which G[ray]. himself assisted. Mason quotes G.'s 'sentiments ... concerning the overture' in full. These instructions to the composer are of interest; but, soon after the publication of Mason's book, Thomas Twining, a former friend of G. at Cambridge, wrote to Charles Burney on 9 June 1775 (British Museum, Add. MS 39933 ff. 136-7), asserting that the plan for the overture to The Bard was partly his own and written in his own words: 'I have the original paper which Mr G. wrote.' Although Twining was anxious for Mason to rectify this error, no change was made in the passage in later edns of the Memoirs."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 182/183.

Title/Paratext] "Written between 1755 and May [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Written between 1755 and May 1757. Printed, together with 'The Progress of Poesy', Aug. 8, 1757 by Horace Walpole from his press at Strawberry Hill. Gray found the tradition that Edward the First, on his conquest of Wales, put all the bards who fell into his hands to death, in Thomas Carte's General History of England, II (1750). The tradition does not seem to be historical, though Edward did impose restrictions on the bards."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 78.

Title/Paratext] "'The Bard' and 'The Progress [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"'The Bard' and 'The Progress of Poesy' [...] are attempts to reproduce in English the form and manner of the Greek Pindaric Ode. The odes of Pindar were composed to be performed by a choir of dancers, in honour of a victor at the games - the Olympic, Nemean, Pythian and Isthmian Games, those great national and religious occasions held at regular intervals in antiquity. The form of the poem consisted of a repeated sequence of strophe, anti-strophe, and epode. In the strophe and anti-strophe the dancers danced the same figure, while the epode was performed standing still, and therefore had a different metrical and melodic structure."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 12/13.

Title/Paratext] "See previous headnote [on Progress [...]" D. Fairer/C. Gerrard, 1999.

"See previous headnote [on Progress of Poesy]. During his researches into literary history Gray became engrossed in early British poetry and made extensive notes on the Welsh bards and the old Celtic language. His imagination was caught by the native oral tradition that existed before Wales was conquered by the English King, Edward I (1239-1307). In an Advertisement prefixed to The Bard he notes: 'The following Ode is founded on a Tradition current in Wales, that EDWARD THE FIRST, when he compleated the conquest of that country, ordered all the Bards, that fell into his hands, to be put to death'. (In fact, as Gray later discovered, Edward had merely imposed restrictions on their movement round the country and their asking for money from the people.) Gray's widely admired ode offered its early readers an image of the poet as prophet and persecuted outsider, and it recaptured qualities of sound and vision associated with the pre-literary. As the bard arouses the dead poets who had given Wales its independent identity it is clear that the ode also laments a lost tradition and a dispersed community. Gray's sole remaining voice plunges to his death, but within a few years other writers, notably Macpherson and Chatterton, would be stirred by the possibilities such figures offered, and would attempt to reconstruct, as authentically as possible, the voices and communities of the past. Gray began work on the ode early in 1755, but by October he had broken off after completing only a few lines of the third strophe (i.e. to line 100 or 104) and nothing further was done for eighteen months. But in the spring of 1757 he was galvanized into action by an encounter with the genuine bardic tradition. The blind Welsh harper, John Parry (d. 1782), visited Cambridge and 'scratched out such ravishing blind Harmony, such tunes of a thousand year old with names enough to choak you, as have set all this learned body a'dancing' (Gray-Mason, [24/31] May 1757). Within a month The Bard was completed, and it was published later that year along with The Progress of Poesy."

Eighteenth-Century Poetry. An Annotated Anthology. Edited by David Fairer and Christine Gerrard. Blackwell annotated anthologies. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999, 338.

Title/Paratext] "The tradition of Edward I's [...]" Alexander Huber, 2004.

"The tradition of Edward I's suppression of the Welsh bards has inspired works of art in among others music, poetry, and painting. A notable example in the last category is John Martin's oil-painting The Bard (exhibited 1817), Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne."

Alexander Huber <huber@thomasgray.org> (University of Oxford), URL: http://www.thomasgray.org/. Contributed on Fri Sep 10 18:53:02 2004 GMT.

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Advertisement.

The following Ode is founded on a Tradition current in Wales,
that EDWARD the First, when he compleated the conquest of
that country, ordered all the Bards, that fell into his hands,
to be put to death.

I. 1.

1 'Ruin seize thee, ruthless king! 3 Explanatory

1.1-5 'Ruin ... king!] "'Ruin seize thee / And [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'Ruin seize thee / And swift perdition overtake thy treachery', Nicholas Rowe, Jane Shore II i."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 183.

1.1 - 2.5 'Ruin ... wait,] "'There comes the ruin, there [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'There comes the ruin, there begins confusion', I Henry VI IV i 194; and 'vast confusion waits / ... The imminent decay of wrested pomp', King John IV iii 152, 154."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 183.

1.4-5 ruthless king!] "Edward I (reigned 1272-1307)." Alexander Huber, 2000.

"Edward I (reigned 1272-1307)."

Alexander Huber <huber@thomasgray.org> (SUB Göttingen), URL: http://www.thomasgray.org/. Contributed on Sat Oct 28 12:20:14 2000 GMT.

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2 'Confusion on thy banners wait, 2 Explanatory

1.1 - 2.5 'Ruin ... wait,] "'There comes the ruin, there [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'There comes the ruin, there begins confusion', I Henry VI IV i 194; and 'vast confusion waits / ... The imminent decay of wrested pomp', King John IV iii 152, 154."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 183.

2.1 'Confusion] "Destruction." W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Destruction."

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, 158.

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3 'Though fanned by Conquest's crimson wing 2 Explanatory

3.1 - 4.7 'Though ... state.] "'Where the Norweyan banners flout [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky / And fan our people cold', Macbeth I ii 49-50; and 'With silken streamers the young Phoebus fanning', Henry V III Prol. 6."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 183.

3.5-6 crimson wing] "'... murder's crimson badge', II [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'... murder's crimson badge', II Henry VI III ii 200."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 183.

Add a note or query to this line

4 'They mock the air with idle state. 3 Explanatory

3.1 - 4.7 'Though ... state.] "'Where the Norweyan banners flout [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky / And fan our people cold', Macbeth I ii 49-50; and 'With silken streamers the young Phoebus fanning', Henry V III Prol. 6."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 183.

4.1-7 'They ... state.] "King John, v, i, 72." W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"King John, v, i, 72."

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, 158.

4.1-7 'They ... state.] "G[ray]. acknowledged a debt (to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. acknowledged a debt (to Bedingfield in Aug. 1756, Corresp ii 477 and in 1768) to King John V i 72: 'Mocking the air with colours idly spread'; cp. also 'melts the thoughtless hours in idle state', Thomson, Autumn 1252."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 183.

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5 'Helm nor hauberk's twisted mail, 2 Explanatory

5.1-3 'Helm ... hauberk's] "'Helm and hauberk,' come together, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"'Helm and hauberk,' come together, Mitford says, in Robert of Gloucester, Dryden (Palamon and Arcite iii. 602); and many times in Fairfax's Tasso."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 208.

5.1-3 'Helm ... hauberk's] "Cp. Dryden, Palamon and Arcite [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Dryden, Palamon and Arcite iii 603: 'Hauberks and Helms are hew'd with many a Wound'. Mitford notes that Fairfax often combines the words in his translation of Tasso; e.g. VII xxxviii, 7: 'Now at his helm, now at his hauberk bright'; and XI xxi 4; XVII xviii 6, etc."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 183.

Add a note or query to this line

6 'Nor even thy virtues, tyrant, shall avail 1 Textual

6.2 even] "e'en M[ason]." H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"e'en M[ason]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 18.

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7 'To save thy secret soul from nightly fears, 1 Explanatory

7.4-5 secret soul] "A phrase used by Dryden, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"A phrase used by Dryden, Annus Mirabilis 31; Cinyras and Myrrha 34; Cymon and Iphegenia 422. Cp. also 'nightly feare', Faerie Queene I iv 28, 8; 'these terrible dreams / That shake us nightly', Macbeth III ii 18-9."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 183.

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8 'From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears!' 3 Explanatory

8.2 Cambria's] "An old Latinization of Welsh [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"An old Latinization of Welsh Cymru, the land of the Kymry (or Welsh)."

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, 158.

8.2 Cambria's] "Wales." J. Reeves, 1973.

"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, 114.

8.5 Cambria's] "An old Latinization of Welsh [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"An old Latinization of Welsh Cymru, the land of the Kymry (or Welsh)."

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, 158.

Add a note or query to this line

9 Such were the sounds, that o'er the crested pride 2 Explanatory

9.1-9 Such ... pride] "Gray's quotation in the note [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Gray's quotation in the note is from Dryden's Indian Queen, iii, 1. (Vol. I, p. 196, ed. 1735.)"

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, 158.

9.1-9 Such ... pride] "G[ray].'s note in 1768 cites [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray].'s note in 1768 cites 'The crested adder's pride', Dryden, Indian Queen III i. Cp. also 'And Crested Morions, with their Plumy Pride', Dryden, Palamon and Arcite iii 452; and 'I begin to bear my Crest aloft when I hear of your pride', G. to Walpole, Feb. 1735 (Corresp i 25)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 184.

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10 Of the first Edward scattered wild dismay,
11 As down the steep of Snowdon's shaggy side 4 Explanatory

11.1-8 As ... side] "The passage from Higden in [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The passage from Higden in Gray's note is Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden, ed. Lumby, I, 418."

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, 158.

11.7 shaggy] "Rough and uneven-looking, owing to [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Rough and uneven-looking, owing to being covered with trees. Milton applies the epithet to hills: - ''Nor on the shaggy top of Mona high.'' - Lycidas, 54. ''They plucked the seated hills with all their load-- / Rocks, waters, woods, and by the shaggy tops.'' - Par. Lost, vi. 645."

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], 197.

11.7 shaggy] "Leland says that great woods [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Leland says that great woods clothed the different parts of the mountain in his time [1506?-1552]. Mitford, who cites Dyer, Ruins of Rome (314, 315)

            ''as Britannia's oaks
On Merlin's mount, or Snowdon's rugged sides,
Stand in the clouds.''
If Dyer does not invent, there were, in Gray's time, oaks on the Snowdon range above the cloud-line.
Mitford also compares Lycidas 54 ''Nor on the shaggy top of Mona high.'' Cf. l. 23."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 208.

11.7 shaggy] "As an adjective for a [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"As an adjective for a mountain probably derived from Milton: e.g. 'the shaggy top of Mona high', Lycidas 54 (after a reference to 'bards'); and see also Par. Lost iv 224 and vi 645. John Dyer, Ruins of Rome 315, has 'Snowdon's rugged side'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 184.

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12 He wound with toilsome march his long array. 3 Explanatory

12.1-8 He ... array.] "It was in the years [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"It was in the years 1282-84 that King Edward completely conquered Wales."

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, 158.

12.1 - 14.9 He ... lance.] "G[ray].'s diction is markedly Spenserian [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray].'s diction is markedly Spenserian at this point in the poem."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 184.

12.7-8 long array.] "'in long array his Vessels [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'in long array his Vessels show', Dryden, Annus Mirabilis 263; and 'are led / In long Array', Dryden, Aeneid xi 113-4."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 184.

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13 Stout Gloucester stood aghast in speechless trance: 3 Explanatory

12.1 - 14.9 He ... lance.] "G[ray].'s diction is markedly Spenserian [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray].'s diction is markedly Spenserian at this point in the poem."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 184.

13.1 - 14.9 Stout ... lance.] "Gilbert de Clare (1243-95), 7th [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Gilbert de Clare (1243-95), 7th Earl of Hertford, 9th Earl of Clare and 8th Earl of Gloucester, fought against the Welsh in 1276-83. He married Edward I's daughter Joan in 1290 and was driven out of Wales by a native uprising in 1294. G. was mistaken in referring to Edmond de Mortimer: he seems almost certainly to have intended Roger de Mortimer (1231?-1282), 6th Baron Wigmore, who was conspicuous in Edward I's struggles against the Welsh in 1276-9."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 184.

13.1 - 14.9 Stout ... lance.] "Gilbert de Clare, Earl of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and Edmond de Mortimer were both Marcher lords, and the former was Edward the First's son-in-law."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 78.

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14 'To arms!' cried Mortimer, and couched his quivering lance. 5 Explanatory

12.1 - 14.9 He ... lance.] "G[ray].'s diction is markedly Spenserian [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray].'s diction is markedly Spenserian at this point in the poem."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 184.

13.1 - 14.9 Stout ... lance.] "Gilbert de Clare (1243-95), 7th [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Gilbert de Clare (1243-95), 7th Earl of Hertford, 9th Earl of Clare and 8th Earl of Gloucester, fought against the Welsh in 1276-83. He married Edward I's daughter Joan in 1290 and was driven out of Wales by a native uprising in 1294. G. was mistaken in referring to Edmond de Mortimer: he seems almost certainly to have intended Roger de Mortimer (1231?-1282), 6th Baron Wigmore, who was conspicuous in Edward I's struggles against the Welsh in 1276-9."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 184.

13.1 - 14.9 Stout ... lance.] "Gilbert de Clare, Earl of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and Edmond de Mortimer were both Marcher lords, and the former was Edward the First's son-in-law."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 78.

14.4 Mortimer,] "a lord of the Welsh [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"a lord of the Welsh Marches and a powerful follower of the king."

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, 114.

14.6-9 couched ... lance.] "Virgil, Aeneid ii 175: hastamque [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid ii 175: hastamque trementem (quivering spear) and xii 94-5; Marlowe, I Tamburlaine II iii 18: 'our quivering lances'; I Henry VI III ii 134: 'A braver soldier never couched lance'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 184.

Add a note or query to this line


I. 2.

15 On a rock, whose haughty brow 2 Explanatory

15.1 - 18.6 On ... stood;] "These lines are thoroughly romantic [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"These lines are thoroughly romantic in tone."

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, 158.

15.1 - 16.6 On ... flood,] "Pope, Odyssey iii 374-5: 'There [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Pope, Odyssey iii 374-5: 'There stands a rock, high eminent and steep, / Whose shaggy brow o'erhangs the shady deep'; and Thomson, Spring 755-7: 'High from the summit of a craggy cliff, / Hung o'er the deep, such as amazing frowns / On utmost Kilda's shore.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

Add a note or query to this line

16 Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood, 4 Explanatory, 1 Textual

15.1 - 18.6 On ... stood;] "These lines are thoroughly romantic [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"These lines are thoroughly romantic in tone."

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, 158.

15.1 - 16.6 On ... flood,] "Pope, Odyssey iii 374-5: 'There [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Pope, Odyssey iii 374-5: 'There stands a rock, high eminent and steep, / Whose shaggy brow o'erhangs the shady deep'; and Thomson, Spring 755-7: 'High from the summit of a craggy cliff, / Hung o'er the deep, such as amazing frowns / On utmost Kilda's shore.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

16.3-4 old Conway's] "In Mitford's ''Aldine'' Edition it [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"In Mitford's ''Aldine'' Edition it is misprinted ''cold Conway's,'' and this is followed in Ward's ''English Poets.''"

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], 197.

16.3-4 old Conway's] "Perhaps an imitation of 'old [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Perhaps an imitation of 'old Euphrates', Par. Lost i 420. Cp. 'the foaming Flood', Dryden, Aeneid ii 677."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

16.3-4 old Conway's] "a river in northern Wales." Alexander Huber, 2000.

"a river in northern Wales."

Alexander Huber <huber@thomasgray.org> (SUB Göttingen), URL: http://www.thomasgray.org/. Contributed on Sat Oct 28 12:28:56 2000 GMT.

Add a note or query to this line

17 Robed in the sable garb of woe, 2 Explanatory, 4 Textual

15.1 - 18.6 On ... stood;] "These lines are thoroughly romantic [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"These lines are thoroughly romantic in tone."

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, 158.

17.1 - 18.6 Robed ... stood;] "With fury pale, and pale [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With fury pale, and pale with woe, / Secure of fate, the Poet stood   [Wharton 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], 209.

17.1 - 18.6 Robed ... stood;] "In a letter to Wharton [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"In a letter to Wharton of August 21, 1755, Gray accepted Wharton's suggestion to read : With fury pale, and pale with woe, / Secure of fate, the Poet stood. but the substitution was not made in the final version."

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], 172.

17.1 - 18.6 Robed ... stood;] "With fury pale, & pale [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"With fury pale, & pale with woe, / Secure of fate, the Poet stood &c: Wh-1 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]. Gray agreed to this revision but it does not appear in the later versions. Secure is used here in the sense of the Latin securus - i.e. 'fearless'."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 19.

17.1 - 18.6 Robed ... stood;] "G[ray]. wrote to Wharton in [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. wrote to Wharton in Aug. 1755 (Corresp i 434): 'you may alter that Robed in the Sable, &c, almost in your own words, thus

With fury pale, & pale with woe,
Secure of fate, the Poet stood &c:[']"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

17.1-7 Robed ... woe,] "'In Sorrow's Garb, in Sable [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'In Sorrow's Garb, in Sable clad', William Broome, Melancholy: An Ode 10 in Poems (1727) p. 44."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

Add a note or query to this line

18 With haggard eyes the poet stood; 6 Explanatory, 4 Textual

15.1 - 18.6 On ... stood;] "These lines are thoroughly romantic [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"These lines are thoroughly romantic in tone."

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, 158.

17.1 - 18.6 Robed ... stood;] "With fury pale, and pale [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With fury pale, and pale with woe, / Secure of fate, the Poet stood   [Wharton 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], 209.

17.1 - 18.6 Robed ... stood;] "In a letter to Wharton [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"In a letter to Wharton of August 21, 1755, Gray accepted Wharton's suggestion to read : With fury pale, and pale with woe, / Secure of fate, the Poet stood. but the substitution was not made in the final version."

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], 172.

17.1 - 18.6 Robed ... stood;] "With fury pale, & pale [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"With fury pale, & pale with woe, / Secure of fate, the Poet stood &c: Wh-1 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]. Gray agreed to this revision but it does not appear in the later versions. Secure is used here in the sense of the Latin securus - i.e. 'fearless'."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 19.

17.1 - 18.6 Robed ... stood;] "G[ray]. wrote to Wharton in [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. wrote to Wharton in Aug. 1755 (Corresp i 434): 'you may alter that Robed in the Sable, &c, almost in your own words, thus

With fury pale, & pale with woe,
Secure of fate, the Poet stood &c:[']"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

18.2 haggard] "Gray writing to Thomas Wharton, [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Gray writing to Thomas Wharton, 21 August 1755 (Works, II, 268), said: ''Though haggard, which conveys to you the idea of a Witch, is indeed only a metaphor taken from an unreclaimed Hawk, which is called a haggard, and looks wild and farouche, and jealous of its liberty.'' See also note on ''hagged,'' Long Story, 129."

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, 158.

18.2 haggard] "Gray to Wharton (Aug. 21, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray to Wharton (Aug. 21, 1755), saying, ''You may alter Robed in the sable &c., almost in your own words thus.'' He adds ''Though haggard wch conveys to you the idea of a Witch, is indeed only a metaphor taken from an unreclaimed Hawk, which is called a Haggard, and looks wild and farouche, and jealous of its liberty.'' See note on hagged in Long Story, l. 129."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209.

18.2 haggard] "'a metaphor taken from an [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"'a metaphor taken from an unreclaimed Hawk, which is called a Haggard, and looks wild and farouche, and jealous of its liberty.' (Gray to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755.)"

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], 161.

18.2 haggard] "Tho' haggard, wch conveys to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Tho' haggard, wch conveys to you the Idea of a Witch, is indeed only a metaphor taken from an unreclaim'd Hawk, wch is call'd a Haggard, & looks wild & farouche & jealous of its liberty.' Dryden frequently uses 'haggard' of eyes: e.g. 'His Hands and hagger'd Eyes to Heav'n he cast', Aeneid x 942; and see Georgics iv 370, Aeneid ii 86."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

18.6 stood;] "The Bard was seated in [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"The Bard was seated in the original 'argument': see headnote."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

Add a note or query to this line

19 (Loose his beard, and hoary hair 4 Explanatory

19.1-6 (Loose ... hair] " ''Moses breaking the tables [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" ''Moses breaking the tables of the law, by Parmegiano, was a figure which Mr Gray used to say came still nearer to his meaning than the picture of Raphael.'' Mason.
Keble, who admired Gray, could scarcely have forgotten 'the Bard' when he wrote of Balaam (2nd Sund. after Easter)

    ''O for a sculptor's hand
    That thou might'st take thy stand,
Thy wild hair floating on the eastern breeze,
    Thy tranc'd yet open gaze
    Fix'd on the desert haze,
As one who deep in heaven some airy pageant sees.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209.

19.1 - 20.8 (Loose ... air)] "'Moses breaking the tables of [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"'Moses breaking the tables of the law, by Parmegiano, was a figure which Mr. Gray used to say came still nearer to his meaning than the picture by Raphael.' M[ason], ii. 93; see also T & W no. 222."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 209.

19.1 - 20.8 (Loose ... air)] "G[ray]. had admitted to this [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. had admitted to this source of inspiration in a letter to Bedingfield in Aug. 1756: 'the thought ... is borrow'd from painting. Rafael in his Vision of Ezekiel (in the Duke of Orleans' Collection) has given the air of head, w[hi]ch I tried to express, to God the Father; or (if you have been at Parma) you may remember Moses breaking the Tables by the Parmeggiano, w[hi]ch comes still nearer to my meaning' (Corresp ii 476-7). In 1765 G. urged his friend Palgrave, who was visiting Italy, to see this painting by Mazzuola, known as 'il Parmigiano' (Corresp ii 867). Mason mentioned this second painting after quoting G.'s own note in Poems p. 93. The works in question are Raphael's Vision of Ezekiel (in the Pitti Gallery, Florence) and Parmigiano's Moses (a fresco in the Chiesa della Steccata, Parma). G.'s references to these paintings emphasise the visual effect for which he is striving in these lines. G.'s note on the Moses, made when he saw it in Italy, is in the Mitford MSS in the British Museum (Add. MS 32561 f. 140)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

19.1-6 (Loose ... hair] "Faerie Queene II xi 23, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Faerie Queene II xi 23, 3: 'With hoarie lockes all loose'; and IV v 34, 8: 'With rugged beard, and hoarie shagged heare'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

Add a note or query to this line

20 Streamed, like a meteor, to the troubled air) 6 Explanatory

19.1 - 20.8 (Loose ... air)] "'Moses breaking the tables of [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"'Moses breaking the tables of the law, by Parmegiano, was a figure which Mr. Gray used to say came still nearer to his meaning than the picture by Raphael.' M[ason], ii. 93; see also T & W no. 222."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 209.

19.1 - 20.8 (Loose ... air)] "G[ray]. had admitted to this [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. had admitted to this source of inspiration in a letter to Bedingfield in Aug. 1756: 'the thought ... is borrow'd from painting. Rafael in his Vision of Ezekiel (in the Duke of Orleans' Collection) has given the air of head, w[hi]ch I tried to express, to God the Father; or (if you have been at Parma) you may remember Moses breaking the Tables by the Parmeggiano, w[hi]ch comes still nearer to my meaning' (Corresp ii 476-7). In 1765 G. urged his friend Palgrave, who was visiting Italy, to see this painting by Mazzuola, known as 'il Parmigiano' (Corresp ii 867). Mason mentioned this second painting after quoting G.'s own note in Poems p. 93. The works in question are Raphael's Vision of Ezekiel (in the Pitti Gallery, Florence) and Parmigiano's Moses (a fresco in the Chiesa della Steccata, Parma). G.'s references to these paintings emphasise the visual effect for which he is striving in these lines. G.'s note on the Moses, made when he saw it in Italy, is in the Mitford MSS in the British Museum (Add. MS 32561 f. 140)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 185.

20.1-8 Streamed, ... air)] "Paradise Lost, i, 537." W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Paradise Lost, i, 537."

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, 158.

20.1-8 Streamed, ... air)] "Gray struggles to his image [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray struggles to his image painfully, by the help of Raphaël and Milton. But, if we believe Macpherson, Ossian's Torcul-torno had long ago outdone 'the Bard': ''Thou kindlest thy hair into meteors, and sailest along the night.'' (Cath-Loda, Duan I.)"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209.

20.1-8 Streamed, ... air)] "'The beard of Gray's Bard, [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"'The beard of Gray's Bard, ''streaming like a meteor'', had always struck me as an injudicious imitation of the Satanic ensign in Paradise Lost, which 'full high advanced / Shone like a meteor streaming to the wind,' till the other day I met with a passage in Heywood's old play, The Four Prentices of London, which it is difficult to imagine not to be the origin of the similitude in both poets. The line in italics Gray has almost verbatim adopted -

In Sion towers hangs his victorious flag,
Blowing defiance this way; and it shows
Like a red meteor in the troubled air,
Or like a blazing comet that foretells
The fall of princes.
All is here noble, and as it should be. The comparison enlarges the thing compared without stretching it upon a violent rack till it bursts with ridiculous explosion. The application of such gorgeous imagery to an old man's beard is of a piece with the Bardolphian bombast: ''see you these meteors, these exhalations?'' or the raptures of an Oriental lover who should compare his mistress's nose to a watch-tower or a steeple.' (Charles Lamb in The Examiner, 12 September 1813.)"

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], 161/162.

20.1-8 Streamed, ... air)] "G[ray]. admitted to Bedingfield in [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. admitted to Bedingfield in 1756 that this line was 'almost stoln' from Par. Lost i 537 (Corresp ii 477), and acknowledged the debt in 1768: 'Shone like a Meteor streaming to the Wind'. Cp. also Cowley, Davideis Bk. ii, of Gabriel: 'An harmless flaming meteor shone for hair'. A distracting parallel from Hudibras, I i 247-8, has frequently been noted. Butler wrote of Hudibras's beard: 'This hairy meteor did denounce / The fall of sceptres and of crowns'. Cp. also 'Like the meteors of a troubled heaven', I Henry IV I i 10; 'the troubled air' is a fairly common poetic phrase: e.g. Fairfax's Tasso XII lxxvii 3 and XVIII lxxxviii 3; Dryden, Ovid's Metamorphoses xii 81; Thomson, Winter 82."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

Add a note or query to this line

21 And with a master's hand, and prophet's fire, 1 Explanatory

21.1-8 And ... fire,] "Cp. Collins, Poetical Character 21 [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Collins, Poetical Character 21 (p. 429 below) and Liberty 127 (p. 453 below)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

Add a note or query to this line

22 Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre.
23 'Hark, how each giant-oak, and desert cave, 2 Explanatory

23.1-7 'Hark, ... cave,] "Cf. l. 11 n. and, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Cf. l. 11 n. and, with Mitford, ''the woods and desert-caves.'' Lycidas l. 39."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209.

23.4-7 giant-oak, ... cave,] "'the Woods, and desert Caves', [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'the Woods, and desert Caves', Lycidas 39."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

Add a note or query to this line

24 'Sighs to the torrent's awful voice beneath!
25 'O'er thee, oh king! their hundred arms they wave,
26 'Revenge on thee in hoarser murmurs breathe; 2 Explanatory

26.5 hoarser] "i.e. than their wont." D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"i.e. than their wont."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209.

26.5-6 hoarser murmurs] "'the Tides with their hoarse [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'the Tides with their hoarse murmurs', Dryden, Eclogues ix 52."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

Add a note or query to this line

27 'Vocal no more, since Cambria's fatal day, 1 Explanatory

27.1 - 28.8 'Vocal ... lay.] "Par. Lost v 203-4: 'To [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Par. Lost v 203-4: 'To Hill, or Valley, Fountain, or fresh shade / Made vocal by my Song.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

Add a note or query to this line

28 'To high-born Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellyn's lay. 12 Explanatory, 1 Textual

27.1 - 28.8 'Vocal ... lay.] "Par. Lost v 203-4: 'To [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Par. Lost v 203-4: 'To Hill, or Valley, Fountain, or fresh shade / Made vocal by my Song.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "With this enumeration of the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With this enumeration of the bards, and their ghostly presence, cf. the 'Songs of Selma' (Macpherson). [Ossian sings] ''I behold my departed friends. Their gathering is on Lora, as in the days of other years. Fingal comes like a watery column of mist! his heroes are around: and see the bards of song, grey-haired Ullin; stately Ryno! Alpin with the tuneful voice! the soft complaint of Minona! How are ye changed, my friends,'' &c., &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209/210.

28.1-8 'To ... lay.] "Welsh bards and princes." J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"Welsh bards and princes."

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], 162.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "There is no reason to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"There is no reason to suppose that G[ray]. wished to refer to actual bards when he chose these names for the supposed victims of Edward I. But he was careful to use real Welsh names which had been borne by earlier (in some cases much earlier) poets and princes. The exception is 'Modred', perhaps adapted from the name of King Arthur's nephew Mordred, often mentioned in early histories of Wales. It must be admitted that 'Highborn Hoel' has the effect of an allusion to the famous poet-prince Hywel ab Owein (d. 1170)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "These are Welsh names but [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"These are Welsh names but not those of known bards."

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, 114.

28.1-8 'To ... lay.] "The names given by Gray [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The names given by Gray to the bards' supposed murdered contemporaries seem to be taken from the names of earlier Welsh poets given in the Rev. E. Evans' Specimens of Early Welsh Poetry."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 78.

28.2-3 high-born Hoel's] "The son of Prince Owain [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The son of Prince Owain Gwynedd, of North Wales (see Introductory Note to The Triumphs of Owen). He was both a warrior and a poet. For a full account of him, with specimens of his poetry in the original and in translation, see Thomas Stephens, Literature of the Kymry, 2d ed., 1876, pp. 37 ff. Stephens supposes that he is referred to in the line translated by Gray in Triumphs of Owen, v. 20."

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, 158.

28.2-3 high-born Hoel's] "Hoel is called high-born, being [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Hoel is called high-born, being the son of Owen Gwynedd, prince of North Wales. He was one of his father's generals in his wars against the English, Flemings, and Normans, in South Wales; and was a famous bard, as his poems that are extant testify."

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], 197.

28.2-3 high-born Hoel's] "Hoel is called high-born, being [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Hoel is called high-born, being the son of Owen Gwynedd, prince of North Wales, by Finnog, an Irish damsel. He was one of his father's generals in his wars against the English, Flemings, and Normans in South Wales; and was a famous bard, as his poems that are extant testify. See Evan Evans' Specimens, p. 26, 4to.; and Jones, Relics, vol. ii. p. 56, where he is called the 'Princely Bard.' Jones says that he wrote eight pieces, five of which are translated by him. The whole are given in Mr Owen's translation in Mr Southey's Madoc, vol. ii. p. 162. Mitford.
Hoel, son of Owen, seems to be a later Welsh counterpart of Ossian, the son of Fingal. For other particulars Phelps refers us to Thomas Stephens, Literature of the Kymry, 1876, pp. 57 ff."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 210.

28.2-3 high-born Hoel's] "'high-born Howard', Pope, Dunciad i [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'high-born Howard', Pope, Dunciad i 297."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

28.3 Hoel's] "The [e umlaut] is omitted [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"The [e umlaut] is omitted 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, 19.

28.7 Llewellyn's] "Llewellyn was a French Prince [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Llewellyn was a French Prince who was killed in the wars with Edward I. He was also a poet. In contemporary poets he is described as the ''tender-hearted'' and ''mild'' Llewellyn; so soft should be taken with Llewellyn and not with lay."

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], 197.

28.7 Llewellyn's] " ''In a Poem to [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" ''In a Poem to Llewellyn, by Einion the son of Guigan (p. 22), he is called 'a tender-hearted prince.' And in another Poem to him, by Llywarch Brydydd y Moch (p. 32), 'Llewellyn, though in battle he killed with fury, though he burnt like an outrageous fire, yet was a mild prince when the mead horns were distributed.' Also in an Ode to him by Llygard Gwr (p. 39), he is called 'Llewellyn the mild and prosperous governor of Gwynedd [North Wales].' Llewellyn's 'Soft Lay' is given by Jones in his Relics, vol. II. p. 64.'' Mitford [who surely, however, does not mean us to take 'soft' with 'lay'.]"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 210.

Add a note or query to this line


I. 3.

29 'Cold is Cadwallo's tongue, 9 Explanatory, 3 Textual

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "With this enumeration of the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With this enumeration of the bards, and their ghostly presence, cf. the 'Songs of Selma' (Macpherson). [Ossian sings] ''I behold my departed friends. Their gathering is on Lora, as in the days of other years. Fingal comes like a watery column of mist! his heroes are around: and see the bards of song, grey-haired Ullin; stately Ryno! Alpin with the tuneful voice! the soft complaint of Minona! How are ye changed, my friends,'' &c., &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209/210.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "There is no reason to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"There is no reason to suppose that G[ray]. wished to refer to actual bards when he chose these names for the supposed victims of Edward I. But he was careful to use real Welsh names which had been borne by earlier (in some cases much earlier) poets and princes. The exception is 'Modred', perhaps adapted from the name of King Arthur's nephew Mordred, often mentioned in early histories of Wales. It must be admitted that 'Highborn Hoel' has the effect of an allusion to the famous poet-prince Hywel ab Owein (d. 1170)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "These are Welsh names but [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"These are Welsh names but not those of known bards."

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, 114.

29.1 - 31.7 'Cold ... bed:] "Cadwallo and Urien were Welsh [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cadwallo and Urien were Welsh poets. Nothing is extant of their works. Evans, Dissertatio de Bardis, p. 78."

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, 158.

29.1 'Cold] "Cf. the 'fredda lingua' of [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Cf. the 'fredda lingua' of Gray's quotation from Petrarch on Elegy l. 92."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 210.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "It is perfectly certain that [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"It is perfectly certain that Gray means his Cadwallo, Urien, and Modred to be contemporaries of his bard, whom he originally named Caradoc. (See ll. 35-42.) Mitford's learned note about these serves only to prove that Gray was but careful to get together in this place names such as Welsh bards had borne and might bear. His Urien, for example, cannot be the Urien who died in 560; nor can his Modred be the 'Myrddin ap Morvryn' who ''fought under King Arthur in 542.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 210.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "Welsh bards." J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"Welsh bards."

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], 162.

29.1-4 'Cold ... tongue,] "Cp. fredda ... lingua in [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. fredda ... lingua in Petrarch, quoted in Elegy 92 n (p. 134)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

29.3 - 31.2 Cadwallo's ... Urien] "Cadwallo and Urien are Welsh [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Cadwallo and Urien are Welsh bards, but none of their poems are now extant. See Southey's ''Madoc in Wales.''"

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], 197.

29.3 Cadwallo's] "Variations in the Bedingfield copy: [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Variations in the Bedingfield copy: Caswallo's."

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], 171.

29.3 Cadwallo's] "Caswallo's [Letter to] Bed[ingfield, 27 [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Caswallo's [Letter to] Bed[ingfield, 27 Aug. 1756]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 19.

29.3 Cadwallo's] "Caswallo's   Bedingfield." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Caswallo's   Bedingfield."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

Add a note or query to this line

30 'That hushed the stormy main: 10 Explanatory, 3 Textual

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "With this enumeration of the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With this enumeration of the bards, and their ghostly presence, cf. the 'Songs of Selma' (Macpherson). [Ossian sings] ''I behold my departed friends. Their gathering is on Lora, as in the days of other years. Fingal comes like a watery column of mist! his heroes are around: and see the bards of song, grey-haired Ullin; stately Ryno! Alpin with the tuneful voice! the soft complaint of Minona! How are ye changed, my friends,'' &c., &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209/210.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "There is no reason to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"There is no reason to suppose that G[ray]. wished to refer to actual bards when he chose these names for the supposed victims of Edward I. But he was careful to use real Welsh names which had been borne by earlier (in some cases much earlier) poets and princes. The exception is 'Modred', perhaps adapted from the name of King Arthur's nephew Mordred, often mentioned in early histories of Wales. It must be admitted that 'Highborn Hoel' has the effect of an allusion to the famous poet-prince Hywel ab Owein (d. 1170)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "These are Welsh names but [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"These are Welsh names but not those of known bards."

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, 114.

29.1 - 31.7 'Cold ... bed:] "Cadwallo and Urien were Welsh [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cadwallo and Urien were Welsh poets. Nothing is extant of their works. Evans, Dissertatio de Bardis, p. 78."

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, 158.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "It is perfectly certain that [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"It is perfectly certain that Gray means his Cadwallo, Urien, and Modred to be contemporaries of his bard, whom he originally named Caradoc. (See ll. 35-42.) Mitford's learned note about these serves only to prove that Gray was but careful to get together in this place names such as Welsh bards had borne and might bear. His Urien, for example, cannot be the Urien who died in 560; nor can his Modred be the 'Myrddin ap Morvryn' who ''fought under King Arthur in 542.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 210.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "Welsh bards." J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"Welsh bards."

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], 162.

29.3 - 31.2 Cadwallo's ... Urien] "Cadwallo and Urien are Welsh [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Cadwallo and Urien are Welsh bards, but none of their poems are now extant. See Southey's ''Madoc in Wales.''"

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], 197.

30.1-5 'That ... main:] "''Uttering such dulcet and harmonious [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"''Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath, / That the rude sea grew civil at her song.'' - Midsummer Night's Dream, ii. 2. 150."

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], 197.

30.1-5 'That ... main:] " 'Uttering such dulcet and [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,
That the rude sea grew civil at her song.'
            Shakesp. M. N. D. II. i. 151. Wakefield.
'Who with his soft song and smooth-dittied song
Well knows to still the wild winds when they roar,
And hush the waving woods.'
            Milton, Comus, 86, 87. Luke.
Cf. Ib. l. 495. Our English poets derive these hyperboles from the classic legends of the Sirens and Orpheus."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 210/211.

30.1-5 'That ... main:] "Cp. Midsummer Night's Dream II [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Midsummer Night's Dream II i 151-2: 'Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath, / That the rude sea grew civil at her song'; and Comus 88: 'hush the waving Woods'. Dryden has 'stormy main', Aeneid x 966; Palamon and Arcite iii 1081; and on three other occasions."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

30.4 stormy] "Variations in the Bedingfield copy: [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Variations in the Bedingfield copy: roaring."

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], 171.

30.4 stormy] "roaring [Letter to] Bed[ingfield, 27 [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"roaring [Letter to] Bed[ingfield, 27 Aug. 1756]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 19.

30.4 stormy] "roaring   Bedingfield." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"roaring   Bedingfield."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

Add a note or query to this line

31 'Brave Urien sleeps upon his craggy bed: 8 Explanatory, 3 Textual

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "With this enumeration of the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With this enumeration of the bards, and their ghostly presence, cf. the 'Songs of Selma' (Macpherson). [Ossian sings] ''I behold my departed friends. Their gathering is on Lora, as in the days of other years. Fingal comes like a watery column of mist! his heroes are around: and see the bards of song, grey-haired Ullin; stately Ryno! Alpin with the tuneful voice! the soft complaint of Minona! How are ye changed, my friends,'' &c., &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209/210.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "There is no reason to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"There is no reason to suppose that G[ray]. wished to refer to actual bards when he chose these names for the supposed victims of Edward I. But he was careful to use real Welsh names which had been borne by earlier (in some cases much earlier) poets and princes. The exception is 'Modred', perhaps adapted from the name of King Arthur's nephew Mordred, often mentioned in early histories of Wales. It must be admitted that 'Highborn Hoel' has the effect of an allusion to the famous poet-prince Hywel ab Owein (d. 1170)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "These are Welsh names but [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"These are Welsh names but not those of known bards."

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, 114.

29.1 - 31.7 'Cold ... bed:] "Cadwallo and Urien were Welsh [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cadwallo and Urien were Welsh poets. Nothing is extant of their works. Evans, Dissertatio de Bardis, p. 78."

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, 158.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "It is perfectly certain that [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"It is perfectly certain that Gray means his Cadwallo, Urien, and Modred to be contemporaries of his bard, whom he originally named Caradoc. (See ll. 35-42.) Mitford's learned note about these serves only to prove that Gray was but careful to get together in this place names such as Welsh bards had borne and might bear. His Urien, for example, cannot be the Urien who died in 560; nor can his Modred be the 'Myrddin ap Morvryn' who ''fought under King Arthur in 542.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 210.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "Welsh bards." J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"Welsh bards."

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], 162.

29.3 - 31.2 Cadwallo's ... Urien] "Cadwallo and Urien are Welsh [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Cadwallo and Urien are Welsh bards, but none of their poems are now extant. See Southey's ''Madoc in Wales.''"

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], 197.

31.1 'Brave] "Once Stern, according to Walpole, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Once Stern, according to Walpole, who says (to Lyttelton, Aug. 25, 1757) ''brave is insipid or common-place.'' I cannot say whether Gray knew when he chose the name that the Urien of bardic history is celebrated, as Mitford notes, in the Triads, as one of ''the three bulls of war.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 211.

31.1 'Brave] "Variations in the Bedingfield copy: [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Variations in the Bedingfield copy: Great."

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], 171.

31.1 'Brave] "Great [Letter to] Bed[ingfield, 27 [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Great [Letter to] Bed[ingfield, 27 Aug. 1756]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 19.

31.1 'Brave] "Great   Bedingfield. According to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Great   Bedingfield. According to Walpole's MS notes on the Odes, Brave 'originally was Stern which was much better'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 187.

Add a note or query to this line

32 'Mountains, ye mourn in vain 5 Explanatory

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "With this enumeration of the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With this enumeration of the bards, and their ghostly presence, cf. the 'Songs of Selma' (Macpherson). [Ossian sings] ''I behold my departed friends. Their gathering is on Lora, as in the days of other years. Fingal comes like a watery column of mist! his heroes are around: and see the bards of song, grey-haired Ullin; stately Ryno! Alpin with the tuneful voice! the soft complaint of Minona! How are ye changed, my friends,'' &c., &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209/210.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "There is no reason to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"There is no reason to suppose that G[ray]. wished to refer to actual bards when he chose these names for the supposed victims of Edward I. But he was careful to use real Welsh names which had been borne by earlier (in some cases much earlier) poets and princes. The exception is 'Modred', perhaps adapted from the name of King Arthur's nephew Mordred, often mentioned in early histories of Wales. It must be admitted that 'Highborn Hoel' has the effect of an allusion to the famous poet-prince Hywel ab Owein (d. 1170)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "These are Welsh names but [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"These are Welsh names but not those of known bards."

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, 114.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "It is perfectly certain that [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"It is perfectly certain that Gray means his Cadwallo, Urien, and Modred to be contemporaries of his bard, whom he originally named Caradoc. (See ll. 35-42.) Mitford's learned note about these serves only to prove that Gray was but careful to get together in this place names such as Welsh bards had borne and might bear. His Urien, for example, cannot be the Urien who died in 560; nor can his Modred be the 'Myrddin ap Morvryn' who ''fought under King Arthur in 542.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 210.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "Welsh bards." J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"Welsh bards."

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], 162.

Add a note or query to this line

33 'Modred, whose magic song 10 Explanatory

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "With this enumeration of the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With this enumeration of the bards, and their ghostly presence, cf. the 'Songs of Selma' (Macpherson). [Ossian sings] ''I behold my departed friends. Their gathering is on Lora, as in the days of other years. Fingal comes like a watery column of mist! his heroes are around: and see the bards of song, grey-haired Ullin; stately Ryno! Alpin with the tuneful voice! the soft complaint of Minona! How are ye changed, my friends,'' &c., &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 209/210.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "There is no reason to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"There is no reason to suppose that G[ray]. wished to refer to actual bards when he chose these names for the supposed victims of Edward I. But he was careful to use real Welsh names which had been borne by earlier (in some cases much earlier) poets and princes. The exception is 'Modred', perhaps adapted from the name of King Arthur's nephew Mordred, often mentioned in early histories of Wales. It must be admitted that 'Highborn Hoel' has the effect of an allusion to the famous poet-prince Hywel ab Owein (d. 1170)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 186.

28.1 - 33.4 'To ... song] "These are Welsh names but [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"These are Welsh names but not those of known bards."

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, 114.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "It is perfectly certain that [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"It is perfectly certain that Gray means his Cadwallo, Urien, and Modred to be contemporaries of his bard, whom he originally named Caradoc. (See ll. 35-42.) Mitford's learned note about these serves only to prove that Gray was but careful to get together in this place names such as Welsh bards had borne and might bear. His Urien, for example, cannot be the Urien who died in 560; nor can his Modred be the 'Myrddin ap Morvryn' who ''fought under King Arthur in 542.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 210.

29.1 - 33.4 'Cold ... song] "Welsh bards." J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"Welsh bards."

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], 162.

33.1 'Modred,] "Modred or Mordred is the [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Modred or Mordred is the villain of the Arthur story; but no person of this name is known as a bard. Mitford's conjecture that Gray altered ''Myrddin ab Morvryn'' for the sake of euphony is not probable."

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, 158.

33.1 'Modred,] "Modred may be Myrddin, a [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Modred may be Myrddin, a disciple of Taliessin, or a name invented by Gray."

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], 198.

33.1 'Modred,] "It is more likely that [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"It is more likely that Gray took this name, simply as euphonious, out of the familiar Arthurian legend, although it there is the name of the traitor, than that he modified it from 'Myrddin ap Morvryn' (see on l. 29) as Mitford suggests."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 211.

33.1 - 34.7 'Modred, ... head.] "Henry VIII III i 3-5: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Henry VIII III i 3-5: 'Orpheus with his lute made trees / And the mountain tops that freeze / Bow themselves when he did sing.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 187.

33.1 'Modred,] "Modred is not the name [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Modred is not the name of any recorded early Welsh poet, but is the Welsh form of Mordred, Arthur's rebellious nephew. Palgrave, in his notes on this poem in The Golden Treasury, suggested that Gray confused Modred with Myrddin (Merlin), the legendary Welsh poet and prophet."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 78.

Add a note or query to this line

34 'Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-topped head. 5 Explanatory

33.1 - 34.7 'Modred, ... head.] "Henry VIII III i 3-5: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Henry VIII III i 3-5: 'Orpheus with his lute made trees / And the mountain tops that freeze / Bow themselves when he did sing.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 187.

34.3 Plinlimmon] "A Welsh mountain." W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"A Welsh mountain."

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, 158.

34.3 Plinlimmon] "a mountain on the borders [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"a mountain on the borders of Cardigan and Glamorgan."

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], 198.

34.3 Plinlimmon] "A mountain on the border [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"A mountain on the border of Cardigan and Glamorgan. Cp. John Philips, Cyder i 105-6: 'that Cloud-piercing Hill, / Plinlimmon'; Pope, Essay on Man i 104: 'Behind the cloud-topt hill'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 187.

34.6 cloud-topped] "Cf. ''cloud-capt towers,'' in the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Cf. ''cloud-capt towers,'' in the ''Tempest,'' iv. 1. 172. The lines mean that even the lofty mountain bent to listen to his song."

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], 198.

Add a note or query to this line

35 'On dreary Arvon's shore they lie, 5 Explanatory

35.2-4 dreary ... shore] "Cp. 'dreery Shore', Dryden, Aeneid [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. 'dreery Shore', Dryden, Aeneid ix 121."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 187.

35.3 Arvon's] "Caernarvon, Caer in Arvon, the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Caernarvon, Caer in Arvon, the camp in Arvon."

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], 198.

35.3 Arvon's] "Arvon, the shores of Caernarvon, [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Arvon, the shores of Caernarvon, opposite Anglesey."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 78.

35.5-6 they lie,] "The dead bards." W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The dead bards."

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, 158.

35.5 they] "the bards who had been [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"the bards who had been put to death."

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], 198.

Add a note or query to this line

36 'Smeared with gore, and ghastly pale: 1 Explanatory

36.1-6 'Smeared ... pale:] "Par. Lost i 392: 'Moloch, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Par. Lost i 392: 'Moloch, horrid King besmear'd with blood'; Dryden, Aeneid v 433: 'besmear'd with Filth, and Holy Gore'; Cymon and Iphiginia 607-8: 'the sprinkled Gore / Besmears the Walls'; Cock and Fox 244: 'Pale, naked, pierc'd with Wounds, with Blood besmeared'; Aeneid vi 648: 'And pale Adrastus with his ghastly Face'; Pope, Temple of Fame 125-7: 'There, on rude Iron Columns smear'd with Blood, / The horrid Forms of Scythian Heroes stood, / Druids and Bards (their once loud Harps unstrung)'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 187.

Add a note or query to this line

37 'Far, far aloof the affrighted ravens sail; 2 Explanatory

37.1 - 38.7 'Far, ... by.] "All Nature revolts at the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"All Nature revolts at the cruel death of the sacred bards; birds of prey, the raven, and the eagle, though famish'd, avoid with instinctive horror the feast which such a crime has offered them. Mitford affirms that this image may be found in Lucretius, Ovid, Lucan, and Dryden; on turning to his references, the reader will find that Lucretius and Ovid describe, after Thucydides, one observed fact about corpses that died of plague, the reference to Lucan is still more inapposite (the arrival of Erichtho scares the birds and wolves from their prey); that from Dryden (Palamon and Arcite) describes the birds as shunning 'the bitter blast' near the temple of Mars - of course because it is cold."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 211.

37.1 - 38.7 'Far, ... by.] "G[ray]. may be indebted to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. may be indebted to the following passages cited by Mitford, although, as Tovey pointed out, the circumstances are not exactly similar, since G. is describing Nature's revulsion from Edward's crime: Lucretius vi 1215-8: Multaque humi cum inhumata iacerent corpora supra / corporibus, tamen alituum genus atque ferarum / aut procul apsiliebat, ut acrem exeiret odorem, / aut, ubi gustarat, languebat morte propinqua (And although bodies on bodies lay unburied upon the ground in heaps, yet the tribes of winged creatures and wild beasts would either leap away to escape the rank smell, or having tasted would faint in a speedy death); Statius, Thebaid i 624-5: illam et nocturno circum stridore volantes / impastae fugistis aves (Her did ye flee unfed, ye birds, wheeling round with nocturnal clamour). Similar descriptions are in Ovid, Metamorphoses vii 549-50; Lucan, Pharsalia vi 627-8. Cp. also Dryden, Palamon and Arcite ii 532-3: 'The Fowl, that scent afar, the Borders fly, / And shun the bitter Blast and wheel about the Sky.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 187.

Add a note or query to this line

38 'The famished eagle screams, and passes by. 3 Explanatory

37.1 - 38.7 'Far, ... by.] "All Nature revolts at the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"All Nature revolts at the cruel death of the sacred bards; birds of prey, the raven, and the eagle, though famish'd, avoid with instinctive horror the feast which such a crime has offered them. Mitford affirms that this image may be found in Lucretius, Ovid, Lucan, and Dryden; on turning to his references, the reader will find that Lucretius and Ovid describe, after Thucydides, one observed fact about corpses that died of plague, the reference to Lucan is still more inapposite (the arrival of Erichtho scares the birds and wolves from their prey); that from Dryden (Palamon and Arcite) describes the birds as shunning 'the bitter blast' near the temple of Mars - of course because it is cold."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 211.

37.1 - 38.7 'Far, ... by.] "G[ray]. may be indebted to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. may be indebted to the following passages cited by Mitford, although, as Tovey pointed out, the circumstances are not exactly similar, since G. is describing Nature's revulsion from Edward's crime: Lucretius vi 1215-8: Multaque humi cum inhumata iacerent corpora supra / corporibus, tamen alituum genus atque ferarum / aut procul apsiliebat, ut acrem exeiret odorem, / aut, ubi gustarat, languebat morte propinqua (And although bodies on bodies lay unburied upon the ground in heaps, yet the tribes of winged creatures and wild beasts would either leap away to escape the rank smell, or having tasted would faint in a speedy death); Statius, Thebaid i 624-5: illam et nocturno circum stridore volantes / impastae fugistis aves (Her did ye flee unfed, ye birds, wheeling round with nocturnal clamour). Similar descriptions are in Ovid, Metamorphoses vii 549-50; Lucan, Pharsalia vi 627-8. Cp. also Dryden, Palamon and Arcite ii 532-3: 'The Fowl, that scent afar, the Borders fly, / And shun the bitter Blast and wheel about the Sky.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 187.

38.1-7 'The ... by.] "G[ray]. refers to The Ornithology [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. refers to The Ornithology of Francis Willoughby, Translated into English, and enlarged, by John Ray (1678) p. 21."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

Add a note or query to this line

39 'Dear lost companions of my tuneful art, 2 Explanatory

39.1 - 45.7 'Dear ... yet,] "Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc etiam horribili visu portenta sequuntur, / et socii amissi petierunt aethera pinnis / fluminibusque vagantur aves (heu dira meorum / supplicia!) et scopulos lacrimosis vocibus implent (Even now, portents of dreadful view pursue me; my lost comrades have winged their way to the sky or haunt the streams as birds - alas! the dire punishment of my people! - and fill the cliffs with their tearful cries). In his version of these lines, Dryden translates socii amissi as 'lost Companions'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

39.6-7 tuneful art,] "Cp. Congreve, Ode to the [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Congreve, Ode to the Queen 5: 'Thy lyre, thy voice, and tuneful art'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

Add a note or query to this line

40 'Dear, as the light that visits these sad eyes, 3 Explanatory

39.1 - 45.7 'Dear ... yet,] "Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc etiam horribili visu portenta sequuntur, / et socii amissi petierunt aethera pinnis / fluminibusque vagantur aves (heu dira meorum / supplicia!) et scopulos lacrimosis vocibus implent (Even now, portents of dreadful view pursue me; my lost comrades have winged their way to the sky or haunt the streams as birds - alas! the dire punishment of my people! - and fill the cliffs with their tearful cries). In his version of these lines, Dryden translates socii amissi as 'lost Companions'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

40.1-9 'Dear, ... eyes,] "Julius Caesar, ii, 1, 289, [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Julius Caesar, ii, 1, 289, 290."

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, 158.

40.1 - 41.9 'Dear, ... heart,] "G[ray]. gave as his source [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. gave as his source (in his letter to Bedingfield in Aug. 1756, Corresp ii 477 and in 1768) Julius Caesar II i 289-90: 'As dear to me as are the ruddy drops, / That visit my sad heart.' Cp. also Virgil, Aeneid iv 31: 0 luce magis dilecta sorori (0 dearer to thy sister than the light); Milton's invocation to Light, Par. Lost iii 22-3: 'thou / Revisit'st not these eyes'; Otway, Venice Preserved V i: 'Dear as the vital warmth that feeds my life, / Dear as these eyes that weep in fondness o'er thee.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

Add a note or query to this line

41 'Dear, as the ruddy drops that warm my heart, 2 Explanatory

39.1 - 45.7 'Dear ... yet,] "Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc etiam horribili visu portenta sequuntur, / et socii amissi petierunt aethera pinnis / fluminibusque vagantur aves (heu dira meorum / supplicia!) et scopulos lacrimosis vocibus implent (Even now, portents of dreadful view pursue me; my lost comrades have winged their way to the sky or haunt the streams as birds - alas! the dire punishment of my people! - and fill the cliffs with their tearful cries). In his version of these lines, Dryden translates socii amissi as 'lost Companions'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

40.1 - 41.9 'Dear, ... heart,] "G[ray]. gave as his source [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. gave as his source (in his letter to Bedingfield in Aug. 1756, Corresp ii 477 and in 1768) Julius Caesar II i 289-90: 'As dear to me as are the ruddy drops, / That visit my sad heart.' Cp. also Virgil, Aeneid iv 31: 0 luce magis dilecta sorori (0 dearer to thy sister than the light); Milton's invocation to Light, Par. Lost iii 22-3: 'thou / Revisit'st not these eyes'; Otway, Venice Preserved V i: 'Dear as the vital warmth that feeds my life, / Dear as these eyes that weep in fondness o'er thee.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

Add a note or query to this line

42 'Ye died amidst your dying country's cries— 2 Explanatory

39.1 - 45.7 'Dear ... yet,] "Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc etiam horribili visu portenta sequuntur, / et socii amissi petierunt aethera pinnis / fluminibusque vagantur aves (heu dira meorum / supplicia!) et scopulos lacrimosis vocibus implent (Even now, portents of dreadful view pursue me; my lost comrades have winged their way to the sky or haunt the streams as birds - alas! the dire punishment of my people! - and fill the cliffs with their tearful cries). In his version of these lines, Dryden translates socii amissi as 'lost Companions'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

42.1-7 'Ye ... cries—] "'And greatly falling with a [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'And greatly falling with a falling state', Pope, Prologue to Cato 22."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

Add a note or query to this line

43 'No more I weep. They do not sleep. 4 Explanatory, 4 Textual

39.1 - 45.7 'Dear ... yet,] "Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc etiam horribili visu portenta sequuntur, / et socii amissi petierunt aethera pinnis / fluminibusque vagantur aves (heu dira meorum / supplicia!) et scopulos lacrimosis vocibus implent (Even now, portents of dreadful view pursue me; my lost comrades have winged their way to the sky or haunt the streams as birds - alas! the dire punishment of my people! - and fill the cliffs with their tearful cries). In his version of these lines, Dryden translates socii amissi as 'lost Companions'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

43.1-8 'No ... sleep.] "The Bard here breaks off [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The Bard here breaks off his lament, as he discerns his ghostly companions."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 211.

43.1-8 'No ... sleep.] "Observe the rhymes here and [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Observe the rhymes here and in l. 45; and note that there are rhymes in the middle of the lines in the corresponding places of the two succeeding Epodes. In l. 45 'yet' was probably pronounced 'yit' (cf. 'git' for 'get'). At least the rhyme is Popian:

''How shall we fill a library with wit
When Merlin's cave is half unfurnished yet?''
    Ep. to Augustus (354, 355)."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 211/212.

43.1-8 'No ... sleep.] "G[ray]. wrote against this line [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. wrote against this line in his own copy of the Odes (Pierpont Morgan Library): 'The double cadence is introduced here not only to give a wild spirit and variety to the Epode; but because it bears some affinity to a peculiar measure in the Welch Prosody, called Gorchest-Beirdh, i.e. the Excellent of the Bards.' See W. Powell Jones, Thomas Gray, Scholar p. 93, and the article by Arthur Johnston cited in the headnote. For a 'double cadence', see also ll. 45, 91, 93, 139, 141. Cp. Milton, Lycidas 165-6: 'Weep no more, woful Shepherds weep no more, / For Lycidas your sorrow is not dead.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

43.1-8 'No ... sleep.] "In a manuscript note Gray [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"In a manuscript note Gray wrote: 'The double cadence is introduced here not only to give a wild spirit and variety to the Epode; but because it bears some affinity to a peculiar measure in Welsh Prosody, called 'Gorchest Beirdh', i.e. the 'Excellent of the Bards'.[']"

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 78/79.

43.5 They] "Variations in the Bedingfield copy: [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Variations in the Bedingfield copy: ye."

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], 171.

43.5 They] "ye [Letter to] Bed[ingfield, 27 [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"ye [Letter to] Bed[ingfield, 27 Aug. 1756]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 20.

43.5 They] "ye   Bedingfield." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"ye   Bedingfield."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

Add a note or query to this line

44 'On yonder cliffs, a grisly band, 3 Explanatory

39.1 - 45.7 'Dear ... yet,] "Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc etiam horribili visu portenta sequuntur, / et socii amissi petierunt aethera pinnis / fluminibusque vagantur aves (heu dira meorum / supplicia!) et scopulos lacrimosis vocibus implent (Even now, portents of dreadful view pursue me; my lost comrades have winged their way to the sky or haunt the streams as birds - alas! the dire punishment of my people! - and fill the cliffs with their tearful cries). In his version of these lines, Dryden translates socii amissi as 'lost Companions'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

44.1 - 46.5 'On ... land:] "Statius, Thebaid xi 422-3: Montibus [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Statius, Thebaid xi 422-3: Montibus insidunt patriis tristique corona / infecere diem (Seated upon their native hills [the Ogygian ghosts] pollute the day with grisly band). In June 1756 (Corresp ii 465), G[ray]. had written to Mason concerning his use of the spirits of Snowdon in his Caractacus: 'I am of your opinion, that the Ghosts will spoil the Picture, unless they are thrown at a huge distance, & extremely kept down.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

44.4-6 a ... band,] "Possibly Gray may be referring [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Possibly Gray may be referring to the Bard when he writes to Mason in 1756 (Works, II, 284): ''I am of your opinion, that the ghosts will spoil the picture, unless they are thrown at a huge distance, and extremely kept down.''"

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, 158.

Add a note or query to this line

45 'I see them sit, they linger yet, 3 Explanatory

39.1 - 45.7 'Dear ... yet,] "Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xi 271-4: Nunc etiam horribili visu portenta sequuntur, / et socii amissi petierunt aethera pinnis / fluminibusque vagantur aves (heu dira meorum / supplicia!) et scopulos lacrimosis vocibus implent (Even now, portents of dreadful view pursue me; my lost comrades have winged their way to the sky or haunt the streams as birds - alas! the dire punishment of my people! - and fill the cliffs with their tearful cries). In his version of these lines, Dryden translates socii amissi as 'lost Companions'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

44.1 - 46.5 'On ... land:] "Statius, Thebaid xi 422-3: Montibus [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Statius, Thebaid xi 422-3: Montibus insidunt patriis tristique corona / infecere diem (Seated upon their native hills [the Ogygian ghosts] pollute the day with grisly band). In June 1756 (Corresp ii 465), G[ray]. had written to Mason concerning his use of the spirits of Snowdon in his Caractacus: 'I am of your opinion, that the Ghosts will spoil the Picture, unless they are thrown at a huge distance, & extremely kept down.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

45.1-7 'I ... yet,] "In l. 45 'yet' was [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"In l. 45 'yet' was probably pronounced 'yit' (cf. 'git' for 'get'). At least the rhyme is Popian:

''How shall we fill a library with wit
When Merlin's cave is half unfurnished yet?''
    Ep. to Augustus (354, 355)."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 212.

Add a note or query to this line

46 'Avengers of their native land: 1 Explanatory

44.1 - 46.5 'On ... land:] "Statius, Thebaid xi 422-3: Montibus [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Statius, Thebaid xi 422-3: Montibus insidunt patriis tristique corona / infecere diem (Seated upon their native hills [the Ogygian ghosts] pollute the day with grisly band). In June 1756 (Corresp ii 465), G[ray]. had written to Mason concerning his use of the spirits of Snowdon in his Caractacus: 'I am of your opinion, that the Ghosts will spoil the Picture, unless they are thrown at a huge distance, & extremely kept down.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 188.

Add a note or query to this line

47 'With me in dreadful harmony they join, 4 Explanatory

47.1 - 48.10 'With ... line.'] "Gray refers to 'The Fatal [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray refers to 'The Fatal Sisters,' which appeared in the edition of 1768. We may take this note as indicating that when he wrote the Bard he had already made some study of Scandinavian poetry. As we have seen, Gray had reached this stage of the Bard before Aug. 21, 1755; hence he had probably read the Latin version of Bartholin, from which he translated 'The Fatal Sisters,' before that date. This becomes almost certain when we compare the thrice-repeated refrain of the Sisters

''Texamus, texamus
Telam Darradi''
with the similar burden of Gray's Bards. And compare ''And weave with bloody hands the tissue of thy line,'' or ''The winding-sheet of Edward's race'' with the
''tela virorum
quam amicae (the Valkyries) texunt
rubro subtemine
Randveri mortis''
of Bartholin's version.
Indeed the resemblance here between the Bard and the Fatal Sisters led Scott into an error. In the Antiquary chap. XXX. he makes Oldbuck say: '' 'Weave the warp and weave the woof' - you remember the passage in the Fatal Sisters which by the way is not so fine as in the original.''
It is characteristic that in his correspondence with Mason on the subject of Caractacus, Gray suppressed all reference to his own example in The Bard. He suggests to Mason, who was inclined to mix alien with Celtic elements too boldly, that we might be ''permitted (in that scarcity of Celtic ideas we labour under) to adopt some of these foreign whimsies, dropping however all mention of Woden and his Valkhyrian virgins'' &c. [Jan. 13, 1758.]
The conception of spirits weaving the web of destiny, is one which might fitly belong to the poetry of any nation, and Gray had no scruple in adopting it for his Welsh ghosts; but we should have supposed, did not the comparison which he invites tell us otherwise, that he had ingrafted it from the Greek myth of the Fates rather than from a Scandinavian source.
Gray wrote to Mason, early in 1756, ''I see, methinks (as I sit on Snowdon) some glimpse of Mona, and her haunted shades, and hope we shall be very good neighbours. Any Druidical anecdotes that I can meet with I will be sure to send you. I am of your opinion, that the ghosts will spoil the picture, unless they are thrown at a huge distance, and extremely kept down.'' Gray here refers to his own Bard and Mason's Caractacus, the scene of which is Mona (Anglesey), but his advice about the ghosts concerns Caractacus, not The Bard as Dr Phelps suggests. By this time Gray's ghosts had been seen ''on yonder cliffs'' and had asserted themselves very vigorously, having in fact completed their prophecy. But Mason was questioning how far he should employ the spirits from Snowdon in the ode in Caractacus beginning 'Mona on Snowdon calls,' l. 49."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 212/213.

47.1 - 48.10 'With ... line.'] "Gray is here [in his [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Gray is here [in his note] pointing out that the idea of a web of destiny being woven appears in both poems [The Bard and The Fatal Sisters]. He felt that, under certain circumstances, it was perfectly proper to incorporate ideas from one mythology in another; he wrote to Mason, 13 Jan. 1758 (T & W no. 262): 'might we not be permitted (in that scarcity of Celtic Ideas we labour under) to adopt some of these foreign whimsies, dropping however all mention of Woden, & his Valkhyrian Virgins, &c. ...'"

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 209.

47.1 - 48.10 'With ... line.'] "In his own copy of [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"In his own copy of the Odes, G[ray]. wrote: 'The image is taken from an ancient Scaldic Ode, written in the old-Norwegian tongue about A:D: 1029.' This poem was The Fatal Sisters (see the headnote to it, p. 210 below). A number of commentators have objected to G.'s introduction of Norse mythology into a. poem about Welsh bards. Cf. Gentleman's Mag. lviii (1788) 24: 'The poet might, with equal propriety, and only the same violation, have had recourse to Mahometan, or Grecian, or Indian, or any other Mythology.' For G.'s views on 'that scarcity of Celtic Ideas we labour under' and the need for tactful adoption of 'foreign whimsies' to blend with them, see his letter to Mason, 13 Jan. 1758 (Corresp ii 550-1)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 189.

47.1 - 48.10 'With ... line.'] "Gray based the idea of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Gray based the idea of these and the following lines on the Old Norse poem he translated as 'The Fatal Sisters'."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

Add a note or query to this line

48 'And weave with bloody hands the tissue of thy line.' 5 Explanatory

47.1 - 48.10 'With ... line.'] "Gray refers to 'The Fatal [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray refers to 'The Fatal Sisters,' which appeared in the edition of 1768. We may take this note as indicating that when he wrote the Bard he had already made some study of Scandinavian poetry. As we have seen, Gray had reached this stage of the Bard before Aug. 21, 1755; hence he had probably read the Latin version of Bartholin, from which he translated 'The Fatal Sisters,' before that date. This becomes almost certain when we compare the thrice-repeated refrain of the Sisters

''Texamus, texamus
Telam Darradi''
with the similar burden of Gray's Bards. And compare ''And weave with bloody hands the tissue of thy line,'' or ''The winding-sheet of Edward's race'' with the
''tela virorum
quam amicae (the Valkyries) texunt
rubro subtemine
Randveri mortis''
of Bartholin's version.
Indeed the resemblance here between the Bard and the Fatal Sisters led Scott into an error. In the Antiquary chap. XXX. he makes Oldbuck say: '' 'Weave the warp and weave the woof' - you remember the passage in the Fatal Sisters which by the way is not so fine as in the original.''
It is characteristic that in his correspondence with Mason on the subject of Caractacus, Gray suppressed all reference to his own example in The Bard. He suggests to Mason, who was inclined to mix alien with Celtic elements too boldly, that we might be ''permitted (in that scarcity of Celtic ideas we labour under) to adopt some of these foreign whimsies, dropping however all mention of Woden and his Valkhyrian virgins'' &c. [Jan. 13, 1758.]
The conception of spirits weaving the web of destiny, is one which might fitly belong to the poetry of any nation, and Gray had no scruple in adopting it for his Welsh ghosts; but we should have supposed, did not the comparison which he invites tell us otherwise, that he had ingrafted it from the Greek myth of the Fates rather than from a Scandinavian source.
Gray wrote to Mason, early in 1756, ''I see, methinks (as I sit on Snowdon) some glimpse of Mona, and her haunted shades, and hope we shall be very good neighbours. Any Druidical anecdotes that I can meet with I will be sure to send you. I am of your opinion, that the ghosts will spoil the picture, unless they are thrown at a huge distance, and extremely kept down.'' Gray here refers to his own Bard and Mason's Caractacus, the scene of which is Mona (Anglesey), but his advice about the ghosts concerns Caractacus, not The Bard as Dr Phelps suggests. By this time Gray's ghosts had been seen ''on yonder cliffs'' and had asserted themselves very vigorously, having in fact completed their prophecy. But Mason was questioning how far he should employ the spirits from Snowdon in the ode in Caractacus beginning 'Mona on Snowdon calls,' l. 49."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 212/213.

47.1 - 48.10 'With ... line.'] "Gray is here [in his [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Gray is here [in his note] pointing out that the idea of a web of destiny being woven appears in both poems [The Bard and The Fatal Sisters]. He felt that, under certain circumstances, it was perfectly proper to incorporate ideas from one mythology in another; he wrote to Mason, 13 Jan. 1758 (T & W no. 262): 'might we not be permitted (in that scarcity of Celtic Ideas we labour under) to adopt some of these foreign whimsies, dropping however all mention of Woden, & his Valkhyrian Virgins, &c. ...'"

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 209.

47.1 - 48.10 'With ... line.'] "In his own copy of [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"In his own copy of the Odes, G[ray]. wrote: 'The image is taken from an ancient Scaldic Ode, written in the old-Norwegian tongue about A:D: 1029.' This poem was The Fatal Sisters (see the headnote to it, p. 210 below). A number of commentators have objected to G.'s introduction of Norse mythology into a. poem about Welsh bards. Cf. Gentleman's Mag. lviii (1788) 24: 'The poet might, with equal propriety, and only the same violation, have had recourse to Mahometan, or Grecian, or Indian, or any other Mythology.' For G.'s views on 'that scarcity of Celtic Ideas we labour under' and the need for tactful adoption of 'foreign whimsies' to blend with them, see his letter to Mason, 13 Jan. 1758 (Corresp ii 550-1)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 189.

47.1 - 48.10 'With ... line.'] "Gray based the idea of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Gray based the idea of these and the following lines on the Old Norse poem he translated as 'The Fatal Sisters'."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

48.1-10 'And ... line.'] "Gray's note refers to the [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Gray's note refers to the Fatal Sisters."

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, 158.

Add a note or query to this line


II. 1.

49 "Weave the warp, and weave the woof, 9 Explanatory

49.1-7 "Weave ... woof,] "At this point, beginning with [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"At this point, beginning with the words ''Weave the warp,'' the spirits of the dead bards alluded to in the last stanza join in the song; this chorus is continued through line 100, where the spirits vanish and the one Singer continues in solitude. This conception of Gray's is as dramatic as it is poetical."

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, 158/159.

49.1-7 "Weave ... woof,] "The warp means the threads [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The warp means the threads extended lengthwise in the loom in weaving, and the woof means the threads that cross the warp."

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, 159.

49.1-7 "Weave ... woof,] "From this line down to [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From this line down to the end of line 100, the ''lost companions'' [l. 39] of the bard ''join in harmony'' [l. 47] with him, and then disappear, and he continues the prophecy alone. This is clearly indicated in all the editions published in Gray's lifetime; in these each line spoken by the bard alone - 1 to 8 and 23 to 48 - begins with a single inverted comma, and there is one at the end of line 48. Then from line 49 to 100 there are two inverted commas at the beginning of each line, and two at the end of line 100; and, again, one inverted comma at each line from 101 to 142, which also ends with one. In Wakefield's edition (1786) and Lackington's (1788), the marks are correct. Mason (1775) is also correct, and all reprints I have seen of his editions, except that the two inverted commas at the end of line 100 are placed within the bracket. But in Mitford's edition (1814), the commas at the end of line 100 are omitted, and in other respects the portion of the poem from line 23 to 142 is printed as if an uninterrupted speech by the bard alone. The omission of the inverted commas at the end of line 100 obscures the intention of the poet, and in this Mitford has been followed by almost every subsequent editor of Gray's ''Poems'' - Moultrie (the Eton edition); Candy (Longmans) 1868; Rolfe (New York), 1876; Gosse, 1884; the Clarendon Press; Hales' ''Longer English Poems,'' ''the Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics,'' and Ward's ''English Poets.''"

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], 198.

49.1-7 "Weave ... woof,] " ''They are called upon [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" ''They are called upon to 'weave the warp, and weave the woof' perhaps with no great propriety: for it is by crossing the woof with the warp that men weave the web or piece.'' Johnson. Johnson's words leave it more than doubtful whether he himself knew which is the fixed part of the fabric. This is the warp, which in the Homeric loom, and the loom of the Fatal Sisters (l. 10) was stretched perpendicularly, the weavers crossing it with the woof. Gray's 'weave the warp' is countenanced by Bartholin, who must by 'tela' mean 'the warp' when he writes

''Jam hastis applicatur
cineracea
tela virorum
quam amicae texunt'' (the warp which they weave),
for the 'hastae' or 'lances'
            ''are the loom
Where the dusky warp we strain.''
as Gray has it.
By ''weave the warp and weave the woof'' Gray means 'weave them together'; 'interweave them.' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 213.

49.1-7 "Weave ... woof,] "The chorus of bards now [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The chorus of bards now sings. Their part was indicated in 1757 and in every edition, says Dr Bradshaw, published in Gray's lifetime by double, that of the Bard solo by single, inverted commas."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 213.

49.1 - 51.6 "Weave ... enough] "See Johnson's criticism [...] [in [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"See Johnson's criticism [...] [in his Life of Gray (1781)] 'Mrs. Thrale maintained that his Odes were melodious; upon which he exclaimed, 'Weave the warp, and weave the woof.' I added, in a solemn tone, 'The winding sheet of Edward's race.' ''There is a good line.'' ''Ay,'' said he, ''and the next line is a good one (pronouncing it contemptously): 'Give ample verge and room enough.' No, Sir, there are but two good stanzas in Gray's poetry , which are in his Elegy in a Country Churchyard.'' He then repeated the stanza, 'For who to dumb forgetfulness a prey, &c.' [l. 85-88] mistaking one word; for instead of precincts he said confines. He added, ''The other stanza I forget.'' ' (Boswell, 28 March 1775.)"

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], 162.

49.1-7 "Weave ... woof,] "The chorus of bards begins [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"The chorus of bards begins here and is indicated by Gray's double quotation marks; the remarks of the bard alone are enclosed in single quotation marks. Incidentally, despite Dr. Johnson's criticism, it is perfectly possible to 'weave the warp, and weave the woof', especially in the sense of 'interweave them'."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 209.

49.1-7 "Weave ... woof,] "Johnson objected in his Life [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Johnson objected in his Life of G[ray]. (Lives of the Poets, ed. G. B. Hill, iii 439-40): 'They are then called upon to ''weave the warp, and weave the woof,'' perhaps with no great propriety; for it is by crossing the woof with the warp that men weave the web or piece'. The 'warp' is the fixed thread, which may have been Johnson's point; but by the repetition of 'weave' G. clearly meant no more than 'interweave' or 'weave together'. It is at this point that the chorus of bards begin their prophecy, which continues until l. 100."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 189.

49.1-7 "Weave ... woof,] "The reference to Macbeth is [...]" M. Pashchenko, 2008.

"The reference to Macbeth is generally elaborated in connection with The Bard [...] Gray’s nod toward the Witches seems to be equally evident thanks to the similar rhythm of both invocative refrains (trochaic tetrameter with the last unstressed syllable expressively abridged):

Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
Thrice and once the hedge-pig whin‘d.
(IV,1: 1 – 2)".

Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476, 465.

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50 "The winding-sheet of Edward's race. 1 Explanatory

49.1 - 51.6 "Weave ... enough] "See Johnson's criticism [...] [in [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"See Johnson's criticism [...] [in his Life of Gray (1781)] 'Mrs. Thrale maintained that his Odes were melodious; upon which he exclaimed, 'Weave the warp, and weave the woof.' I added, in a solemn tone, 'The winding sheet of Edward's race.' ''There is a good line.'' ''Ay,'' said he, ''and the next line is a good one (pronouncing it contemptously): 'Give ample verge and room enough.' No, Sir, there are but two good stanzas in Gray's poetry , which are in his Elegy in a Country Churchyard.'' He then repeated the stanza, 'For who to dumb forgetfulness a prey, &c.' [l. 85-88] mistaking one word; for instead of precincts he said confines. He added, ''The other stanza I forget.'' ' (Boswell, 28 March 1775.)"

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], 162.

Add a note or query to this line

51 "Give ample room, and verge enough 4 Explanatory

49.1 - 51.6 "Weave ... enough] "See Johnson's criticism [...] [in [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"See Johnson's criticism [...] [in his Life of Gray (1781)] 'Mrs. Thrale maintained that his Odes were melodious; upon which he exclaimed, 'Weave the warp, and weave the woof.' I added, in a solemn tone, 'The winding sheet of Edward's race.' ''There is a good line.'' ''Ay,'' said he, ''and the next line is a good one (pronouncing it contemptously): 'Give ample verge and room enough.' No, Sir, there are but two good stanzas in Gray's poetry , which are in his Elegy in a Country Churchyard.'' He then repeated the stanza, 'For who to dumb forgetfulness a prey, &c.' [l. 85-88] mistaking one word; for instead of precincts he said confines. He added, ''The other stanza I forget.'' ' (Boswell, 28 March 1775.)"

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], 162.

51.1-6 "Give ... enough] "Mitford compares Dryden, Sebastian Act [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Mitford compares Dryden, Sebastian Act I. sc. 1

''I have a soul that like an ample shield
Can take in all, and verge enough for more.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 213.

51.1-6 "Give ... enough] "Dryden, Don Sebastian I i: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Dryden, Don Sebastian I i: 'I have a soul that, like an ample shield, / Can take in all, and verge enough for more'; Pope, Iliad xvii 670: 'Beneath its ample verge'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 189.

51.5 verge] "Literally, the border. The passage [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Literally, the border. The passage means simply: ''Let there be plenty of room to get everything in.''"

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, 159.

Add a note or query to this line

52 "The characters of hell to trace. 3 Explanatory

52.2 characters] "i.e. letters, in the original [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"i.e. letters, in the original sense."

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], 162.

52.2 characters] "Johnson defines 'character' in this [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Johnson defines 'character' in this sense as 'A mark; a stamp; a representation'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 189.

52.3-4 of hell] " ''hellish'' says Dr Bradshaw [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" ''hellish'' says Dr Bradshaw ''of such a nature as might be expected of evil spirits.'' Surely not; it is against the drift of the poem to represent the Bards as 'evil' spirits. They are spirits prophetic of destruction; and 'hell and destruction,' (coupled in Scripture,) are almost cognate ideas. With the same [Greek word (omitted)] Gray writes in the Fatal Sisters l. 2,

''Haste! the loom of hell prepare'';
and though his Bards are Celts, in neither place was he quite uninfluenced by the image of the Hela of Northern Mythology whose palace in Niflheim was Anguish; her table Famine; her bed Care. He wrote to Mason Jan. 13, 1751 ''Do not think I am ignorant about either the Gothic Elysium, or the hell before, or the twilight. I have been there, and have seen it all in Mallet's Introduction to the History of Denmark (it is in French) and many other places.'' See Introduction to Fatal Sisters."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 213/214.

Add a note or query to this line

53 "Mark the year and mark the night, 1 Explanatory

53.1-3 "Mark ... year] "the 21st of September 1327, [...]" J. Crofts, 1948 [1st ed. 1926].

"the 21st of September 1327, when Edward II was murdered in Berkeley Castle by Gournay and Ogle."

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], 162.

Add a note or query to this line

54 "When Severn shall re-echo with affright 3 Explanatory

54.1 - 56.5 "When ... King!] "Cp. Drayton, The Barons' Wars [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Drayton, The Barons' Wars V lxvi 1-4, lxvii 1-3: 'When those (i'th' depth and dead time of the night) / Poor simple people, that then dwelled near, / Whom that strange noise did wond'rously affright, / That his last shriek did in his parting hear / ... // Berkely, whose fair seat hath been famous long, / Let thy sad echoes shriek a deadly sound, / To the vast air ...'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 189.

54.1 - 55.9 "When ... ring,] "Edward the Second was murdered [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Edward the Second was murdered in Berkeley Castle in 1327, at the instigation of his Queen, Isabella of France (the 'She-wolf of France')."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

54.2 Severn] "The river." W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The river."

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, 159.

Add a note or query to this line

55 "The shrieks of death, through Berkeley's roofs that ring, 6 Explanatory

54.1 - 56.5 "When ... King!] "Cp. Drayton, The Barons' Wars [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Drayton, The Barons' Wars V lxvi 1-4, lxvii 1-3: 'When those (i'th' depth and dead time of the night) / Poor simple people, that then dwelled near, / Whom that strange noise did wond'rously affright, / That his last shriek did in his parting hear / ... // Berkely, whose fair seat hath been famous long, / Let thy sad echoes shriek a deadly sound, / To the vast air ...'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 189.

54.1 - 55.9 "When ... ring,] "Edward the Second was murdered [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Edward the Second was murdered in Berkeley Castle in 1327, at the instigation of his Queen, Isabella of France (the 'She-wolf of France')."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

55.1-7 "The ... roofs] "Berkeley castle, which stands S.-E. [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Berkeley castle, which stands S.-E. of the town of Berkeley. It is said to have been built soon after the Norman conquest, and is in good condition to-day."

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, 159.

55.1-7 "The ... roofs] "Berkeley Castle is on the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Berkeley Castle is on the south-east side of the town of Berkeley. Mitford incorrectly reads ''Berkeley's roof.'' Mitford quotes Drayton, ''Barons' Wars'': -

''Berkeley, whose fair seat hath been famous long,
    Let thy sad echoes shriek a deadly sound
To the vast air; complain his grievous wrong,
    And keep the blood that issued from this wound.''"

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], 199.

55.1-9 "The ... ring,] "Mitford compares Drayton, Barons' Wars, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Mitford compares Drayton, Barons' Wars, V. lxvii.

''Berkley, whose fair seat hath been famous long,
Let thy sad echoes shriek a ghastly sound
To the vast air'' &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 214.

55.1-9 "The ... ring,] "Edward II was murdered in [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"Edward II was murdered in Berkeley Castle."

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, 114.

Add a note or query to this line

56 "Shrieks of an agonizing King! 6 Explanatory

54.1 - 56.5 "When ... King!] "Cp. Drayton, The Barons' Wars [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Drayton, The Barons' Wars V lxvi 1-4, lxvii 1-3: 'When those (i'th' depth and dead time of the night) / Poor simple people, that then dwelled near, / Whom that strange noise did wond'rously affright, / That his last shriek did in his parting hear / ... // Berkely, whose fair seat hath been famous long, / Let thy sad echoes shriek a deadly sound, / To the vast air ...'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 189.

56.1 - 57.6 "Shrieks ... fangs,] "For the events of Edward [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"For the events of Edward the Second's reign, the faithlessness of his wife, Isabella of France, the treason of Mortimer, and the cruel death of the king, read the ''Student's Hume,'' chap. ix, or Green's ''Short History.''"

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], 199.

56.1-5 "Shrieks ... King!] "The expression seems to have [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The expression seems to have been taken from Hume's description: ''The screams with which the agonizing king filled the castle.'' The first volume of Hume's ''History'' was published in 1754, and it is therefore probable that Gray had just been reading it."

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], 199.

56.1-5 "Shrieks ... King!] "This line of Gray's is [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"This line of Gray's is almost in the same words as Hume's description vol. II. p. 359 'The screams with which the agonizing king filled the castle.' Mitford.
Hume may have had Gray's lines in mind; certainly this part of his history was published after the completion of the Bard."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 214.

56.4 agonizing] "Suffering agony; more commonly used [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Suffering agony; more commonly used as a transitive verb: - ''The lifted axe, the agonizing wheel.'' - Goldsmith's Traveller, 435."

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], 199.

56.4 agonizing] "Johnson defines agonize as 'To [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Johnson defines agonize as 'To feel agonies; to be in excessive pain'; but OED gives also 'to be in the throes of death'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

Add a note or query to this line

57 "She-wolf of France, with unrelenting fangs, 5 Explanatory

56.1 - 57.6 "Shrieks ... fangs,] "For the events of Edward [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"For the events of Edward the Second's reign, the faithlessness of his wife, Isabella of France, the treason of Mortimer, and the cruel death of the king, read the ''Student's Hume,'' chap. ix, or Green's ''Short History.''"

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], 199.

57.1-6 "She-wolf ... fangs,] "Mitford quotes Henry VI., pt. [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Mitford quotes Henry VI., pt. III, i, 4, 111: ''She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France.''"

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, 159.

57.1-3 "She-wolf ... France,] "Gray took the expression, as [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray took the expression, as Mitford notes, from Henry VI. Part III. i. 4. 111, but he uses it more happily:

''She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France,
Whose tongue more poisons than the adder's tooth,''
says York to Q. Margaret, 'the faithful Consort' in the Bard, l. 89."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 214.

57.1-3 "She-wolf ... France,] "She is supposed to have [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"She is supposed to have procured his murder and formed a connection with Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. Shakespeare calls Margaret of Anjou 'She-wolf of France', III Henry VI I iv 111."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

57.1-3 "She-wolf ... France,] "Isabel, Edward II's adulterous queen." J. Reeves, 1973.

"Isabel, Edward II's adulterous queen."

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, 114.

Add a note or query to this line

58 "That tear'st the bowels of thy mangled mate, 1 Explanatory

58.3-4 the bowels] "With some reference such as [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With some reference such as poetry and the epithet 'she-wolf' permitted, to the horrible circumstances of the king's death."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 214.

Add a note or query to this line

59 "From thee be born, who o'er thy country hangs 2 Explanatory

59.5 who] "This Latinate compression of 'him [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"This Latinate compression of 'him who' is in the manner of Milton, e.g. Par. Lost iv 792-3."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

59.9 - 60.4 hangs ... heaven.] " 'Hangs' is neuter, with [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'Hangs' is neuter, with 'scourge' as noun after it, says Dr Bradshaw. This may be Gray's meaning, but he has taken little pains to indicate it. We should have expected in the edition of 1757 to find a comma after 'hangs', and 'scourge' printed with a capital. It may be replied however that 'sorrow' and 'solitude' should be so printed there, and yet they are not. Inclining to Dr Bradshaw's view so far, I yet think that Gray's expression comes only indirectly from Scripture, e.g. Isaiah x. 26 ''The Lord of Hosts shall stir up a scourge for him.'' Gray would have quoted the title 'the Scourge of God' bestowed on Attila by a Christian monk, and ever after assumed by him."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 214/215.

Add a note or query to this line

60 "The scourge of heaven. What terrors round him wait! 4 Explanatory

59.9 - 60.4 hangs ... heaven.] " 'Hangs' is neuter, with [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'Hangs' is neuter, with 'scourge' as noun after it, says Dr Bradshaw. This may be Gray's meaning, but he has taken little pains to indicate it. We should have expected in the edition of 1757 to find a comma after 'hangs', and 'scourge' printed with a capital. It may be replied however that 'sorrow' and 'solitude' should be so printed there, and yet they are not. Inclining to Dr Bradshaw's view so far, I yet think that Gray's expression comes only indirectly from Scripture, e.g. Isaiah x. 26 ''The Lord of Hosts shall stir up a scourge for him.'' Gray would have quoted the title 'the Scourge of God' bestowed on Attila by a Christian monk, and ever after assumed by him."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 214/215.

60.1 - 62.7 "The ... behind.] "Virgil, Aeneid xii 335-6: circumque [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xii 335-6: circumque atrae Formidinis ora / Iraeque Insidiaeque, dei comitatus, aguntur (Around him speed black Terror's forms, and Anger, and Ambush, attendants on the god). Cp. also Cowley, Davideis Bk iv: 'Ruin behind and terror marched before'; Oldham, The Praise of Homer st. iii: 'Horror stalks in the Van, and Slaughter in the Rear.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

60.1-9 "The ... wait!] "Edward the Third, who began [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Edward the Third, who began the Hundred Years' War against France."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

60.2-4 scourge ... heaven.] "Attila was called flagella Dei; [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Attila was called flagella Dei; and Marlowe's Tamburlaine frequently claims to be the 'scourge of God'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

Add a note or query to this line

61 "Amazement in his van, with Flight combined, 4 Explanatory

60.1 - 62.7 "The ... behind.] "Virgil, Aeneid xii 335-6: circumque [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xii 335-6: circumque atrae Formidinis ora / Iraeque Insidiaeque, dei comitatus, aguntur (Around him speed black Terror's forms, and Anger, and Ambush, attendants on the god). Cp. also Cowley, Davideis Bk iv: 'Ruin behind and terror marched before'; Oldham, The Praise of Homer st. iii: 'Horror stalks in the Van, and Slaughter in the Rear.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

61.1 "Amazement] "Confusion, as commonly in Shakspere." W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Confusion, as commonly in Shakspere."

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, 159.

61.1-6 "Amazement ... Flight] "Amazement and Flight are the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Amazement and Flight are the [Greek words (omitted)] of Homer Il. IV. 440, present at the clash of the Greek and Trojan hosts; Homer puts them, as does Gray, in sequence, for [Greek word (omitted)] is Panic, and [Greek word (omitted)] the ensuing Rout.
For 'Amazement' cf. North's Plutarch ''Ariovistus...much wondered at Caesar's courage and the more when he saw his own army in a maze withall.' Also Shakespeare, Merry Wives, IV. 4. 55 'We two in great amazedness will fly'; and 'not afraid with any amazement,' A.V. I Pet. 3. 6 ([Greek words (omitted)] in the Greek)."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

61.1 "Amazement] "[I]n eighteenth-century English the word [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"[I]n eighteenth-century English the word carries overtones of terror and shock."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 12.

Add a note or query to this line

62 "And Sorrow's faded form, and Solitude behind. 2 Explanatory, 3 Textual

60.1 - 62.7 "The ... behind.] "Virgil, Aeneid xii 335-6: circumque [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid xii 335-6: circumque atrae Formidinis ora / Iraeque Insidiaeque, dei comitatus, aguntur (Around him speed black Terror's forms, and Anger, and Ambush, attendants on the god). Cp. also Cowley, Davideis Bk iv: 'Ruin behind and terror marched before'; Oldham, The Praise of Homer st. iii: 'Horror stalks in the Van, and Slaughter in the Rear.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

62.2-6 Sorrow's ... Solitude] "[So in] Wharton MS. In [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"[So in] Wharton MS. In a letter to Walpole of August 20, 1757, Gray pointed out that the words should have had capital letters in the Strawberry Hill edition."

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], 172.

62.2-6 Sorrow's ... Solitude] "sorrow's . . . solitude [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"sorrow's . . . solitude O[des, 1757,] P[oems, 1768,] but in a letter to Walpole (T & W no. 243, 10 Aug. 1757) Gray stated his preference for capitals.."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 20.

62.2-6 Sorrow's ... Solitude] "G[ray]. told Walpole, 10 Aug. [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. told Walpole, 10 Aug. 1757 (Corresp i 513), that 'sorrow' and 'solitude' should have had capital letters in 1757; but the correction was not made 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, 190.

62.6 Solitude] "Referring to districts made waste [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Referring to districts made waste and uninhabited by war."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

Add a note or query to this line


II. 2.

63 "Mighty victor, mighty lord, 1 Explanatory, 6 Textual

63.1 - 64.7 "Mighty ... lies!] "Oldham, David's Lamentations st. iv: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Oldham, David's Lamentations st. iv: 'Lo! there the mighty Warriour lies, / With all his Lawrels, all his Victories.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

63.2 victor,] "Conqueror. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Conqueror. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

63.2 victor,] "Conqueror. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Conqueror. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203.

63.2 victor,] "Conqu'ror, Wharton MS. with Victor [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Conqu'ror, Wharton MS. with Victor superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

63.2 victor,] "Conqueror The variation[] [...] [is [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Conqueror The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

63.2 victor,] "Conqueror (del) Wh-2 [Letter to [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Conqueror (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 20.

63.2 victor,] "Conqueror   Wharton, deleted." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Conqueror   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

Add a note or query to this line

64 "Low on his funeral couch he lies! 3 Explanatory, 6 Textual

63.1 - 64.7 "Mighty ... lies!] "Oldham, David's Lamentations st. iv: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Oldham, David's Lamentations st. iv: 'Lo! there the mighty Warriour lies, / With all his Lawrels, all his Victories.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

64.1-7 "Low ... lies!] "The mistress [in Gray's note] [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The mistress [in Gray's note] was Alice Perrers, who is said to have stolen even the ring from the king's finger."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

64.1-7 "Low ... lies!] "Death of Edward III." J. Reeves, 1973.

"Death of Edward III."

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, 114.

64.3 his] "The. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"The. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

64.3 his] "The. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203.

64.3 his] "the   Wharton MS. with [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"the   Wharton MS. with his superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

64.3 his] "the The variation[] [...] [is [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"the The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

64.3 his] "the (del) Wh-2 [Letter to [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"the (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 20.

64.3 his] "the   Wharton, deleted." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"the   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

Add a note or query to this line

65 "No pitying heart, no eye, afford 1 Explanatory, 6 Textual

65.1-4 "No ... no] "What ... what. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"What ... what. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

65.1-4 "No ... no] "What ... what. [Footnote: ''These [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"What ... what. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203.

65.1-4 "No ... no] "What ... what   Wharton [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"What ... what   Wharton MS. With No ... no superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

65.1-4 "No ... no] "What ... what The variation[] [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"What ... what The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

65.1-4 "No ... no] "What . . ., what [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"What . . ., what (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 20.

65.1-4 "No ... no] "What ... what   Wharton, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"What ... what   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

65.6 afford] "The plural verb is governed [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"The plural verb is governed by both singular nouns. Cp. Dryden, The Despairing Lover 98: 'Nor wept his fate, nor cast a pitying eye'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

Add a note or query to this line

66 "A tear to grace his obsequies. 1 Explanatory, 1 Textual

66.1-6 "A ... obsequies.] "III Henry VI I iv [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"III Henry VI I iv 147: 'These tears are my sweet Rutland's obsequies'; Titus Andronicus I i 159-60: 'My tributary tears / I render for my brethren's obsequies'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 190.

66.6 obsequies.] "obsequies? Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"obsequies? Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 20.

Add a note or query to this line

67 "Is the sable warrior fled? 3 Explanatory

67.2-4 the ... warrior] "Mitford quotes Prior, ''Hence Edward [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Mitford quotes Prior, ''Hence Edward dreadful with his sable shield,'' but he points out that in Peacham's Period of Mourning, 1613, the epithet 'Black' is differently accounted for; Edward is described as

''a goodly prince
Of swarthy hew.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

67.2-5 the ... fled?] "A reference to the Black [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"A reference to the Black Prince."

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, 114.

67.2-4 the ... warrior] "Edward the Black Prince, son [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward the Third."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

Add a note or query to this line

68 "Thy son is gone. He rests among the dead.
69 "The swarm that in thy noon-tide beam were born? 4 Explanatory, 6 Textual

69.1-9 "The ... born?] "There is a note of [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"There is a note of interrogation at this line, and the question may be supplied thus: ''The Swarm that were born in thy noon-tide beam, where are they?'' or ''are they fled?'' The next line answers ''They are gone,'' 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], 199.

69.1-9 "The ... born?] "He has the same metaphors [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"He has the same metaphors in ''Agrippina'': - ''The gilded swarm that wantons in the sunshine / Of thy full favour.''"

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], 199.

69.1-9 "The ... born?] "Hovered in the noontide ray. [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Hovered in the noontide ray. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203.

69.1-9 "The ... born?] "''The swarm that hover'd in [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"''The swarm that hover'd in thy noontide ray?'' Wharton MS. erased with ''in thy noontide ray were born'' superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

69.1-9 "The ... born?] "Agrippina, ll. 145, 146, ''The [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Agrippina, ll. 145, 146,

''The gilded swarm that wantons in the sunshine
Of thy full favour.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

69.1-9 "The ... born?] "The Swarm, that hover'd in [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"The Swarm, that hover'd in thy noontide ray The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

69.1-9 "The ... born?] "Cp. 'summer's noontide air', Par. [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. 'summer's noontide air', Par. Lost ii 309; 'their noontide ray', Pope, Essay on Man iv 305; 'noontide rays', Dryden, Persius iii 3; 'noontide beam', Young, Night Thoughts vii 207; and see also Ode on the Spring 25-30 (pp. 51-2) and Agrippina 144-6 (p. 40)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

69.4-9 in ... born?] "Hover'd in thy noontide ray. [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"Hover'd in thy noontide ray. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

69.4-9 in ... born?] "hover'd in thy noontide ray [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"hover'd in thy noontide ray (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

69.4-9 in ... born?] "hover'd in thy noontide ray [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"hover'd in thy noontide ray   Wharton[,] deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

Add a note or query to this line

70 "Gone to salute the rising morn. 2 Explanatory, 6 Textual

70.1-6 "Gone ... morn.] "Compare the saying of Pompey [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Compare the saying of Pompey to Sulla, when the Dictator wished to deny Pompey a triumph, 'In vain you oppose me; for men worship the rising rather than the setting sun.'"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

70.1-6 "Gone ... morn.] "Cp. 'As when the golden [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. 'As when the golden sun salutes the morn', Titus Andronicus II i 5; and 'Saluted in her Song the Morning gray', Dryden, Palamon and Arcite ii 38. Dryden also has 'the rising morn' in Aeneid iii 682 and Ovid's Metamorphoses i 73."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

70.6 morn.] "Day. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Day. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

70.6 morn.] "Day. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Day. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203.

70.6 morn.] "day. Wharton MS. erased, with [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"day. Wharton MS. erased, with morn at side."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 215.

70.6 morn.] "day The variation[] [...] [is [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"day The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

70.6 morn.] "day (del) Wh-2 [Letter to [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"day (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

70.6 morn.] "day   Wharton, deleted." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"day   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

Add a note or query to this line

71 "Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows, 7 Explanatory, 6 Textual

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "''Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not: scarce religion does supply
Her mutter'd requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

71.1-9 "Fair ... blows,] "In his note Gray refers [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"In his note Gray refers to Froissart. Writing to Wharton, 23 Jan. 1760 (Works, III, 24), he says: ''Froissard is a favourite book of mine (though I have not attentively read him, but only dipp'd here and there),'' and continues with further remarks about him."

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, 159.

71.1-9 "Fair ... blows,] "Cf. Henry IV.'s description of [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cf. Henry IV.'s description of the levity of his predecessor, Richard II., in Henry IV., pt. I, iii, 2, 60 ff."

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, 159.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines may be paraphrased [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"These lines may be paraphrased thus: - The morning (i.e., the early years of Richard's reign) is magnificent, and softly the west wind (flattery of courtiers) blows, as the vessel (with the gay king and his friends), decked in all its grandeur, rides proudly on the sea of life, with youth to point the way and pleasure to steer the course. No thought is there of the whirlwind that lies silently in wait to sweep away the prey which at sunset must be his.
In his ''Biographia Literaria'' (p. 9) Coleridge states his preference for the simile in Shakespeare: -

''How like a younger, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugged and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return,
With over-weathered ribs, and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggared by the strumpet wind!''
        - Merchant of Venice, ii. 6. 14.
''I preferred,'' he says, ''the original, on the ground that, in the imitation, it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital both in this and many other passages of the same poet, whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts. I mention this because in referring various lines in Gray to their original in Shakespeare and Milton - and in the clear perception how completely all the propriety was lost in the transfer - I was, at that early period, led to a conjecture which, many years afterwards, was recalled to me from the same thought having been started in conversation, but far more ably and developed more fully, by Mr. Wordsworth, namely, that this style of poetry, which I have characterized above as translations of prose thoughts into poetic language, had been kept up, if it did not wholly arise from, the custom of writing Latin verses, and the great importance attached to these exercises in our public schools.'' He also observes that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased."

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], 199/200.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not; scarce religion dares supply
Her muttered requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.
[Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203/204.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines are given on [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"These lines are given on the 4th page of Wharton's MS., but in place of them here are the lines:

''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view,
They hear not. Scarce religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, and her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] " 'Mirrors' &c. is of [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'Mirrors' &c. is of course ironical. For the figure cf. Shakespeare, ''the mirror of all Christian kings,'' Henry V. II. Chor. 6; ''the mirror of all courtesy,'['] Henry VIII. II. 1. 53; 'the glass of fashion,' Hamlet III. 1. 161.
Gray says 'Saxon' because so the Welsh bards would call English courtiers, whether of Norman or Saxon descent. 'Religion' scruples to give the king the rites due to the dying or the dead, because of his impenitence as shown by the presence of his mistress in his last hours. 'Requiem' is properly the mass for the dead, so called because of the first words of it, 'Requiem aeternam' &c.; by 'holy Dew' Gray means extreme unction. The 'proud boy' is of course Richard II., in this experiment abruptly introduced, and 'Pomfret' Pontefract Castle, where he died; Edward III. was 'happy' in his end, by comparison with Richard's horrible fate; but the irony here is weak.
Gray had already written Epode 3 when the necessity of a less sudden transition to Richard II. was apparent to him. This could only be achieved by parting with the apostrophe to the courtiers &c. for the laws of the Pindaric Ode, as Gray reminds Mason, are like those of the Medes and Persians, and alter not, and the passage had to be managed within the compass of six lines. As it is, the twice-repeated 'morn,' and the brilliant colours in which it is painted between the two awful sunsets, form one of the most striking effects in the Bard. The contrast is feelingly rendered in the music of Professor Stanford.
Coleridge is perhaps right when (Biographia Literaria, p. 9) he finds Gray's original here in The Merchant of Venice II. 6. 14 sq.,

''How like a younker, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugg'd and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return;
With over-weather'd ribs and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggar'd by the strumpet wind!''
But when he adds, in censure of Gray, that 'it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital in this and in many other passages whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts' it is hard to follow him. Do 'Youth on the prow' and 'Pleasure at the helm' cease to be personifications if printed without capitals? Is 'Sorrow's faded form' any the less a personification because the printer in 1757 gave Sorrow a small 's'? The objection to too much personification was shared by Gray himself in theory; he raised it against Mason in his correspondence with him. That he erred by excess in practice is true; he could not emancipate himself from the fashion of his time, though here, as in other directions, he could point to better things. Coleridge attributes the prevalence of this style of poetry, wholly or in part, to the custom of writing Latin verses. 'Coleridge also observes,' says Dr Bradshaw, 'that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased.' See l. 48 of Education and Government and note there. Cf. here, with Mitford, Dryden, Vergil, Georg. I. 483,
''And rolling onwards with a sweepy sway.''
Said of the Eridanus (Po) making havoc."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216/217.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
The lines as they stand in the text are written at the back of the MS., with in for on in l. 74[.2]. The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth & [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
These lines are crossed out and present reading with in for on (l. 74) appears on back of Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "See textual notes for the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"See textual notes for the for the deleted passage describing the death of Richard II at Pomfret (Pontefract) Castle."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 210.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Wharton reads as follows, with [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Wharton reads as follows, with the present text written on the back of the MS, but in for on (l. 74):

Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
Cp. Dryden, Aeneid vi 1214-5: 'Mirror of ancient Faith in early Youth! / Undaunted Worth, Inviolable Truth!'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "With the final version Mitford [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"With the final version Mitford compares Petrarch, Canzone XLII st. ii; and Spenser's translation, The Visions of Petrarch 15-24: 'after at sea a tall ship did appeare, / Made all of Heben and white Yvorie, / The sailes of golde, of silke the tackle were, / Milde was the winde, calme seem'd the sea to bee, / The skie eachwhere did show full bright and faire; / With rich treasures this gay ship fraighted was: / But sudden storme did so turmoyle the aire, / And tumbled up the sea, that she (alas) / Strake on a rock, that under water lay, / And perished past all recoverie.' Coleridge, Biographia Literaria ch. i (where he criticizes G[ray].'s lines), thought G. was indebted to Merchant of Venice II vi 14-9, but the resemblance is not verbal. Cp. also Rape of the Lock ii 47-8, 50: 'But now secure the painted Vessel glides, / The Sun-beams trembling on the floating Tydes / ... / Smooth flow the Waves, the Zephyrs gently play'; and 'the gilded Mast', ibid ii 69."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "The image is that of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The image is that of the Ship of State, presided over by the young king, Richard II. Youth, in the person of the King, is not at the helm (this line is often misquoted), but on the prow. It is Pleasure who is at the helm, capriciously steering the ship towards disaster."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 12.

Add a note or query to this line

72 "While proudly riding o'er the azure realm 7 Explanatory, 6 Textual

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "''Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not: scarce religion does supply
Her mutter'd requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines may be paraphrased [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"These lines may be paraphrased thus: - The morning (i.e., the early years of Richard's reign) is magnificent, and softly the west wind (flattery of courtiers) blows, as the vessel (with the gay king and his friends), decked in all its grandeur, rides proudly on the sea of life, with youth to point the way and pleasure to steer the course. No thought is there of the whirlwind that lies silently in wait to sweep away the prey which at sunset must be his.
In his ''Biographia Literaria'' (p. 9) Coleridge states his preference for the simile in Shakespeare: -

''How like a younger, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugged and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return,
With over-weathered ribs, and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggared by the strumpet wind!''
        - Merchant of Venice, ii. 6. 14.
''I preferred,'' he says, ''the original, on the ground that, in the imitation, it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital both in this and many other passages of the same poet, whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts. I mention this because in referring various lines in Gray to their original in Shakespeare and Milton - and in the clear perception how completely all the propriety was lost in the transfer - I was, at that early period, led to a conjecture which, many years afterwards, was recalled to me from the same thought having been started in conversation, but far more ably and developed more fully, by Mr. Wordsworth, namely, that this style of poetry, which I have characterized above as translations of prose thoughts into poetic language, had been kept up, if it did not wholly arise from, the custom of writing Latin verses, and the great importance attached to these exercises in our public schools.'' He also observes that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased."

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], 199/200.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not; scarce religion dares supply
Her muttered requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.
[Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203/204.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines are given on [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"These lines are given on the 4th page of Wharton's MS., but in place of them here are the lines:

''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view,
They hear not. Scarce religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, and her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] " 'Mirrors' &c. is of [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'Mirrors' &c. is of course ironical. For the figure cf. Shakespeare, ''the mirror of all Christian kings,'' Henry V. II. Chor. 6; ''the mirror of all courtesy,'['] Henry VIII. II. 1. 53; 'the glass of fashion,' Hamlet III. 1. 161.
Gray says 'Saxon' because so the Welsh bards would call English courtiers, whether of Norman or Saxon descent. 'Religion' scruples to give the king the rites due to the dying or the dead, because of his impenitence as shown by the presence of his mistress in his last hours. 'Requiem' is properly the mass for the dead, so called because of the first words of it, 'Requiem aeternam' &c.; by 'holy Dew' Gray means extreme unction. The 'proud boy' is of course Richard II., in this experiment abruptly introduced, and 'Pomfret' Pontefract Castle, where he died; Edward III. was 'happy' in his end, by comparison with Richard's horrible fate; but the irony here is weak.
Gray had already written Epode 3 when the necessity of a less sudden transition to Richard II. was apparent to him. This could only be achieved by parting with the apostrophe to the courtiers &c. for the laws of the Pindaric Ode, as Gray reminds Mason, are like those of the Medes and Persians, and alter not, and the passage had to be managed within the compass of six lines. As it is, the twice-repeated 'morn,' and the brilliant colours in which it is painted between the two awful sunsets, form one of the most striking effects in the Bard. The contrast is feelingly rendered in the music of Professor Stanford.
Coleridge is perhaps right when (Biographia Literaria, p. 9) he finds Gray's original here in The Merchant of Venice II. 6. 14 sq.,

''How like a younker, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugg'd and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return;
With over-weather'd ribs and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggar'd by the strumpet wind!''
But when he adds, in censure of Gray, that 'it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital in this and in many other passages whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts' it is hard to follow him. Do 'Youth on the prow' and 'Pleasure at the helm' cease to be personifications if printed without capitals? Is 'Sorrow's faded form' any the less a personification because the printer in 1757 gave Sorrow a small 's'? The objection to too much personification was shared by Gray himself in theory; he raised it against Mason in his correspondence with him. That he erred by excess in practice is true; he could not emancipate himself from the fashion of his time, though here, as in other directions, he could point to better things. Coleridge attributes the prevalence of this style of poetry, wholly or in part, to the custom of writing Latin verses. 'Coleridge also observes,' says Dr Bradshaw, 'that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased.' See l. 48 of Education and Government and note there. Cf. here, with Mitford, Dryden, Vergil, Georg. I. 483,
''And rolling onwards with a sweepy sway.''
Said of the Eridanus (Po) making havoc."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216/217.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
The lines as they stand in the text are written at the back of the MS., with in for on in l. 74[.2]. The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth & [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
These lines are crossed out and present reading with in for on (l. 74) appears on back of Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "See textual notes for the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"See textual notes for the for the deleted passage describing the death of Richard II at Pomfret (Pontefract) Castle."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 210.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Wharton reads as follows, with [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Wharton reads as follows, with the present text written on the back of the MS, but in for on (l. 74):

Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
Cp. Dryden, Aeneid vi 1214-5: 'Mirror of ancient Faith in early Youth! / Undaunted Worth, Inviolable Truth!'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "With the final version Mitford [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"With the final version Mitford compares Petrarch, Canzone XLII st. ii; and Spenser's translation, The Visions of Petrarch 15-24: 'after at sea a tall ship did appeare, / Made all of Heben and white Yvorie, / The sailes of golde, of silke the tackle were, / Milde was the winde, calme seem'd the sea to bee, / The skie eachwhere did show full bright and faire; / With rich treasures this gay ship fraighted was: / But sudden storme did so turmoyle the aire, / And tumbled up the sea, that she (alas) / Strake on a rock, that under water lay, / And perished past all recoverie.' Coleridge, Biographia Literaria ch. i (where he criticizes G[ray].'s lines), thought G. was indebted to Merchant of Venice II vi 14-9, but the resemblance is not verbal. Cp. also Rape of the Lock ii 47-8, 50: 'But now secure the painted Vessel glides, / The Sun-beams trembling on the floating Tydes / ... / Smooth flow the Waves, the Zephyrs gently play'; and 'the gilded Mast', ibid ii 69."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "The image is that of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The image is that of the Ship of State, presided over by the young king, Richard II. Youth, in the person of the King, is not at the helm (this line is often misquoted), but on the prow. It is Pleasure who is at the helm, capriciously steering the ship towards disaster."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 12.

72.1-7 "While ... realm] "Virgil, Ciris 483: caeruleo pollens [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Ciris 483: caeruleo pollens coniunx Neptunia regno (Neptune's spouse, queen of the azure realm)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

72.1 - 73.7 "While ... goes;] "Dryden, Annus Mirabilis 601, 603-4: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Dryden, Annus Mirabilis 601, 603-4: 'The goodly London in her gallant trim / ... / Like a rich Bride does to the Ocean swim, / And on her shadow rides in floating gold.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191/192.

Add a note or query to this line

73 "In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes; 6 Explanatory, 6 Textual

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "''Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not: scarce religion does supply
Her mutter'd requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines may be paraphrased [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"These lines may be paraphrased thus: - The morning (i.e., the early years of Richard's reign) is magnificent, and softly the west wind (flattery of courtiers) blows, as the vessel (with the gay king and his friends), decked in all its grandeur, rides proudly on the sea of life, with youth to point the way and pleasure to steer the course. No thought is there of the whirlwind that lies silently in wait to sweep away the prey which at sunset must be his.
In his ''Biographia Literaria'' (p. 9) Coleridge states his preference for the simile in Shakespeare: -

''How like a younger, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugged and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return,
With over-weathered ribs, and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggared by the strumpet wind!''
        - Merchant of Venice, ii. 6. 14.
''I preferred,'' he says, ''the original, on the ground that, in the imitation, it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital both in this and many other passages of the same poet, whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts. I mention this because in referring various lines in Gray to their original in Shakespeare and Milton - and in the clear perception how completely all the propriety was lost in the transfer - I was, at that early period, led to a conjecture which, many years afterwards, was recalled to me from the same thought having been started in conversation, but far more ably and developed more fully, by Mr. Wordsworth, namely, that this style of poetry, which I have characterized above as translations of prose thoughts into poetic language, had been kept up, if it did not wholly arise from, the custom of writing Latin verses, and the great importance attached to these exercises in our public schools.'' He also observes that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased."

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], 199/200.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not; scarce religion dares supply
Her muttered requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.
[Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203/204.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines are given on [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"These lines are given on the 4th page of Wharton's MS., but in place of them here are the lines:

''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view,
They hear not. Scarce religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, and her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] " 'Mirrors' &c. is of [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'Mirrors' &c. is of course ironical. For the figure cf. Shakespeare, ''the mirror of all Christian kings,'' Henry V. II. Chor. 6; ''the mirror of all courtesy,'['] Henry VIII. II. 1. 53; 'the glass of fashion,' Hamlet III. 1. 161.
Gray says 'Saxon' because so the Welsh bards would call English courtiers, whether of Norman or Saxon descent. 'Religion' scruples to give the king the rites due to the dying or the dead, because of his impenitence as shown by the presence of his mistress in his last hours. 'Requiem' is properly the mass for the dead, so called because of the first words of it, 'Requiem aeternam' &c.; by 'holy Dew' Gray means extreme unction. The 'proud boy' is of course Richard II., in this experiment abruptly introduced, and 'Pomfret' Pontefract Castle, where he died; Edward III. was 'happy' in his end, by comparison with Richard's horrible fate; but the irony here is weak.
Gray had already written Epode 3 when the necessity of a less sudden transition to Richard II. was apparent to him. This could only be achieved by parting with the apostrophe to the courtiers &c. for the laws of the Pindaric Ode, as Gray reminds Mason, are like those of the Medes and Persians, and alter not, and the passage had to be managed within the compass of six lines. As it is, the twice-repeated 'morn,' and the brilliant colours in which it is painted between the two awful sunsets, form one of the most striking effects in the Bard. The contrast is feelingly rendered in the music of Professor Stanford.
Coleridge is perhaps right when (Biographia Literaria, p. 9) he finds Gray's original here in The Merchant of Venice II. 6. 14 sq.,

''How like a younker, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugg'd and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return;
With over-weather'd ribs and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggar'd by the strumpet wind!''
But when he adds, in censure of Gray, that 'it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital in this and in many other passages whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts' it is hard to follow him. Do 'Youth on the prow' and 'Pleasure at the helm' cease to be personifications if printed without capitals? Is 'Sorrow's faded form' any the less a personification because the printer in 1757 gave Sorrow a small 's'? The objection to too much personification was shared by Gray himself in theory; he raised it against Mason in his correspondence with him. That he erred by excess in practice is true; he could not emancipate himself from the fashion of his time, though here, as in other directions, he could point to better things. Coleridge attributes the prevalence of this style of poetry, wholly or in part, to the custom of writing Latin verses. 'Coleridge also observes,' says Dr Bradshaw, 'that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased.' See l. 48 of Education and Government and note there. Cf. here, with Mitford, Dryden, Vergil, Georg. I. 483,
''And rolling onwards with a sweepy sway.''
Said of the Eridanus (Po) making havoc."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216/217.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
The lines as they stand in the text are written at the back of the MS., with in for on in l. 74[.2]. The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth & [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
These lines are crossed out and present reading with in for on (l. 74) appears on back of Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "See textual notes for the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"See textual notes for the for the deleted passage describing the death of Richard II at Pomfret (Pontefract) Castle."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 210.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Wharton reads as follows, with [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Wharton reads as follows, with the present text written on the back of the MS, but in for on (l. 74):

Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
Cp. Dryden, Aeneid vi 1214-5: 'Mirror of ancient Faith in early Youth! / Undaunted Worth, Inviolable Truth!'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "With the final version Mitford [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"With the final version Mitford compares Petrarch, Canzone XLII st. ii; and Spenser's translation, The Visions of Petrarch 15-24: 'after at sea a tall ship did appeare, / Made all of Heben and white Yvorie, / The sailes of golde, of silke the tackle were, / Milde was the winde, calme seem'd the sea to bee, / The skie eachwhere did show full bright and faire; / With rich treasures this gay ship fraighted was: / But sudden storme did so turmoyle the aire, / And tumbled up the sea, that she (alas) / Strake on a rock, that under water lay, / And perished past all recoverie.' Coleridge, Biographia Literaria ch. i (where he criticizes G[ray].'s lines), thought G. was indebted to Merchant of Venice II vi 14-9, but the resemblance is not verbal. Cp. also Rape of the Lock ii 47-8, 50: 'But now secure the painted Vessel glides, / The Sun-beams trembling on the floating Tydes / ... / Smooth flow the Waves, the Zephyrs gently play'; and 'the gilded Mast', ibid ii 69."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "The image is that of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The image is that of the Ship of State, presided over by the young king, Richard II. Youth, in the person of the King, is not at the helm (this line is often misquoted), but on the prow. It is Pleasure who is at the helm, capriciously steering the ship towards disaster."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 12.

72.1 - 73.7 "While ... goes;] "Dryden, Annus Mirabilis 601, 603-4: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Dryden, Annus Mirabilis 601, 603-4: 'The goodly London in her gallant trim / ... / Like a rich Bride does to the Ocean swim, / And on her shadow rides in floating gold.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191/192.

Add a note or query to this line

74 "Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm; 7 Explanatory, 6 Textual

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "''Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not: scarce religion does supply
Her mutter'd requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines may be paraphrased [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"These lines may be paraphrased thus: - The morning (i.e., the early years of Richard's reign) is magnificent, and softly the west wind (flattery of courtiers) blows, as the vessel (with the gay king and his friends), decked in all its grandeur, rides proudly on the sea of life, with youth to point the way and pleasure to steer the course. No thought is there of the whirlwind that lies silently in wait to sweep away the prey which at sunset must be his.
In his ''Biographia Literaria'' (p. 9) Coleridge states his preference for the simile in Shakespeare: -

''How like a younger, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugged and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return,
With over-weathered ribs, and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggared by the strumpet wind!''
        - Merchant of Venice, ii. 6. 14.
''I preferred,'' he says, ''the original, on the ground that, in the imitation, it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital both in this and many other passages of the same poet, whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts. I mention this because in referring various lines in Gray to their original in Shakespeare and Milton - and in the clear perception how completely all the propriety was lost in the transfer - I was, at that early period, led to a conjecture which, many years afterwards, was recalled to me from the same thought having been started in conversation, but far more ably and developed more fully, by Mr. Wordsworth, namely, that this style of poetry, which I have characterized above as translations of prose thoughts into poetic language, had been kept up, if it did not wholly arise from, the custom of writing Latin verses, and the great importance attached to these exercises in our public schools.'' He also observes that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased."

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], 199/200.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not; scarce religion dares supply
Her muttered requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.
[Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203/204.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines are given on [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"These lines are given on the 4th page of Wharton's MS., but in place of them here are the lines:

''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view,
They hear not. Scarce religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, and her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] " 'Mirrors' &c. is of [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'Mirrors' &c. is of course ironical. For the figure cf. Shakespeare, ''the mirror of all Christian kings,'' Henry V. II. Chor. 6; ''the mirror of all courtesy,'['] Henry VIII. II. 1. 53; 'the glass of fashion,' Hamlet III. 1. 161.
Gray says 'Saxon' because so the Welsh bards would call English courtiers, whether of Norman or Saxon descent. 'Religion' scruples to give the king the rites due to the dying or the dead, because of his impenitence as shown by the presence of his mistress in his last hours. 'Requiem' is properly the mass for the dead, so called because of the first words of it, 'Requiem aeternam' &c.; by 'holy Dew' Gray means extreme unction. The 'proud boy' is of course Richard II., in this experiment abruptly introduced, and 'Pomfret' Pontefract Castle, where he died; Edward III. was 'happy' in his end, by comparison with Richard's horrible fate; but the irony here is weak.
Gray had already written Epode 3 when the necessity of a less sudden transition to Richard II. was apparent to him. This could only be achieved by parting with the apostrophe to the courtiers &c. for the laws of the Pindaric Ode, as Gray reminds Mason, are like those of the Medes and Persians, and alter not, and the passage had to be managed within the compass of six lines. As it is, the twice-repeated 'morn,' and the brilliant colours in which it is painted between the two awful sunsets, form one of the most striking effects in the Bard. The contrast is feelingly rendered in the music of Professor Stanford.
Coleridge is perhaps right when (Biographia Literaria, p. 9) he finds Gray's original here in The Merchant of Venice II. 6. 14 sq.,

''How like a younker, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugg'd and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return;
With over-weather'd ribs and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggar'd by the strumpet wind!''
But when he adds, in censure of Gray, that 'it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital in this and in many other passages whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts' it is hard to follow him. Do 'Youth on the prow' and 'Pleasure at the helm' cease to be personifications if printed without capitals? Is 'Sorrow's faded form' any the less a personification because the printer in 1757 gave Sorrow a small 's'? The objection to too much personification was shared by Gray himself in theory; he raised it against Mason in his correspondence with him. That he erred by excess in practice is true; he could not emancipate himself from the fashion of his time, though here, as in other directions, he could point to better things. Coleridge attributes the prevalence of this style of poetry, wholly or in part, to the custom of writing Latin verses. 'Coleridge also observes,' says Dr Bradshaw, 'that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased.' See l. 48 of Education and Government and note there. Cf. here, with Mitford, Dryden, Vergil, Georg. I. 483,
''And rolling onwards with a sweepy sway.''
Said of the Eridanus (Po) making havoc."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216/217.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
The lines as they stand in the text are written at the back of the MS., with in for on in l. 74[.2]. The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth & [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
These lines are crossed out and present reading with in for on (l. 74) appears on back of Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "See textual notes for the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"See textual notes for the for the deleted passage describing the death of Richard II at Pomfret (Pontefract) Castle."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 210.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Wharton reads as follows, with [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Wharton reads as follows, with the present text written on the back of the MS, but in for on (l. 74):

Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
Cp. Dryden, Aeneid vi 1214-5: 'Mirror of ancient Faith in early Youth! / Undaunted Worth, Inviolable Truth!'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "With the final version Mitford [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"With the final version Mitford compares Petrarch, Canzone XLII st. ii; and Spenser's translation, The Visions of Petrarch 15-24: 'after at sea a tall ship did appeare, / Made all of Heben and white Yvorie, / The sailes of golde, of silke the tackle were, / Milde was the winde, calme seem'd the sea to bee, / The skie eachwhere did show full bright and faire; / With rich treasures this gay ship fraighted was: / But sudden storme did so turmoyle the aire, / And tumbled up the sea, that she (alas) / Strake on a rock, that under water lay, / And perished past all recoverie.' Coleridge, Biographia Literaria ch. i (where he criticizes G[ray].'s lines), thought G. was indebted to Merchant of Venice II vi 14-9, but the resemblance is not verbal. Cp. also Rape of the Lock ii 47-8, 50: 'But now secure the painted Vessel glides, / The Sun-beams trembling on the floating Tydes / ... / Smooth flow the Waves, the Zephyrs gently play'; and 'the gilded Mast', ibid ii 69."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "The image is that of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The image is that of the Ship of State, presided over by the young king, Richard II. Youth, in the person of the King, is not at the helm (this line is often misquoted), but on the prow. It is Pleasure who is at the helm, capriciously steering the ship towards disaster."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 12.

74.1-9 "Youth ... helm;] "Ovid, Heroides xv 215: ipse [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Ovid, Heroides xv 215: ipse gubernabit residens in puppe Cupido (Cupid himself will be helmsman, sitting upon the stern); Prior (cited by Johnson under 'helm'): 'Fair occasion shows the springing gale, / And interest guides the helm, and honour swells the sail.' Ian Jack, From Sensibility to Romanticism (ed. F. W. Hilles and H. Bloom, 1965), p. 169, compares Rochester, Letter from Artemisia in the Town to Chloe in the Country 196: 'Youth in her Looks, and Pleasure in her Bed.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

74.1-9 "Youth ... helm;] "This line and the lines [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"This line and the lines following refer to the reign of Richard the Second [...]."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

Add a note or query to this line

75 "Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway, 8 Explanatory, 6 Textual

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "''Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not: scarce religion does supply
Her mutter'd requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines may be paraphrased [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"These lines may be paraphrased thus: - The morning (i.e., the early years of Richard's reign) is magnificent, and softly the west wind (flattery of courtiers) blows, as the vessel (with the gay king and his friends), decked in all its grandeur, rides proudly on the sea of life, with youth to point the way and pleasure to steer the course. No thought is there of the whirlwind that lies silently in wait to sweep away the prey which at sunset must be his.
In his ''Biographia Literaria'' (p. 9) Coleridge states his preference for the simile in Shakespeare: -

''How like a younger, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugged and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return,
With over-weathered ribs, and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggared by the strumpet wind!''
        - Merchant of Venice, ii. 6. 14.
''I preferred,'' he says, ''the original, on the ground that, in the imitation, it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital both in this and many other passages of the same poet, whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts. I mention this because in referring various lines in Gray to their original in Shakespeare and Milton - and in the clear perception how completely all the propriety was lost in the transfer - I was, at that early period, led to a conjecture which, many years afterwards, was recalled to me from the same thought having been started in conversation, but far more ably and developed more fully, by Mr. Wordsworth, namely, that this style of poetry, which I have characterized above as translations of prose thoughts into poetic language, had been kept up, if it did not wholly arise from, the custom of writing Latin verses, and the great importance attached to these exercises in our public schools.'' He also observes that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased."

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], 199/200.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not; scarce religion dares supply
Her muttered requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.
[Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203/204.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines are given on [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"These lines are given on the 4th page of Wharton's MS., but in place of them here are the lines:

''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view,
They hear not. Scarce religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, and her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] " 'Mirrors' &c. is of [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'Mirrors' &c. is of course ironical. For the figure cf. Shakespeare, ''the mirror of all Christian kings,'' Henry V. II. Chor. 6; ''the mirror of all courtesy,'['] Henry VIII. II. 1. 53; 'the glass of fashion,' Hamlet III. 1. 161.
Gray says 'Saxon' because so the Welsh bards would call English courtiers, whether of Norman or Saxon descent. 'Religion' scruples to give the king the rites due to the dying or the dead, because of his impenitence as shown by the presence of his mistress in his last hours. 'Requiem' is properly the mass for the dead, so called because of the first words of it, 'Requiem aeternam' &c.; by 'holy Dew' Gray means extreme unction. The 'proud boy' is of course Richard II., in this experiment abruptly introduced, and 'Pomfret' Pontefract Castle, where he died; Edward III. was 'happy' in his end, by comparison with Richard's horrible fate; but the irony here is weak.
Gray had already written Epode 3 when the necessity of a less sudden transition to Richard II. was apparent to him. This could only be achieved by parting with the apostrophe to the courtiers &c. for the laws of the Pindaric Ode, as Gray reminds Mason, are like those of the Medes and Persians, and alter not, and the passage had to be managed within the compass of six lines. As it is, the twice-repeated 'morn,' and the brilliant colours in which it is painted between the two awful sunsets, form one of the most striking effects in the Bard. The contrast is feelingly rendered in the music of Professor Stanford.
Coleridge is perhaps right when (Biographia Literaria, p. 9) he finds Gray's original here in The Merchant of Venice II. 6. 14 sq.,

''How like a younker, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugg'd and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return;
With over-weather'd ribs and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggar'd by the strumpet wind!''
But when he adds, in censure of Gray, that 'it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital in this and in many other passages whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts' it is hard to follow him. Do 'Youth on the prow' and 'Pleasure at the helm' cease to be personifications if printed without capitals? Is 'Sorrow's faded form' any the less a personification because the printer in 1757 gave Sorrow a small 's'? The objection to too much personification was shared by Gray himself in theory; he raised it against Mason in his correspondence with him. That he erred by excess in practice is true; he could not emancipate himself from the fashion of his time, though here, as in other directions, he could point to better things. Coleridge attributes the prevalence of this style of poetry, wholly or in part, to the custom of writing Latin verses. 'Coleridge also observes,' says Dr Bradshaw, 'that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased.' See l. 48 of Education and Government and note there. Cf. here, with Mitford, Dryden, Vergil, Georg. I. 483,
''And rolling onwards with a sweepy sway.''
Said of the Eridanus (Po) making havoc."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216/217.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
The lines as they stand in the text are written at the back of the MS., with in for on in l. 74[.2]. The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth & [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
These lines are crossed out and present reading with in for on (l. 74) appears on back of Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "See textual notes for the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"See textual notes for the for the deleted passage describing the death of Richard II at Pomfret (Pontefract) Castle."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 210.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Wharton reads as follows, with [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Wharton reads as follows, with the present text written on the back of the MS, but in for on (l. 74):

Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
Cp. Dryden, Aeneid vi 1214-5: 'Mirror of ancient Faith in early Youth! / Undaunted Worth, Inviolable Truth!'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "With the final version Mitford [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"With the final version Mitford compares Petrarch, Canzone XLII st. ii; and Spenser's translation, The Visions of Petrarch 15-24: 'after at sea a tall ship did appeare, / Made all of Heben and white Yvorie, / The sailes of golde, of silke the tackle were, / Milde was the winde, calme seem'd the sea to bee, / The skie eachwhere did show full bright and faire; / With rich treasures this gay ship fraighted was: / But sudden storme did so turmoyle the aire, / And tumbled up the sea, that she (alas) / Strake on a rock, that under water lay, / And perished past all recoverie.' Coleridge, Biographia Literaria ch. i (where he criticizes G[ray].'s lines), thought G. was indebted to Merchant of Venice II vi 14-9, but the resemblance is not verbal. Cp. also Rape of the Lock ii 47-8, 50: 'But now secure the painted Vessel glides, / The Sun-beams trembling on the floating Tydes / ... / Smooth flow the Waves, the Zephyrs gently play'; and 'the gilded Mast', ibid ii 69."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "The image is that of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The image is that of the Ship of State, presided over by the young king, Richard II. Youth, in the person of the King, is not at the helm (this line is often misquoted), but on the prow. It is Pleasure who is at the helm, capriciously steering the ship towards disaster."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 12.

75.1-6 "Regardless ... sway,] "Cf. in his ''Education and [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Cf. in his ''Education and Government'': - ''And where the deluge burst with sweepy sway.'' - 48. The expression is from Dryden's translation of Virgil: - ''And rolling onwards with a sweepy sway.'' - Georgics, i. 483."

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], 200/201.

75.1-6 "Regardless ... sway,] "See Alliance of Education and [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"See Alliance of Education and Government, l. 48."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 210.

75.1-6 "Regardless ... sway,] "Cp. Education and Government 48 [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Education and Government 48 and n (p. 96); Pope, Epistles to Several Persons iii 353-4: 'the whirlwinds sweep / The surge'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

Add a note or query to this line

76 "That, hushed in grim repose, expects his evening-prey. 6 Explanatory, 6 Textual

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "''Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not: scarce religion does supply
Her mutter'd requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 45.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines may be paraphrased [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"These lines may be paraphrased thus: - The morning (i.e., the early years of Richard's reign) is magnificent, and softly the west wind (flattery of courtiers) blows, as the vessel (with the gay king and his friends), decked in all its grandeur, rides proudly on the sea of life, with youth to point the way and pleasure to steer the course. No thought is there of the whirlwind that lies silently in wait to sweep away the prey which at sunset must be his.
In his ''Biographia Literaria'' (p. 9) Coleridge states his preference for the simile in Shakespeare: -

''How like a younger, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugged and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return,
With over-weathered ribs, and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggared by the strumpet wind!''
        - Merchant of Venice, ii. 6. 14.
''I preferred,'' he says, ''the original, on the ground that, in the imitation, it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital both in this and many other passages of the same poet, whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts. I mention this because in referring various lines in Gray to their original in Shakespeare and Milton - and in the clear perception how completely all the propriety was lost in the transfer - I was, at that early period, led to a conjecture which, many years afterwards, was recalled to me from the same thought having been started in conversation, but far more ably and developed more fully, by Mr. Wordsworth, namely, that this style of poetry, which I have characterized above as translations of prose thoughts into poetic language, had been kept up, if it did not wholly arise from, the custom of writing Latin verses, and the great importance attached to these exercises in our public schools.'' He also observes that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased."

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], 199/200.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty
Your helpless, old, expiring master view!
They hear not; scarce religion dares supply
Her muttered requiems, and her holy dew.
Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.
[Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 203/204.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "These lines are given on [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"These lines are given on the 4th page of Wharton's MS., but in place of them here are the lines:

''Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view,
They hear not. Scarce religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, and her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] " 'Mirrors' &c. is of [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'Mirrors' &c. is of course ironical. For the figure cf. Shakespeare, ''the mirror of all Christian kings,'' Henry V. II. Chor. 6; ''the mirror of all courtesy,'['] Henry VIII. II. 1. 53; 'the glass of fashion,' Hamlet III. 1. 161.
Gray says 'Saxon' because so the Welsh bards would call English courtiers, whether of Norman or Saxon descent. 'Religion' scruples to give the king the rites due to the dying or the dead, because of his impenitence as shown by the presence of his mistress in his last hours. 'Requiem' is properly the mass for the dead, so called because of the first words of it, 'Requiem aeternam' &c.; by 'holy Dew' Gray means extreme unction. The 'proud boy' is of course Richard II., in this experiment abruptly introduced, and 'Pomfret' Pontefract Castle, where he died; Edward III. was 'happy' in his end, by comparison with Richard's horrible fate; but the irony here is weak.
Gray had already written Epode 3 when the necessity of a less sudden transition to Richard II. was apparent to him. This could only be achieved by parting with the apostrophe to the courtiers &c. for the laws of the Pindaric Ode, as Gray reminds Mason, are like those of the Medes and Persians, and alter not, and the passage had to be managed within the compass of six lines. As it is, the twice-repeated 'morn,' and the brilliant colours in which it is painted between the two awful sunsets, form one of the most striking effects in the Bard. The contrast is feelingly rendered in the music of Professor Stanford.
Coleridge is perhaps right when (Biographia Literaria, p. 9) he finds Gray's original here in The Merchant of Venice II. 6. 14 sq.,

''How like a younker, or a prodigal,
The scarfed bark puts from her native bay,
Hugg'd and embraced by the strumpet wind!
How like a prodigal doth she return;
With over-weather'd ribs and ragged sails,
Lean, rent, and beggar'd by the strumpet wind!''
But when he adds, in censure of Gray, that 'it depended wholly on the compositor's putting or not putting a small capital in this and in many other passages whether the words should be personifications or mere abstracts' it is hard to follow him. Do 'Youth on the prow' and 'Pleasure at the helm' cease to be personifications if printed without capitals? Is 'Sorrow's faded form' any the less a personification because the printer in 1757 gave Sorrow a small 's'? The objection to too much personification was shared by Gray himself in theory; he raised it against Mason in his correspondence with him. That he erred by excess in practice is true; he could not emancipate himself from the fashion of his time, though here, as in other directions, he could point to better things. Coleridge attributes the prevalence of this style of poetry, wholly or in part, to the custom of writing Latin verses. 'Coleridge also observes,' says Dr Bradshaw, 'that the words ''realm'' and ''sway'' are rhymes dearly purchased.' See l. 48 of Education and Government and note there. Cf. here, with Mitford, Dryden, Vergil, Georg. I. 483,
''And rolling onwards with a sweepy sway.''
Said of the Eridanus (Po) making havoc."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 216/217.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth and [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Mirrors of Saxon truth and loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
The lines as they stand in the text are written at the back of the MS., with in for on in l. 74[.2]. The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Mirrors of Saxon truth & [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
These lines are crossed out and present reading with in for on (l. 74) appears on back of Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "See textual notes for the [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"See textual notes for the for the deleted passage describing the death of Richard II at Pomfret (Pontefract) Castle."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 210.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "Wharton reads as follows, with [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Wharton reads as follows, with the present text written on the back of the MS, but in for on (l. 74):

Mirrors of Saxon truth & loyalty,
Your helpless old expiring Master view
They hear not. scarce Religion dares supply
Her mutter'd Requiems, & her holy Dew.
Yet thou, proud Boy, from Pomfret's walls shalt send
A sigh, & envy oft thy happy Grandsire's end.
Cp. Dryden, Aeneid vi 1214-5: 'Mirror of ancient Faith in early Youth! / Undaunted Worth, Inviolable Truth!'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "With the final version Mitford [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"With the final version Mitford compares Petrarch, Canzone XLII st. ii; and Spenser's translation, The Visions of Petrarch 15-24: 'after at sea a tall ship did appeare, / Made all of Heben and white Yvorie, / The sailes of golde, of silke the tackle were, / Milde was the winde, calme seem'd the sea to bee, / The skie eachwhere did show full bright and faire; / With rich treasures this gay ship fraighted was: / But sudden storme did so turmoyle the aire, / And tumbled up the sea, that she (alas) / Strake on a rock, that under water lay, / And perished past all recoverie.' Coleridge, Biographia Literaria ch. i (where he criticizes G[ray].'s lines), thought G. was indebted to Merchant of Venice II vi 14-9, but the resemblance is not verbal. Cp. also Rape of the Lock ii 47-8, 50: 'But now secure the painted Vessel glides, / The Sun-beams trembling on the floating Tydes / ... / Smooth flow the Waves, the Zephyrs gently play'; and 'the gilded Mast', ibid ii 69."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 191.

71.1 - 76.8 "Fair ... evening-prey.] "The image is that of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The image is that of the Ship of State, presided over by the young king, Richard II. Youth, in the person of the King, is not at the helm (this line is often misquoted), but on the prow. It is Pleasure who is at the helm, capriciously steering the ship towards disaster."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 12.

76.1-8 "That, ... evening-prey.] "Walpole's MS note states that [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Walpole's MS note states that 'This image of the whirlwind, like a Lion in ambush, is very like a passage in Dr. Young's fine paraphrase of Job,
          But fiercer still the Lordly Lion stalks...'
Walpole quotes three more lines. The resemblance is only general and it is the lion's 'tawny brood' which 'couch'd in dreadful Ambush pant for Blood'. See Edward Young, Poetical Works (1741) i 133."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

Add a note or query to this line


II. 3.

77 "Fill high the sparkling bowl, 3 Explanatory

77.1-5 "Fill ... bowl,] "Thomas of Walsingham's Historia Anglicana [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Thomas of Walsingham's Historia Anglicana was written within the first quarter of the 15th century, and the historian was a contemporary of Richard II. The charge that Richard II. was starved was made by the Percies before the battle of Shrewsbury: ''Thou hast caused our sovereign lord and thine, traitorously within the castle of Pomfret, without the consent or judgment of the lords of the realm, by the space of fifteen days and so many nights, with hunger, thirst and cold to perish.'' Perhaps Gray had evidence that Scroop, &c. made the same accusation before the later insurrection. Holinshed's Chronicle, which was Shakespeare's authority for the death of Richard, first appeared in 1577; the murderer is there called Sir Piers of Exton, and Exton is the name in Shakespeare also. Holinshed himself refers as his authority to a writer (nameless) 'which seemeth,' i.e. claims 'to have great knowledge of King Richard's doings,' and this is supposed to have been Creton, who went with Richard to Ireland in 1399. When the body, real or supposed, of Richard II. was exhumed at Westminster, there were no marks of violence on the skull, although ''he was felled with a stroke of a pollax which Sir Piers gave him upon his head,'' according to Holinshed.
Walpole to Lyttelton (l. c.) writes, 'Thirst and hunger mocking Richard II. appear to me too hideously like the devils in The Tempest that whisk away the banquet from the shipwrecked Duke.' He might as well have instanced Sancho Panza and the physician. He never, we may be sure, treated Gray to this foolish criticism. The true comparison as Dr Berdmore suggests is Virg. Aen. VI. 603 (of the punishment of the Lapithae):

        ''Lucent genialibus altis
Aurea fulcra toris, epulaeque ante ora paratae
Regifico luxu: Furiarum maxima juxta

Accubat, et manibus prohibet contingere mensas.''
['The high banqueting couches gleam golden-pillared, and the feast is spread in royal luxury before their faces: couched hard by, the eldest of the Furies wards the tables from their touch.' Mackail.]"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 217/218.

77.1-5 "Fill ... bowl,] "Cp. Dryden, Aeneid viii 363: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Dryden, Aeneid viii 363: 'Fill high the Goblets with a sparkling Flood'; and Persius v 264: 'when sparkling bouls go round'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

77.1 - 82.7 "Fill ... guest.] "Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent genialibus altis / aurea fulcra toris, epulaeque ante ora paratae / regifico luxu; Furiarum maxima iuxta / accubat et manibus prohibet contingere mensas (High festal couches gleam with frames of gold, and before their eyes is spread a banquet in royal splendour. Yet, reclining hard by, the eldest Fury stays their hand from touch of the table). See also Dryden's translation, Aeneid vi 818-21: 'They lye below, on Golden Beds display'd; / And genial Feasts, with Regal Pomps, are made. / The Queen of Furies by their sides is set; / And snatches from their Mouths th'untasted Meat'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

Add a note or query to this line

78 "The rich repast prepare, 2 Explanatory

77.1 - 82.7 "Fill ... guest.] "Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent genialibus altis / aurea fulcra toris, epulaeque ante ora paratae / regifico luxu; Furiarum maxima iuxta / accubat et manibus prohibet contingere mensas (High festal couches gleam with frames of gold, and before their eyes is spread a banquet in royal splendour. Yet, reclining hard by, the eldest Fury stays their hand from touch of the table). See also Dryden's translation, Aeneid vi 818-21: 'They lye below, on Golden Beds display'd; / And genial Feasts, with Regal Pomps, are made. / The Queen of Furies by their sides is set; / And snatches from their Mouths th'untasted Meat'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

78.1-4 "The ... prepare,] "'And frequent Cups prolong the [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'And frequent Cups prolong the rich Repast', Pope, Rape of the Lock iii 112."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

Add a note or query to this line

79 "Reft of a crown, he yet may share the feast: 3 Explanatory

77.1 - 82.7 "Fill ... guest.] "Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent genialibus altis / aurea fulcra toris, epulaeque ante ora paratae / regifico luxu; Furiarum maxima iuxta / accubat et manibus prohibet contingere mensas (High festal couches gleam with frames of gold, and before their eyes is spread a banquet in royal splendour. Yet, reclining hard by, the eldest Fury stays their hand from touch of the table). See also Dryden's translation, Aeneid vi 818-21: 'They lye below, on Golden Beds display'd; / And genial Feasts, with Regal Pomps, are made. / The Queen of Furies by their sides is set; / And snatches from their Mouths th'untasted Meat'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

79.1-10 "Reft ... feast:] "'When death has reft their [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'When death has reft their crown', David Mallet, William and Margaret 12."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

79.5 he] "Richard II (reigned 1377-99)." Alexander Huber, 2000.

"Richard II (reigned 1377-99)."

Alexander Huber <huber@thomasgray.org> (SUB Göttingen), URL: http://www.thomasgray.org/. Contributed on Sat Oct 28 13:21:43 2000 GMT.

Add a note or query to this line

80 "Close by the regal chair 3 Explanatory

77.1 - 82.7 "Fill ... guest.] "Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent genialibus altis / aurea fulcra toris, epulaeque ante ora paratae / regifico luxu; Furiarum maxima iuxta / accubat et manibus prohibet contingere mensas (High festal couches gleam with frames of gold, and before their eyes is spread a banquet in royal splendour. Yet, reclining hard by, the eldest Fury stays their hand from touch of the table). See also Dryden's translation, Aeneid vi 818-21: 'They lye below, on Golden Beds display'd; / And genial Feasts, with Regal Pomps, are made. / The Queen of Furies by their sides is set; / And snatches from their Mouths th'untasted Meat'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

80.1 - 83.7 "Close ... bray,] "These lines refer to a [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"These lines refer to a tradition that Richard the Second, after his deposition and imprisonment, was served in a regal manner, but forbidden to eat or drink anything set before him, and thus starved to death."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

80.3-5 the ... chair] "Dryden has 'the regal chair', [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Dryden has 'the regal chair', Hind and the Panther iii 732."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

Add a note or query to this line

81 "Fell Thirst and Famine scowl 3 Explanatory

77.1 - 82.7 "Fill ... guest.] "Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent genialibus altis / aurea fulcra toris, epulaeque ante ora paratae / regifico luxu; Furiarum maxima iuxta / accubat et manibus prohibet contingere mensas (High festal couches gleam with frames of gold, and before their eyes is spread a banquet in royal splendour. Yet, reclining hard by, the eldest Fury stays their hand from touch of the table). See also Dryden's translation, Aeneid vi 818-21: 'They lye below, on Golden Beds display'd; / And genial Feasts, with Regal Pomps, are made. / The Queen of Furies by their sides is set; / And snatches from their Mouths th'untasted Meat'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

80.1 - 83.7 "Close ... bray,] "These lines refer to a [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"These lines refer to a tradition that Richard the Second, after his deposition and imprisonment, was served in a regal manner, but forbidden to eat or drink anything set before him, and thus starved to death."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

81.1 - 82.7 "Fell ... guest.] "Cp. Satan's 'baleful eyes', Par. [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Satan's 'baleful eyes', Par. Lost i 56, and ibid ii 845-7: 'Death / Grinnd horrible a gastly smile, to hear / His famine should be fill'd.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

Add a note or query to this line

82 "A baleful smile upon their baffled guest. 5 Explanatory, 6 Textual

77.1 - 82.7 "Fill ... guest.] "Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Virgil, Aeneid vi 603-6: lucent genialibus altis / aurea fulcra toris, epulaeque ante ora paratae / regifico luxu; Furiarum maxima iuxta / accubat et manibus prohibet contingere mensas (High festal couches gleam with frames of gold, and before their eyes is spread a banquet in royal splendour. Yet, reclining hard by, the eldest Fury stays their hand from touch of the table). See also Dryden's translation, Aeneid vi 818-21: 'They lye below, on Golden Beds display'd; / And genial Feasts, with Regal Pomps, are made. / The Queen of Furies by their sides is set; / And snatches from their Mouths th'untasted Meat'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 192.

80.1 - 83.7 "Close ... bray,] "These lines refer to a [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"These lines refer to a tradition that Richard the Second, after his deposition and imprisonment, was served in a regal manner, but forbidden to eat or drink anything set before him, and thus starved to death."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

81.1 - 82.7 "Fell ... guest.] "Cp. Satan's 'baleful eyes', Par. [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Satan's 'baleful eyes', Par. Lost i 56, and ibid ii 845-7: 'Death / Grinnd horrible a gastly smile, to hear / His famine should be fill'd.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

82.1-3 "A ... smile] "A smile of horror. - [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"A smile of horror. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 46.

82.1-3 "A ... smile] "A smile of horror. [Footnote: [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"A smile of horror. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

82.1-4 "A ... upon] "A smile of horror on [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"A smile of horror on   Wharton MS. (uncorrected)."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 218.

82.1-7 "A ... guest.] "Wakefield compares Milton, Par. Lost [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Wakefield compares Milton, Par. Lost II. 846:

          ''Death
Grinned horrible a ghastly smile.''
And Mitford the description of Ajax in Hom. Il. VII. 212, [Greek line (omitted)], 'smiling with visage grim' as he strides to battle. But we lack a parallel for the bold oxymoron, 'scowling a smile.'"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 218.

82.1-4 "A ... upon] "A smile of horror on [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"A smile of horror on (uncorrected). The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

82.1-7 "A ... guest.] "Walpole's MS note reads: 'In [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Walpole's MS note reads: 'In the life of Gower in the 4th vol. of the Biographies p. 224-5 [sic] it is sd that some of our historians affirm that Richard was served in a royal manner but was restrained from eating or drinking anything set before him which exactly answers to this picture.' See Biographia Britannica (1757) iv 2245 n, which goes on to mention the alternative theory that Richard was murdered by Sir Peter of Exeter."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

82.2-4 baleful ... upon] "smile of horror on Wh-2 [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"smile of horror on Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

82.2-4 baleful ... upon] "smile of horror on   [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"smile of horror on   Wharton."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

Add a note or query to this line

83 "Heard ye the din of battle bray, 3 Explanatory

80.1 - 83.7 "Close ... bray,] "These lines refer to a [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"These lines refer to a tradition that Richard the Second, after his deposition and imprisonment, was served in a regal manner, but forbidden to eat or drink anything set before him, and thus starved to death."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

83.1-7 "Heard ... bray,] "Luke compares Par. Lost VI. [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Luke compares Par. Lost VI. 209:

        ''arms on armour clashing brayed
Horrible discord.''
Here again Gray is bold. But the 'din brays' as 'the noise of battle hurtles' in Shakespeare, J. Caesar (II. 2); both 'bray' and 'hurtle' being distinctive words; 'bray' being cognate (vid. Skeat) with 'break' and implying suddenness as well as loudness."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 218.

83.1-7 "Heard ... bray,] "Cp. 'Arms on Armour clashing [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. 'Arms on Armour clashing bray'd / Horrible discord', Par. Lost vi 209-10. Pope added the following note to his use of 'bray' in the Dunciad ii 260: 'Sir R[ichard] B[lackmore] delighted much in the word Bray, which he endeavour'd to ennoble by applying it to the sound of Armour, War, &c.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

Add a note or query to this line

84 "Lance to lance, and horse to horse? 2 Explanatory, 1 Textual

84.1-7 "Lance ... horse?] "''Harry to Harry shall, hot [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"''Harry to Harry shall, hot horse to horse, / Meet,'' &c. Shakespeare, Henry IV Pt. I. IV. i. 122. Also Massinger, Maid of Honour: ''Man to man, and horse to horse.''   Rogers."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 218.

84.1-7 "Lance ... horse?] "The pattern of this line [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"The pattern of this line is common in heroic poetry, e.g. Statius, Thebaid viii 398-9: Iam clipeus clipeis, umbone repellitur umbo, / ense minax ensis, pede pes et cuspide cuspis (Then shield thrusts against shield, boss upon boss, threatening sword on sword, foot against foot and lance on lance). Ovid, Metamorphoses ix 44 and Lucan, Pharsalia iii 573 are similar. English equivalents are frequent: 'Harry to Harry shall, hot horse to horse, / Meet', I Henry IV IV i 122-3; 'Shield 'gainst shield, and helm 'gainst helm they crush', Fairfax's Tasso IX lii 8; 'And Chief to Chief, and Troop to Troop oppos'd', Dryden, Palamon and Arcite iii 577; 'and Man to Man, / And Steed to Steed oppos'd', Dryden, Flower and the Leaf 290-1; 'To armour armour, lance to lance opposed', Pope, Iliad iv 509 (cp. also Pope, Iliad xiii 80-2 and xvi 260-1). Pope parodied the formula in Rape of the Lock i 101-2."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

84.7 horse?] "horse! Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"horse! Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

Add a note or query to this line

85 "Long years of havoc urge their destined course, 2 Explanatory

85.5 urge] "'To labour vehemently; to do [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'To labour vehemently; to do with eagerness or violence' (Johnson)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

85.7-8 destined course,] "Dryden, Aeneid i 778-9: 'renew [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Dryden, Aeneid i 778-9: 'renew / Our destin'd Course'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

Add a note or query to this line

86 "And through the kindred squadrons mow their way. 2 Explanatory

86.1-8 "And ... way.] "So Lucan, at the beginning [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"So Lucan, at the beginning of the Pharsalia 'cognatas acies,' 'kindred squadrons.' The whole passage is very like Gray:

        ''infestis obvia signis
Signa, pares aquilas, et pila minantia pilis.''
[Standards encountering standards, eagles matched against eagles, pila menacing pila.] But there is a special force in Lucan; for these all distinguish a Roman army from the rest of the world, and the fratricidal nature of the struggle is marked in every word."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 218/219.

86.4-5 kindred squadrons] "Cp. Lucan, Pharsalia i 4: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Lucan, Pharsalia i 4: cognatasque acies; 6-7 following describe war in the pattern indicated in l. 84 n above. Cp. also Dryden, All for Love I i: 'mow 'em out a passage, / And entering where the foremost squadrons yield'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 193.

Add a note or query to this line

87 "Ye towers of Julius, London's lasting shame, 5 Explanatory, 6 Textual

87.1 "Ye] "Grim. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Grim. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 46.

87.1 "Ye] "Grim. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Grim. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

87.1 "Ye] "Grim struck through, with Ye [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Grim struck through, with Ye superscribed. Wharton 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], 219.

87.1-7 "Ye ... shame,] "It is certainly of line [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"It is certainly of line 87 that Gray writes to Walpole (July 11, 1757), 'If you will be vulgar, and pronounce it Lunnun, instead of London, I can't help it.' This shows a fashionable vulgarism in pronunciation shared by Walpole at this date. He probably objected to the sequence in the line of so many liquid sounds, which the proper pronunciation of London breaks with a d. Gray, as far as I can discover, has the poets with him: e.g. Wither (1588-1667) in his Christmas,

''Good farmers in the country nurse
    The poor that else were undone,
Some landlords spend their money worse
    On lust and pride in London''
and Gay in his Polly (1729):
''The more in debt run in debt the more
    Careless who is undone:
Morals and honesty leave to the poor
    As they do at London.''
For Gray's fondness for liquids see note on l. 134 infra."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 219.

87.1 "Ye] "Grim The variation[] [...] [is [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Grim The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

87.1 "Ye] "Grim (del) Wh-2 [Letter to [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Grim (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

87.1 "Ye] "Grim   Wharton, deleted." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Grim   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 194.

87.1-7 "Ye ... shame,] "Cp. Richard III III i [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Richard III III i 68-9: 'I do not like the Tower, of any place. Did Julius Caesar build that place?'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 194.

87.1-4 "Ye ... Julius,] "the Tower of London." J. Reeves, 1973.

"the Tower of London."

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, 114.

87.1-4 "Ye ... Julius,] "The Tower of London was [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The Tower of London was supposed to have been built originally by Julius Caesar."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

87.1-7 "Ye ... shame,] "The Tower of London was [...]" Alexander Huber, 2000.

"The Tower of London was built by order of William I 'The Conqueror' (reigned 1066-1087). See also Gray's own note on this line."

Alexander Huber <huber@thomasgray.org> (SUB Göttingen), URL: http://www.thomasgray.org/. Contributed on Fri Oct 27 20:35:17 2000 GMT.

Add a note or query to this line

88 "With many a foul and midnight murther fed, 2 Explanatory, 1 Textual

88.1-8 "With ... fed,] "We are told in the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"We are told in the same stanza how 'towers' are 'fed.' Johnson. To this criticism there is no answer, except that Gray sometimes emulates the boldness of AEschylus or Shakespeare.
Scott heads the 28th chapter of The Fortunes of Nigel with ll. 87, 88 of the Bard, and remarks that Bandello, long before Gray, 'has said something like it.' This I have no opportunity to verify."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 219.

88.4-7 foul ... murther] "Shakespeare frequently uses 'foul' of [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Shakespeare frequently uses 'foul' of murder."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 194.

88.7 murther] "murder M[ason]." H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"murder M[ason]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

Add a note or query to this line

89 "Revere his consort's faith, his father's fame,
90 "And spare the meek usurper's holy head. 4 Explanatory, 6 Textual

90.3-7 the ... head.] "Cf. Eton Ode, l. 4 [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Cf. Eton Ode, l. 4 and note."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 219.

90.3-5 the ... usurper's] "Henry VI is called 'usurper' [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Henry VI is called 'usurper' in II Henry VI I iii 188 and IV iv 30; and III Henry VI I i 114. He was revered after his death as a saint and martyr in certain parts of the country and his formal canonization was sought for by Henry VII. See G[ray].'s other references to him, Eton Ode 4 (p. 57) and Ode to Music 46 (p. 271)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 194.

90.3-5 the ... usurper's] "Henry VI." J. Reeves, 1973.

"Henry VI."

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, 114.

90.3-7 the ... head.] "The 'meek usurper' is Henry [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The 'meek usurper' is Henry the Sixth. All the Lancastrian line were usurpers from the Yorkists' point of view. 'His father's fame' [l. 89] refers to the victories of Henry the Fifth. Henry the Sixth's consort was the formidable Margaret of Anjou."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79.

90.6 holy] "Hallow'd. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Hallow'd. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 47.

90.6 holy] "Hallowed. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Hallowed. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

90.6 holy] "hallow'd   Wharton MS. uncorrected." D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"hallow'd   Wharton MS. uncorrected."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 219.

90.6 holy] "hallow'd (uncorrected.) The variation[] [...] A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"hallow'd (uncorrected.) The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

90.6 holy] "hallow'd Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"hallow'd Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 21.

90.6 holy] "hallow'd   Wharton." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"hallow'd   Wharton."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 194.

Add a note or query to this line

91 "Above, below, the rose of snow, 5 Explanatory

91.1-2 "Above, below,] "In the loom. The two [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"In the loom. The two roses were united by the marriage of Henry VII. (Lancaster) and Elizabeth (York). Cf. Ode for Music."

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, 159.

91.1 - 94.5 "Above, ... shade.] "Above and below in the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Above and below in the loom we intertwine the roses, to be united by the marriage of Henry VII. of Lancaster and Elizabeth of York; under the shade of which (union of rose trees) Richard wallows in the blood of the slain princes. He is represented as guilty of their murder, and is under the shade of the united roses, having been slain at the battle of Bosworth."

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], 201.

91.1-2 "Above, below,] "i.e. on the loom." D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"i.e. on the loom."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 219.

91.1 - 92.7 "Above, ... spread:] "(See I Henry VI II [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"(See I Henry VI II iv.)"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 194.

91.1 - 94.5 "Above, ... shade.] "The white and red roses [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The white and red roses were the badges of the rival houses of York and Lancaster. The white boar was the crest of Richard the Third, who has generally been held responsible for the murder of the two young princes in the Tower."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79/80.

Add a note or query to this line

92 "Twined with her blushing foe, we spread: 4 Explanatory

91.1 - 94.5 "Above, ... shade.] "Above and below in the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Above and below in the loom we intertwine the roses, to be united by the marriage of Henry VII. of Lancaster and Elizabeth of York; under the shade of which (union of rose trees) Richard wallows in the blood of the slain princes. He is represented as guilty of their murder, and is under the shade of the united roses, having been slain at the battle of Bosworth."

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], 201.

91.1 - 92.7 "Above, ... spread:] "(See I Henry VI II [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"(See I Henry VI II iv.)"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 194.

91.1 - 94.5 "Above, ... shade.] "The white and red roses [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The white and red roses were the badges of the rival houses of York and Lancaster. The white boar was the crest of Richard the Third, who has generally been held responsible for the murder of the two young princes in the Tower."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79/80.

92.1 "Twined] "In twined, Dr Bradshaw thinks [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"In twined, Dr Bradshaw thinks there is a reference to the union of the two houses, by the marriage of Henry VII. with Elizabeth of York; but the sequence is awkward; under the thorny shade of the intertwined rose-trees Richard the Third wallows in infant gore. If there is here a reference to marriage (as I incline to think) rather than the grapple of foes, it is probably to the marriage of Edward IV. with the Lancastrian Elizabeth Woodville, Lady Grey, of which union the murdered princes were the issue. Cf. Ode for Music, l. 43, where, on the same principle, Elizabeth is called the paler rose, having become so by her marriage with Edward of York. Shakespeare(?) it is to be noted, is mistaken when he makes Elizabeth's first husband to have been a Yorkist (3 Henry VI. III. 2, 6, 7) [footnote: The error is corrected in Richard III. I. 3.]. Sir John Gray was a Lancastrian, and his lands were seized on by Edward IV. after the battle of Towton."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 220.

Add a note or query to this line

93 "The bristled Boar in infant-gore 5 Explanatory

91.1 - 94.5 "Above, ... shade.] "Above and below in the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Above and below in the loom we intertwine the roses, to be united by the marriage of Henry VII. of Lancaster and Elizabeth of York; under the shade of which (union of rose trees) Richard wallows in the blood of the slain princes. He is represented as guilty of their murder, and is under the shade of the united roses, having been slain at the battle of Bosworth."

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], 201.

91.1 - 94.5 "Above, ... shade.] "The white and red roses [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The white and red roses were the badges of the rival houses of York and Lancaster. The white boar was the crest of Richard the Third, who has generally been held responsible for the murder of the two young princes in the Tower."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79/80.

93.1-3 "The ... Boar] "Richard III is supposed to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Richard III is supposed to have been responsible for the deaths of Edward, the young Prince of Wales, at Tewkesbury; and of Edward V and his brother, the Duke of York, in 1483. Shakespeare often calls him the 'Boar' in Richard III. Cp. 'boar with bristled hair', Midsummer Night's Dream II ii 31; 'bristled Boar', Dryden, Georgics iii 397, Aeneid vii 20, xi 303, and Hind and the Panther i 43."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 194.

93.1-3 "The ... Boar] "Richard III." J. Reeves, 1973.

"Richard III."

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, 114.

93.5 infant-gore] "Gray hyphenates when the substantive [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray hyphenates when the substantive is used adjectivally, cf. evening-prey (l. 76), lion-port, virgin-grace, ll. 117, 118; velvet-green, Progress of Poesy (l. 27). The reference is of course to the murder of the two young princes 'Edward the Fifth and Richard Duke of York,' whom Gray has mentioned on l. 87."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 220.

Add a note or query to this line

94 "Wallows beneath the thorny shade. 2 Explanatory

91.1 - 94.5 "Above, ... shade.] "Above and below in the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Above and below in the loom we intertwine the roses, to be united by the marriage of Henry VII. of Lancaster and Elizabeth of York; under the shade of which (union of rose trees) Richard wallows in the blood of the slain princes. He is represented as guilty of their murder, and is under the shade of the united roses, having been slain at the battle of Bosworth."

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], 201.

91.1 - 94.5 "Above, ... shade.] "The white and red roses [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The white and red roses were the badges of the rival houses of York and Lancaster. The white boar was the crest of Richard the Third, who has generally been held responsible for the murder of the two young princes in the Tower."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 79/80.

Add a note or query to this line

95 "Now, brothers, bending o'er the accursed loom,
96 "Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom. 3 Explanatory

96.1-9 "Stamp ... doom.] "They return, at the conclusion [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"They return, at the conclusion of their chant, to the chief object of their vengeance."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 220.

96.1-9 "Stamp ... doom.] "Gray seems to have in [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Gray seems to have in mind simultaneously three meanings of stamp: (1) to beat the woof thread firmly into the warp threads on a loom, (2) to imprint a picture or design on a coin, (3) to ratify a treaty or agreement by affixing a seal or some other official mark."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 210.

96.1-9 "Stamp ... doom.] "'This ratifies th'irrevocable doom', Dryden, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'This ratifies th'irrevocable doom', Dryden, Iliad i 707; 'I seal your Doom, and ratifie the Deed', Dryden, Palamon and Arcite ii 307; 'Assents to fate, and ratifies the doom' Pope, Iliad xvi 558."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 194.

Add a note or query to this line


III. 1.

97 "Edward, lo! to sudden fate 2 Explanatory

97.1 - 99.6 "Edward, ... consecrate.] "This refers to the death [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"This refers to the death of Edward the First's dearly loved Queen Eleanor of Castile shortly after his conquest of Wales."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

97.4-5 sudden fate] "'sudden fate', Spenser, Ruins of [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'sudden fate', Spenser, Ruins of Time 573."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

Add a note or query to this line

98 "(Weave we the woof. The thread is spun) 2 Explanatory

97.1 - 99.6 "Edward, ... consecrate.] "This refers to the death [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"This refers to the death of Edward the First's dearly loved Queen Eleanor of Castile shortly after his conquest of Wales."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

98.1-4 "(Weave ... woof.] "Gray here shows that he [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray here shows that he knows well enough the difference between 'woof' and 'warp.' See on l. 49."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 220.

Add a note or query to this line

99 "Half of thy heart we consecrate. 7 Explanatory

97.1 - 99.6 "Edward, ... consecrate.] "This refers to the death [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"This refers to the death of Edward the First's dearly loved Queen Eleanor of Castile shortly after his conquest of Wales."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

99.1-4 "Half ... heart] "Eleanor, wife of Edward I., W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Eleanor, wife of Edward I., died in 1290. The ''heroic proof of her affection'' alludes to the story of her husband's wound from a poisoned dagger, which she cured by sucking out the venom."

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, 159.

99.1-6 "Half ... consecrate.] "Cf. Horace's ''animae dimidium meae,'' [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Cf. Horace's ''animae dimidium meae,'' ''Ode'' I. 3. Tennyson alludes to the story of Eleanor's devotion to her husband in his ''Dream of Fair Women'': -

''Or her who knew that love can vanquish death,
    Who kneeling with one arm about her king
Drew forth the poison with her balmy breath,
    Sweet as in new buds in spring.''"

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], 201.

99.1-4 "Half ... heart] "Cf. 'animae dimidium meae' ['half [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Cf. 'animae dimidium meae' ['half of my soul' or 'life'] Hor. Od. I. 3. 8.   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], 220.

99.1-6 "Half ... consecrate.] "In n. of 1768 he [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"In n. of 1768 he writes 'Northampton, Geddington, Waltham and other places.' These are places between Grantham and Westminster, on the road by which Eleanor's funeral passed. The heroism of Eleanor had been celebrated in the Edward and Eleanora of Thomson in 1739; it is better, but more briefly commemorated in Tennyson's Dream of Fair Women."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 220.

99.1-6 "Half ... consecrate.] "When this note [i.e. Gray's [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"When this note [i.e. Gray's footnote] first appeared in 1757, it ended 'seen in several parts of England'. Edward's queen is supposed to have saved his life by sucking a poisoned wound. After her death in 1290, Edward marked the route taken by her funeral procession from Nottinghamshire to London with crosses at its halting-places. The second sentence of G.'s note may refer to James Thomson's tragedy, Edward and Eleonora (1739).
Cp. Horace, Odes I iii 8: animae dimidium meae (half of my own soul) and II xvii 5: te meae si partem animae."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

99.1-6 "Half ... consecrate.] "Eleanor of Castile, Edward's wife." J. Reeves, 1973.

"Eleanor of Castile, Edward's wife."

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, 114.

Add a note or query to this line

100 "(The web is wove. The work is done.)" 1 Explanatory

100.1-8 "(The ... done.)"] "Cp. Fatal Sisters 51-2 (p. [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Fatal Sisters 51-2 (p. 220)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

Add a note or query to this line

101 'Stay, oh stay! nor thus forlorn 4 Explanatory, 6 Textual

101.1-3 'Stay, ... stay!] "The bard calls on the [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The bard calls on the vanishing spirits of his brother poets."

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, 159.

101.1-6 'Stay, ... forlorn] "The ghosts now vanish; and [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The ghosts now vanish; and the Bard speaks alone."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 220.

101.1-6 'Stay, ... forlorn] "The Bard now resumes his [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"The Bard now resumes his monologue."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

101.1 - 102.7 'Stay, ... mourn:] "Pope, Autumn 21-2: 'I mourn, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Pope, Autumn 21-2: 'I mourn, / Alike unheard, unpity'd, and forlorn'; and see Ode to Adversity 8 (p. 71)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

101.5 thus] "Here. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Here. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 47.

101.5 thus] "Here. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Here. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

101.5 thus] "thus superscribed on here struck [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"thus superscribed on here struck through, Wharton 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], 220.

101.5 thus] "here The variation[] [...] [is [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"here The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

101.5 thus] "here (del) Wh-2 [Letter to [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"here (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

101.5 thus] "here   Wharton, deleted." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"here   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

Add a note or query to this line

102 'Leave me unblessed, unpitied, here to mourn: 4 Explanatory, 7 Textual

101.1 - 102.7 'Stay, ... mourn:] "Pope, Autumn 21-2: 'I mourn, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Pope, Autumn 21-2: 'I mourn, / Alike unheard, unpity'd, and forlorn'; and see Ode to Adversity 8 (p. 71)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

102.1-7 'Leave ... mourn:] "In the fragment sent to [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"In the fragment sent to Wharton, 21 August 1755 (Works, II, 270), this line stood: ''Leave your despairing Caradoc to mourn!'' Afterwards, in a letter to Walpole, 11 July 1757 (Works, II, 319), Gray said, ''Caradoc I have private reasons against; and besides it is in reality Caradoc [with long a], and will not stand in the verse.'' Cf. the fragment on Caradoc, p. 53."

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, 159.

102.1-7 'Leave ... mourn:] " 'The mountain in Shropshire [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" 'The mountain in Shropshire is called Caer Caradoc: but Mr Gray asserts that the middle syllable is long, or he could have used it in his poem of the Bard.' Cradock. So Gray wrote to Walpole, July 11, 1757, but he also said (ib.) 'Caradoc I have private reasons against'; we may suspect that he did not like any possible confusion between his Bard and Mason's Caractacus. He pronounces Caradoc in the Welsh Fragment so named (l. 4). Walpole to Lyttelton (l. c.) counts the change in the Bard a correction for the worse. Gray chose the name just as he chose those in ll. 29-33; see note there."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 220/221.

102.1-7 'Leave ... mourn:] "Leave your despairing Caradoc to [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Leave your despairing Caradoc to mourn The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

102.1-7 'Leave ... mourn:] "Leave your despairing Caradoc to [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Leave your despairing Caradoc to mourn! (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

102.1-7 'Leave ... mourn:] "See textual notes. Gray explained [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"See textual notes. Gray explained to Walpole, 11 July 1757 (T & W no. 240), that he had decided not to name the bard Caradoc: 'Caradoc I have private reasons against; and besides it is in reality Carádoc, and will not stand in the verse.' See the poem Caradoc, in which the accent clearly falls on the second syllable. Tovey speculated that the 'private reasons' were that Gray did not wish The Bard confused with Mason's Caractacus."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 210.

102.1-7 'Leave ... mourn:] "Walpole believed that this [textual] [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Walpole believed that this [textual] change was for the worse. G[ray]. explained to him on 11 July 1757 (Corresp ii 508): 'Caradoc I have private reasons against; and besides it is in reality Cardoc, and will not stand in the verse.' Tovey suggests that G. wished to avoid confusion with Mason's Caractacus."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

102.2-5 me ... here] "Your despairing Caradoc. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Your despairing Caradoc. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 47.

102.2-5 me ... here] "Your despairing Caradoc. [Footnote: ''These [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Your despairing Caradoc. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

102.2-5 me ... here] "your despairing Caradoc   Wharton [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"your despairing Caradoc   Wharton MS. with me unbless'd, Unpitied here superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 220.

102.2-5 me ... here] "your despairing Caradoc   Wharton, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"your despairing Caradoc   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

Add a note or query to this line

103 'In yon bright track, that fires the western skies, 2 Explanatory, 6 Textual

103.1-9 'In ... skies,] "Describing the sun, Shakespeare refers [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Describing the sun, Shakespeare refers to 'the bright track of his fiery car', Richard III V iii 20, and 'the track / Of his bright passage to the occident', Richard II III iii 66-7. Cp. also 'The sun begins to gild the western skies', Two Gentlemen of Verona V i 1."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

103.1 - 110.7 'In ... hail!] "Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness [...]" M. Pashchenko, 2008.

"Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness of his landscape, as he activates the sacred topography of a church with its east-west orientation. He has given his readers enough clues to reconstruct it precisely; for those not familiar with national geography, he noted later in 1768, that Snowdon was a “mountainous tract, which included all the highlands […], as far east as the river Conway”. The king is going “down the steep of Snowdon’s shaggy side” to the river Conway: in other words, he is going east. The Bard stands “On a rock” which “Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood” above the king; Snowdon’s height is situated behind him, what means on the west. That is where the vision of Elizabeth emerges. Gray leaves his reader with no doubt about this special non-sacred blessing of pure British monarchy and describes not a natural sunset, as often supposed (Hagstrum 1987, 310; McCarthy 1997, 204), but the other, a metaphoric sun rising “In yon bright track, that fires the western skies”. A sublimated British landscape appears then perfectly appropriate for the political agenda of a proper Whig, which Horace Walpole’s friend of course was (Political views of Gray are summarised in Dustin Griffin, Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge UP 2002) 155 – 57; see also Steel 1974, 222 – 23)".

Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476, 471.

103.4 track,] "Clouds. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Clouds. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 47.

103.4 track,] "Clouds. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Clouds. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

103.4 track,] "clouds. Wharton MS. struck through; [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"clouds. Wharton MS. struck through; track superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 221.

103.4 track,] "clouds The variation[] [...] [is [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"clouds The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

103.4 track,] "clouds (del) Wh-2 [Letter to [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"clouds (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

103.4 track,] "clouds   Wharton, deleted." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"clouds   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

Add a note or query to this line

104 'They melt, they vanish from my eyes. 2 Explanatory, 6 Textual

103.1 - 110.7 'In ... hail!] "Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness [...]" M. Pashchenko, 2008.

"Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness of his landscape, as he activates the sacred topography of a church with its east-west orientation. He has given his readers enough clues to reconstruct it precisely; for those not familiar with national geography, he noted later in 1768, that Snowdon was a “mountainous tract, which included all the highlands […], as far east as the river Conway”. The king is going “down the steep of Snowdon’s shaggy side” to the river Conway: in other words, he is going east. The Bard stands “On a rock” which “Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood” above the king; Snowdon’s height is situated behind him, what means on the west. That is where the vision of Elizabeth emerges. Gray leaves his reader with no doubt about this special non-sacred blessing of pure British monarchy and describes not a natural sunset, as often supposed (Hagstrum 1987, 310; McCarthy 1997, 204), but the other, a metaphoric sun rising “In yon bright track, that fires the western skies”. A sublimated British landscape appears then perfectly appropriate for the political agenda of a proper Whig, which Horace Walpole’s friend of course was (Political views of Gray are summarised in Dustin Griffin, Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge UP 2002) 155 – 57; see also Steel 1974, 222 – 23)".

Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476, 471.

104.1-7 'They ... eyes.] "Cp. Macbeth I iii 80-2: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Macbeth I iii 80-2: 'Whither are they vanished? / Into the air, and what seemed corporal melted / As breath into the wind.' See l. 110 n below where Macbeth again seems to be in G[ray].'s mind."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

104.2 melt,] "Sink. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Sink. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 48.

104.2 melt,] "Sink. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Sink. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

104.2 melt,] "sink. Wharton MS. with melt [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"sink. Wharton MS. with melt superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 221.

104.2 melt,] "sink The variation[] [...] [is [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"sink The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

104.2 melt,] "sink (del) Wh-2 [Letter to [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"sink (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

104.2 melt,] "sink   Wharton, deleted." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"sink   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

Add a note or query to this line

105 'But oh! what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height 2 Explanatory, 8 Textual

103.1 - 110.7 'In ... hail!] "Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness [...]" M. Pashchenko, 2008.

"Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness of his landscape, as he activates the sacred topography of a church with its east-west orientation. He has given his readers enough clues to reconstruct it precisely; for those not familiar with national geography, he noted later in 1768, that Snowdon was a “mountainous tract, which included all the highlands […], as far east as the river Conway”. The king is going “down the steep of Snowdon’s shaggy side” to the river Conway: in other words, he is going east. The Bard stands “On a rock” which “Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood” above the king; Snowdon’s height is situated behind him, what means on the west. That is where the vision of Elizabeth emerges. Gray leaves his reader with no doubt about this special non-sacred blessing of pure British monarchy and describes not a natural sunset, as often supposed (Hagstrum 1987, 310; McCarthy 1997, 204), but the other, a metaphoric sun rising “In yon bright track, that fires the western skies”. A sublimated British landscape appears then perfectly appropriate for the political agenda of a proper Whig, which Horace Walpole’s friend of course was (Political views of Gray are summarised in Dustin Griffin, Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge UP 2002) 155 – 57; see also Steel 1974, 222 – 23)".

Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476, 471.

105.1 - 106.6 'But ... unroll?] "''Scenes unroll their skirts'' is [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"''Scenes unroll their skirts'' is a peculiar poetic imagery. A skirt is the edge or lower part of a garment; cf. ''outskirts.'' Gray had in mind Milton's use of skirt; he applies it to the outer edging of mists and exhalations - ''Till the sun rise to deck your fleecy skirts with gold.'' - Par. Lost, v. 187. [-] to the edge of the horizon - ''From skirt to skirt a fiery region.'' vi. 80. [-] to the distant appearance of God's glory - ''Dark with excessive bright thy skirts appear.[''] - iii. 380. ''Gladly behold though but his utmost skirts / Of glory.'' - xi. 332."

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], 201.

105.1-8 'But ... height] "But ah! what scenes of [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"But ah! what scenes of heav'n on Snowdon's height Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755] with of heav'n del and solemn written above scenes."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

105.2 oh!] "ah (uncorrected). The variation[] [...] A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"ah (uncorrected). The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

105.2 oh!] "ah   Wharton." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"ah   Wharton."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

105.4-5 solemn scenes] "Scenes of Heaven. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Scenes of Heaven. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 48.

105.4-5 solemn scenes] "Scenes of heaven. [Footnote: ''These [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Scenes of heaven. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

105.4-5 solemn scenes] "Ah! what scenes (solemn above) [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Ah! what scenes (solemn above) of Heaven. Wharton 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], 221.

105.4-5 solemn scenes] "scenes of heav'n The variation[] [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"scenes of heav'n The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

105.4-5 solemn scenes] "scenes of heav'n   Wharton, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"scenes of heav'n   Wharton, deleted with present reading inserted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 195.

Add a note or query to this line

106 'Descending slow their glittering skirts unroll? 4 Explanatory, 6 Textual

103.1 - 110.7 'In ... hail!] "Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness [...]" M. Pashchenko, 2008.

"Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness of his landscape, as he activates the sacred topography of a church with its east-west orientation. He has given his readers enough clues to reconstruct it precisely; for those not familiar with national geography, he noted later in 1768, that Snowdon was a “mountainous tract, which included all the highlands […], as far east as the river Conway”. The king is going “down the steep of Snowdon’s shaggy side” to the river Conway: in other words, he is going east. The Bard stands “On a rock” which “Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood” above the king; Snowdon’s height is situated behind him, what means on the west. That is where the vision of Elizabeth emerges. Gray leaves his reader with no doubt about this special non-sacred blessing of pure British monarchy and describes not a natural sunset, as often supposed (Hagstrum 1987, 310; McCarthy 1997, 204), but the other, a metaphoric sun rising “In yon bright track, that fires the western skies”. A sublimated British landscape appears then perfectly appropriate for the political agenda of a proper Whig, which Horace Walpole’s friend of course was (Political views of Gray are summarised in Dustin Griffin, Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge UP 2002) 155 – 57; see also Steel 1974, 222 – 23)".

Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476, 471.

105.1 - 106.6 'But ... unroll?] "''Scenes unroll their skirts'' is [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"''Scenes unroll their skirts'' is a peculiar poetic imagery. A skirt is the edge or lower part of a garment; cf. ''outskirts.'' Gray had in mind Milton's use of skirt; he applies it to the outer edging of mists and exhalations - ''Till the sun rise to deck your fleecy skirts with gold.'' - Par. Lost, v. 187. [-] to the edge of the horizon - ''From skirt to skirt a fiery region.'' vi. 80. [-] to the distant appearance of God's glory - ''Dark with excessive bright thy skirts appear.[''] - iii. 380. ''Gladly behold though but his utmost skirts / Of glory.'' - xi. 332."

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], 201.

106.4 glittering] "Golden. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"Golden. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 48.

106.4 glittering] "Golden. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Golden. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

106.4 glittering] "golden   Wharton MS. with [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"golden   Wharton MS. with glitt'ring superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 221.

106.4 glittering] "golden The variation[] [...] [is [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"golden The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

106.4-6 glittering ... unroll?] "golden skirts unroll! with golden [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"golden skirts unroll! with golden del Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

106.4 glittering] "golden   Wharton, deleted." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"golden   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196.

106.5 skirts] "The word in this connection [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The word in this connection is Miltonic, as

''Dark with excessive bright thy skirts appear.''
            Par. Lost, III. 380.
And (Adam speaks) Ib. XI. 332
        ''I now
Gladly behold though but his utmost skirts
Of glory.''
where Newton refers us to Exodus xxxiii. 22, 23. In fact, though the word is Milton's, the idea is Scriptural, in reference to 'a vision of glory'; cf. Isaiah vi. 1 'His train filled the temple.' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 221.

106.5 skirts] "See Collins, Ode to Evening [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"See Collins, Ode to Evening 6 and n (p. 463)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196.

Add a note or query to this line

107 'Visions of glory, spare my aching sight, 3 Explanatory

103.1 - 110.7 'In ... hail!] "Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness [...]" M. Pashchenko, 2008.

"Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness of his landscape, as he activates the sacred topography of a church with its east-west orientation. He has given his readers enough clues to reconstruct it precisely; for those not familiar with national geography, he noted later in 1768, that Snowdon was a “mountainous tract, which included all the highlands […], as far east as the river Conway”. The king is going “down the steep of Snowdon’s shaggy side” to the river Conway: in other words, he is going east. The Bard stands “On a rock” which “Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood” above the king; Snowdon’s height is situated behind him, what means on the west. That is where the vision of Elizabeth emerges. Gray leaves his reader with no doubt about this special non-sacred blessing of pure British monarchy and describes not a natural sunset, as often supposed (Hagstrum 1987, 310; McCarthy 1997, 204), but the other, a metaphoric sun rising “In yon bright track, that fires the western skies”. A sublimated British landscape appears then perfectly appropriate for the political agenda of a proper Whig, which Horace Walpole’s friend of course was (Political views of Gray are summarised in Dustin Griffin, Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge UP 2002) 155 – 57; see also Steel 1974, 222 – 23)".

Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476, 471.

107.1 - 108.8 'Visions ... soul!] "Webster, the American orator, introduced [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Webster, the American orator, introduced this passage thus, ''Unborn ages and visions of glory crowd upon my soul!'' with fine effect in an eloquent passage in an historical address on the anniversary of Washington's birth, 23rd February, 1732."

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], 201/202.

107.1-7 'Visions ... sight,] "Dryden, State of Innocence IV [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Dryden, State of Innocence IV i 7: 'Their glory shoots upon my aching sense.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196.

Add a note or query to this line

108 'Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul! 4 Explanatory

103.1 - 110.7 'In ... hail!] "Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness [...]" M. Pashchenko, 2008.

"Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness of his landscape, as he activates the sacred topography of a church with its east-west orientation. He has given his readers enough clues to reconstruct it precisely; for those not familiar with national geography, he noted later in 1768, that Snowdon was a “mountainous tract, which included all the highlands […], as far east as the river Conway”. The king is going “down the steep of Snowdon’s shaggy side” to the river Conway: in other words, he is going east. The Bard stands “On a rock” which “Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood” above the king; Snowdon’s height is situated behind him, what means on the west. That is where the vision of Elizabeth emerges. Gray leaves his reader with no doubt about this special non-sacred blessing of pure British monarchy and describes not a natural sunset, as often supposed (Hagstrum 1987, 310; McCarthy 1997, 204), but the other, a metaphoric sun rising “In yon bright track, that fires the western skies”. A sublimated British landscape appears then perfectly appropriate for the political agenda of a proper Whig, which Horace Walpole’s friend of course was (Political views of Gray are summarised in Dustin Griffin, Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge UP 2002) 155 – 57; see also Steel 1974, 222 – 23)".

Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476, 471.

107.1 - 108.8 'Visions ... soul!] "Webster, the American orator, introduced [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Webster, the American orator, introduced this passage thus, ''Unborn ages and visions of glory crowd upon my soul!'' with fine effect in an eloquent passage in an historical address on the anniversary of Washington's birth, 23rd February, 1732."

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], 201/202.

108.2-3 unborn ages,] "unborn age occurs in the [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"unborn age occurs in the ''Ode at the Installation.'' [i.e. ''Ode for Music,'' l. 17.]"

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], 202.

108.2-3 unborn ages,] "Pope, Imitations of Horace, Ep. [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Pope, Imitations of Horace, Ep. II i 228: 'Ages yet unborn'; and see Ode for Music 17 and n (p. 269)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196.

Add a note or query to this line

109 'No more our long-lost Arthur we bewail. 6 Explanatory, 6 Textual

103.1 - 110.7 'In ... hail!] "Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness [...]" M. Pashchenko, 2008.

"Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness of his landscape, as he activates the sacred topography of a church with its east-west orientation. He has given his readers enough clues to reconstruct it precisely; for those not familiar with national geography, he noted later in 1768, that Snowdon was a “mountainous tract, which included all the highlands […], as far east as the river Conway”. The king is going “down the steep of Snowdon’s shaggy side” to the river Conway: in other words, he is going east. The Bard stands “On a rock” which “Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood” above the king; Snowdon’s height is situated behind him, what means on the west. That is where the vision of Elizabeth emerges. Gray leaves his reader with no doubt about this special non-sacred blessing of pure British monarchy and describes not a natural sunset, as often supposed (Hagstrum 1987, 310; McCarthy 1997, 204), but the other, a metaphoric sun rising “In yon bright track, that fires the western skies”. A sublimated British landscape appears then perfectly appropriate for the political agenda of a proper Whig, which Horace Walpole’s friend of course was (Political views of Gray are summarised in Dustin Griffin, Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge UP 2002) 155 – 57; see also Steel 1974, 222 – 23)".

Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476, 471.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "''From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 48.

109.1-7 'No ... bewail.] "In his Remarks on the [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"In his Remarks on the Poems of Lydgate (Works, I, 389), Gray quotes Lydgate's Fall of Princes, viii, 24, as evidence that the ''notion [was] then [i.e. in the 15th century] current in Britain, that King Arthur was not dead, but translated to Fairy-Land, and should come again to restore the Round Table.'' In a note he adds: ''Peter of Blois, who lived in 1170, says ironically, in his epistles, 57:

'Quibus si credideris,
Expectare poteris
Arturum cum Britonibus.' ''
These passages are interesting as illustrative of the range and minuteness of Gray's studies in what may be called Romantic material. Records of this pathetic confidence in Arthur's return which made ''the credulity of the Britons'' a by-word for centuries must have come under Gray's eye in many places: for example, in the Polychronicon of Ranulphus de Higden ad ann. 1177 (ed. Lumby, VIII, 60), a work which Gray quotes in his note to v. 11 of this very poem."

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, 159/160.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "None of the annotators have [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"None of the annotators have noted the point in this couplet and in the remainder of the bard's song, though Gray hints at it in his note on line 110. Hitherto the bard has been denouncing the woes that were to befall the Plantagenet line, but on the extinction of the House of York he foresees visions of glory for his native land - not only was England to become a Welsh dependency, ruled by Welsh monarchs, but the race of the bards, that had been cut off by the ruthless Edward, is restored in Spencer and Shakespeare - a new era of bards under a sovereign of Welsh descent!"

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], 202.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns.
Wharton MS. with our text written along the side."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 221.

109.1-7 'No ... bewail.] "In 'Some Remarks on the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"In 'Some Remarks on the Poems of Lydgate' Gray mentions the notion that Arthur was so 'translated' and should come again to restore the Round Table:

''This errour abideth yet among Britons
Which founded is upon the prophesie.
Of old Merlin, like their opinion;
He as a King is crowned in faërie,
With scepter and sworde, and with his regalie
Shall resort as lord and soveraine
Out of faërie, and reigne in Britaine'' &c.
            [Fall of Princes] B. VIII. c. 24.
He notes on this passage that 'Peter of Blois' who lived in 1170, says ironically in his Epistles, 57
''Quibus si credideris
Expectare poteris
Arturum cum Britonibus.''
Lydgate attests the belief in the 15th century; and Dr Phelps remarks that Gray might have noted the same thing in the Polychronicon of Higden, ad ann. 1177, a work which he quotes on l. 11, supr."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 221/222.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns. The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns. (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "Wharton, with present reading above:From [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Wharton, with present reading above:

From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains
Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196.

109.1-7 'No ... bewail.] "G[ray]. mentions this tradition in [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. mentions this tradition in his essay 'On the Poems of Lydgate', Works, ed. Gosse, i 389: 'We may remark too the notion then current in Britain, that King Arthur was not dead, but translated to Fairy-Land, and should come again to restore the Round Table.' G. then quotes Lydgate's Fall of Princes VIII xxiv: 'This errour abideth yet among Britons, / Which founded is upon the prophesie / Of old Merlin, like their opinion; / He as a king is crowned in faerie, / With scepter and sworde, and with his regalie / Shall resort as lord and soveraine / Out of faerie, and reigne in Britaine,' etc. G. has another reference to the belief in Peter of Blois's Epistles 57 (c. 1170). This tradition, like the supposed descent of the Britons from the Trojan prince Brutus and the prophesied return of a British (not Saxon) line of monarchs, was preserved by Geoffrey of Monmouth, and revived under the Tudors in whom the prophesy was held to be fulfilled. It occurs in Spenser's Faerie Queene (e.g. III iii 48) and other Elizabethan works."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196.

109.1-7 'No ... bewail.] "Henry the Seventh, founder of [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Henry the Seventh, founder of the Welsh-descended Tudor dynasty, named his eldest son Arthur in deference to Welsh sentiment and tradition."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

Add a note or query to this line

110 'All-hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's issue, hail! 9 Explanatory, 6 Textual

103.1 - 110.7 'In ... hail!] "Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness [...]" M. Pashchenko, 2008.

"Gray reveals the horizontal meaningfulness of his landscape, as he activates the sacred topography of a church with its east-west orientation. He has given his readers enough clues to reconstruct it precisely; for those not familiar with national geography, he noted later in 1768, that Snowdon was a “mountainous tract, which included all the highlands […], as far east as the river Conway”. The king is going “down the steep of Snowdon’s shaggy side” to the river Conway: in other words, he is going east. The Bard stands “On a rock” which “Frowns o’er old Conway’s foaming flood” above the king; Snowdon’s height is situated behind him, what means on the west. That is where the vision of Elizabeth emerges. Gray leaves his reader with no doubt about this special non-sacred blessing of pure British monarchy and describes not a natural sunset, as often supposed (Hagstrum 1987, 310; McCarthy 1997, 204), but the other, a metaphoric sun rising “In yon bright track, that fires the western skies”. A sublimated British landscape appears then perfectly appropriate for the political agenda of a proper Whig, which Horace Walpole’s friend of course was (Political views of Gray are summarised in Dustin Griffin, Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge UP 2002) 155 – 57; see also Steel 1974, 222 – 23)".

Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476, 471.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "''From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 48.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "None of the annotators have [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"None of the annotators have noted the point in this couplet and in the remainder of the bard's song, though Gray hints at it in his note on line 110. Hitherto the bard has been denouncing the woes that were to befall the Plantagenet line, but on the extinction of the House of York he foresees visions of glory for his native land - not only was England to become a Welsh dependency, ruled by Welsh monarchs, but the race of the bards, that had been cut off by the ruthless Edward, is restored in Spencer and Shakespeare - a new era of bards under a sovereign of Welsh descent!"

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], 202.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns.
Wharton MS. with our text written along the side."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 221.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns. The variation[] [...] [is a] cancelled reading[] in the Wharton MS."

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], 172.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "From Cambria's thousand hills a [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains / Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns. (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

109.1 - 110.7 'No ... hail!] "Wharton, with present reading above:From [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Wharton, with present reading above:

From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains
Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196.

110.1-7 'All-hail, ... hail!] "The prophecies of Merlin (Merddin) [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The prophecies of Merlin (Merddin) and Taliesin here referred to have been proved by Thomas Stephens not to be earlier than the 12th century and hence to have nothing to do with those bards, whose date is in the 6th century. See his Literature of the Kymry, 2d ed., ch. ii, sect. 4, pp. 198 ff.: ''Poems fictitiously ascribed to Merddin, Taliesin, Aneurin,'' etc."

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, 160.

110.1-7 'All-hail, ... hail!] "The prophecies of Merlin (Merddin) [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The prophecies of Merlin (Merddin) and Taliessin, here referred to, have been proved by Thomas Stephens not to be earlier than the 12th century, and hence to have nothing to do with those bards, whose date is in the 6th century. See his Literature of the Kymry, 2nd ed. ch. ii. sect. 4, pp. 198 ff. 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], 222.

110.1-7 'All-hail, ... hail!] "The prophecies attributed to these [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"The prophecies attributed to these poets [Merlin and Taliessin] are actually of a far later date."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 211.

110.1-7 'All-hail, ... hail!] "In 1757 G[ray]. noted merely: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"In 1757 G[ray]. noted merely: 'Ascension of the Line of Tudor.' As Tovey pointed out, the prophecies belong to a much later period than that of these bards. The Bard's 'All hail' seems to echo again Macbeth's confrontation with the witches, in which the phrase is repeated: e.g. 'All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter' (I iii 50)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196.

110.1-7 'All-hail, ... hail!] "References to the Tudor dynasty [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"References to the Tudor dynasty who were Welsh in origin."

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, 114.

110.3 genuine] "Native; lit. ''born,'' proceeding from [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Native; lit. ''born,'' proceeding from the original stock. He has it in the same sense in ''Agrippina'': - ''... who boast the genuine blood / Of our imperial house.''"

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], 202.

110.5-6 Britannia's issue,] "Britannia's issue [is] equivalent to [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Britannia's issue [is] equivalent to ''Welsh'' the Kelts, original Britons, having been driven into Wales."

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], 202.

Add a note or query to this line


III. 2.

111 'Girt with many a baron bold 3 Explanatory, 6 Textual

111.1 - 112.6 'Girt ... rear;] "''Youthful knights, and barons bold [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''Youthful knights, and barons bold / With dazzling helm, and horrent spear.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 48.

111.1 - 115.6 'Girt ... divine!] "Cf. Sir Richard Baker on [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cf. Sir Richard Baker on the ''state'' of Queen Elizabeth (Chronicle of the Kings of England, ed. of 1684, p. 400): ''Never Prince kept greater State with less stateliness: Her Pensioners and Guard were always the tallest and goodliest Gentlemen and Yeomen of the Kingdom: Her Maids of Honour and other Women about her, the fairest and most beautiful Ladies of the Realm; and yet her self a Diana amongst the Nymphs.''"

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, 160.

111.1 - 112.6 'Girt ... rear;] "Youthful knights, and barons bold [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Youthful knights, and barons bold / With dazzling helm, and horrent spear. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

111.1-6 'Girt ... bold] "Youthful knights and (Girt with [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Youthful knights and (Girt with many a, above) Barons   Wharton MS.
Haughty Knights &c.   To Mason, May, 1757."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 222.

111.1-6 'Girt ... bold] "Cf. Sir Richard Baker on [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Cf. Sir Richard Baker on the ''state'' of Queen Elizabeth (Chronicle of the Kings of England, ed. of 1684, p. 400) ''Never Prince kept greater State with less stateliness: Her Pensioners and Guard were always the tallest and goodliest Gentlemen and Yeomen of the Kingdom: her Maids of Honour and other Women about her, the fairest and most beautiful Ladies of the Realm; and yet her self a Diana among the Nymphs.'' Phelps. But his note should have come later. See next note [on l. 112]."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 222.

111.1 - 112.6 'Girt ... rear;] "Youthful [Haughty Mason] Knights & [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Youthful [Haughty Mason] Knights & Barons bold / With dazzling helm & horrent spear Wharton and Mason 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], 172.

111.1-6 'Girt ... bold] "Youthful Knights & Barons bold [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Youthful Knights & Barons bold (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]; Haughty Knights, & Barons bold Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

111.1 - 112.6 'Girt ... rear;] "Mason has:Haughty Knights, and Barons [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Mason has:

Haughty Knights, and Barons bold
With dazzling helm & horrent spear
Wharton first reproduces this, with Youthful for Haughty, then gives present reading above."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196/197.

111.1-6 'Girt ... bold] "Cp. Milton, L'Allegro 119: 'throngs [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Milton, L'Allegro 119: 'throngs of knights and barons bold'. Fairfax's Tasso III xiii 2, XI lxxvi 1, and XIV xix 3, has 'Baron bold' and 'Barons bold'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

Add a note or query to this line

112 'Sublime their starry fronts they rear; 4 Explanatory, 6 Textual

111.1 - 112.6 'Girt ... rear;] "''Youthful knights, and barons bold [...]" E. Gosse, 1884.

"''Youthful knights, and barons bold / With dazzling helm, and horrent spear.'' - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 48.

111.1 - 115.6 'Girt ... divine!] "Cf. Sir Richard Baker on [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cf. Sir Richard Baker on the ''state'' of Queen Elizabeth (Chronicle of the Kings of England, ed. of 1684, p. 400): ''Never Prince kept greater State with less stateliness: Her Pensioners and Guard were always the tallest and goodliest Gentlemen and Yeomen of the Kingdom: Her Maids of Honour and other Women about her, the fairest and most beautiful Ladies of the Realm; and yet her self a Diana amongst the Nymphs.''"

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, 160.

111.1 - 112.6 'Girt ... rear;] "Youthful knights, and barons bold [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Youthful knights, and barons bold / With dazzling helm, and horrent spear. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

111.1 - 112.6 'Girt ... rear;] "Youthful [Haughty Mason] Knights & [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Youthful [Haughty Mason] Knights & Barons bold / With dazzling helm & horrent spear Wharton and Mason 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], 172.

111.1 - 112.6 'Girt ... rear;] "Mason has:Haughty Knights, and Barons [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Mason has:

Haughty Knights, and Barons bold
With dazzling helm & horrent spear
Wharton first reproduces this, with Youthful for Haughty, then gives present reading above."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 196/197.

112.1-4 'Sublime ... fronts] "Mitford compares Milton, The Passion, [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Mitford compares Milton, The Passion, stanza iii: ''His starry front low-roofed beneath the skies.''"

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, 160.

112.1-6 'Sublime ... rear;] "With dazzling helm and horrent [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With dazzling helm and horrent spear.   Wharton MS. and to Mason, l. c.; struck through in Wharton MS. and text superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 222.

112.1-6 'Sublime ... rear;] "By the change he makes [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"By the change he makes ll. 111, 112 more distinctly refer to the Tudor sovereigns before Elizabeth; the two following lines obviously describe her court. Cf. preceding note [on l. 111] and Long Story, l. 13.
Milton, Ode on the Passion, l. 18

''He, sovran Priest...
His starry front low-roofed beneath the skies.''
The expression is classical; and as descriptive of the face is commonest in later Latin poetry; e.g. Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica, 4. 330
        ''ire cruores
Siderea de fronte vident.''
And Claudian, ad Serenam, l. 58 ''sidereo laeta supercilio.'' Mitford, cp. Petrarch, Son. CXLVIII. (167), l. 9 ''Gli occhi sereni e le stellanti ciglia.'' In most examples the sense is simply 'radiant,' but in Milton and Gray there is perhaps the further notion of the diadem."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 222/223.

112.1-6 'Sublime ... rear;] "With dazzling helm & horrent [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"With dazzling helm & horrent spear Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757], (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

112.1-6 'Sublime ... rear;] "Milton, The Passion 18: 'his [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Milton, The Passion 18: 'his starry front'; and Par. Lost iv 300: 'His fair large Front and Eye sublime'. Mitford cites a number of classical parallels: e.g. Statius, Thebaid v 613: siderei vultus (star-bright face). Tovey adds further examples: e.g. Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica iv 331: siderea de fronte."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

Add a note or query to this line

113 'And gorgeous dames, and statesmen old 1 Explanatory

111.1 - 115.6 'Girt ... divine!] "Cf. Sir Richard Baker on [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cf. Sir Richard Baker on the ''state'' of Queen Elizabeth (Chronicle of the Kings of England, ed. of 1684, p. 400): ''Never Prince kept greater State with less stateliness: Her Pensioners and Guard were always the tallest and goodliest Gentlemen and Yeomen of the Kingdom: Her Maids of Honour and other Women about her, the fairest and most beautiful Ladies of the Realm; and yet her self a Diana amongst the Nymphs.''"

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, 160.

Add a note or query to this line

114 'In bearded majesty, appear. 2 Explanatory, 4 Textual

111.1 - 115.6 'Girt ... divine!] "Cf. Sir Richard Baker on [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cf. Sir Richard Baker on the ''state'' of Queen Elizabeth (Chronicle of the Kings of England, ed. of 1684, p. 400): ''Never Prince kept greater State with less stateliness: Her Pensioners and Guard were always the tallest and goodliest Gentlemen and Yeomen of the Kingdom: Her Maids of Honour and other Women about her, the fairest and most beautiful Ladies of the Realm; and yet her self a Diana amongst the Nymphs.''"

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, 160.

114.1 'In] "Of to Mason, l. c. [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Of to Mason, l. c. To the same, June, 1757, ''In bearded majesty,'' was altered to ''Of'' only because the next line begins with ''In the midst'' &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 223.

114.1 'In] "Of Mason MS." A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"Of Mason MS."

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], 173.

114.1 'In] "Of Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"Of Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757]. In Ma-2 [Letter to Mason, 11 June 1757] Gray explains, 'In bearded majesty was alter'd to of, only because the next line begins with In the midst &c:' The revision does not appear in other texts."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 22.

114.1 'In] "Of   Mason. (G[ray]. made [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Of   Mason. (G[ray]. made the change 'only because the next line begins with In the midst &c.' (Corresp ii 504), but it does not appear elsewhere.)"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

114.1-4 'In ... appear.] "A writer in the Gentleman's [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"A writer in the Gentleman's Mag. xlix (1779) 23-4, objected that 'the short and curled beards' of Elizabeth's reign 'could not be thought strikingly expressive of dignity' by the Bard, who himself possessed so fine a specimen (see ll. 19-20). Cp. 'bearded wisdom', Rowe, Jane Shore I i."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

Add a note or query to this line

115 'In the midst a form divine! 7 Explanatory

111.1 - 115.6 'Girt ... divine!] "Cf. Sir Richard Baker on [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Cf. Sir Richard Baker on the ''state'' of Queen Elizabeth (Chronicle of the Kings of England, ed. of 1684, p. 400): ''Never Prince kept greater State with less stateliness: Her Pensioners and Guard were always the tallest and goodliest Gentlemen and Yeomen of the Kingdom: Her Maids of Honour and other Women about her, the fairest and most beautiful Ladies of the Realm; and yet her self a Diana amongst the Nymphs.''"

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, 160.

115.1-6 'In ... divine!] "Elizabeth I." J. Reeves, 1973.

"Elizabeth I."

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, 114.

115.1-6 'In ... divine!] "Queen Elizabeth the First." J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Queen Elizabeth the First."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

115.4-6 a ... divine!] "This language toward Elizabeth sounds [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"This language toward Elizabeth sounds more like Spenser than Gray."

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, 160.

115.5-6 form divine!] "Elizabeth." J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Elizabeth."

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], 202.

115.5-6 form divine!] "Elizabeth is described in the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Elizabeth is described in the style of the courtly poets of her time; the Welsh Bard sees the Tudors in their brightest colours."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 223.

115.5-6 form divine!] "Dryden uses the phrase 'form [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Dryden uses the phrase 'form divine' twice in the description of Aeneas's vision of the future leaders of Rome in the underworld. See Aeneid vi 1077-8: 'But next behold the Youth of Form Divine, / Caesar himself, exalted in his Line'; and Aeneid v 722 and vi 1188."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

Add a note or query to this line

116 'Her eye proclaims her of the Briton-line; 6 Explanatory, 4 Textual

116.1-2 'Her eye] "Micheli, the Venetian, described Elizabeth [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Micheli, the Venetian, described Elizabeth in 1557 (the year before her accession) as having fine eyes; a testimony more trustworthy than the praise of her courtiers. This eye Gray makes characteristic of the Tudors; cf. Installation Ode, l. 70

''Pleased in thy lineaments we trace
A Tudor's fire &c.''
And his Bard refers it to their Celtic origin."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 223.

116.1 - 118.4 'Her ... virgin-grace.] "Statius, Silvae IV ii 41-4: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Statius, Silvae IV ii 41-4: tranquillum vultus et maiestate serena / mulcentem radios summittentemque modeste / fortunae vexilla suae; tamen ore nitebat / dissimulatus honos (Calm-visaged and in majesty serene tempering his rays and gently veiling the glory of his state; yet the splendour that he would fain conceal shone in his countenance)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

116.3 proclaims] "As used by Shakespeare: 'Thine [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"As used by Shakespeare: 'Thine eye and cheek proclaim / A matter from thee', Tempest II i 220-1; 'the apparel oft proclaims the man', Hamlet I iii 72."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

116.5-7 of ... Briton-line;] "The Welsh were the original [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The Welsh were the original Britons; so the Bard says that in the person of Elizabeth, - who had Welsh blood in her veins, Henry VII. being the grandson of a Welsh chief, - the Welsh once more will rule England."

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, 160.

116.5-7 of ... Briton-line;] "of the Briton-Line [is] equivalent [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"of the Briton-Line [is] equivalent to ''Welsh'' the Kelts, original Britons, having been driven into Wales."

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], 202.

116.5-7 of ... Briton-line;] "i.e., of the Welsh line, [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"i.e., of the Welsh line, her grandfather Henry VII. being the grandson of Owen Tudor, himself a Welsh chief, and a descendant of the ancient princes of that country."

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], 202.

116.5-7 of ... Briton-line;] "Born of Arthur's line. Gray [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Born of Arthur's line. Gray to Mason, May, 1757."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 223.

116.5-7 of ... Briton-line;] "born of Arthur's line Mason [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"born of Arthur's line Mason MS."

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], 173.

116.5-7 of ... Briton-line;] "born of Arthur's line, Ma-1 [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"born of Arthur's line, Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 23.

116.5-7 of ... Briton-line;] "born of Arthur's line   [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"born of Arthur's line   Mason."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

Add a note or query to this line

117 'Her lion-port, her awe-commanding face, 3 Explanatory, 6 Textual

116.1 - 118.4 'Her ... virgin-grace.] "Statius, Silvae IV ii 41-4: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Statius, Silvae IV ii 41-4: tranquillum vultus et maiestate serena / mulcentem radios summittentemque modeste / fortunae vexilla suae; tamen ore nitebat / dissimulatus honos (Calm-visaged and in majesty serene tempering his rays and gently veiling the glory of his state; yet the splendour that he would fain conceal shone in his countenance)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

117.1-3 'Her ... her] "A ... an. - MS." E. Gosse, 1884.

"A ... an. - MS."

The Works of Thomas Gray: In Prose and Verse. Ed. by Edmund Gosse, in four vols. London: MacMillan and Co., 1884, vol. i, 48.

117.1-3 'Her ... her] "A ... an. [Footnote: ''These [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"A ... an. [Footnote: ''These 'readings' are what Gray wrote originally, but struck out, writing above them, or in the margin, what he finally approved of.'']"

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], 204.

117.1-3 'Her ... her] "A ... an. Wharton MS. [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"A ... an. Wharton MS. struck through, Her ... her superscribed."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 223.

117.1-2 'Her lion-port,] "Gray's expression may have excited [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Gray's expression may have excited comment, which led to this [foot]note. He writes to Mason, May, 1759, ''Mr Hurd himself allows that 'lion-port' is not too bold for Queen Elizabeth.'' And as, between 1753 and 1759 (see Gray and His Friends, p. 191), he was reading exactly that sort of literature, he might have found before he wrote 'lion-port' the anecdote told by Puttenham in his Art of Poesie, of the Queen forgiving a knight who had behaved insolently to her before she came to the throne. ''Do you not know,'' she is reported to have said, ''that we are descended of the lion, whose nature is not to harm or prey upon the mouse?'' &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 223.

117.1-3 'Her ... her] "A ... an ... Wharton [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"A ... an ... Wharton MS."

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], 173.

117.1-3 'Her ... her] "A . . ., an [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"A . . ., an (del) Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 23.

117.1-3 'Her ... her] "A ... an   Wharton, [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"A ... an   Wharton, deleted."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

117.1-5 'Her ... face,] "[For Gray's note] [s]ee John [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"[For Gray's note] [s]ee John Speed, The History of Great Britaine (1611) p. 871, which reads 'departure' for 'deporture'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

Add a note or query to this line

118 'Attempered sweet to virgin-grace. 2 Explanatory

116.1 - 118.4 'Her ... virgin-grace.] "Statius, Silvae IV ii 41-4: [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Statius, Silvae IV ii 41-4: tranquillum vultus et maiestate serena / mulcentem radios summittentemque modeste / fortunae vexilla suae; tamen ore nitebat / dissimulatus honos (Calm-visaged and in majesty serene tempering his rays and gently veiling the glory of his state; yet the splendour that he would fain conceal shone in his countenance)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

118.1-4 'Attempered ... virgin-grace.] "See Progress of Poesy 26 [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"See Progress of Poesy 26 and n (p. 165)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

Add a note or query to this line

119 'What strings symphonious tremble in the air, 2 Explanatory, 1 Textual

119.1 - 120.8 'What ... play!] "Great efflorescence of poetry in [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Great efflorescence of poetry in the reign of Elizabeth; it centres round her court, and she is often the object of its homage, hence 'round her.' And it is, fittingly, the sound of lyric poetry, the music of the harp, that the Bard's ear first catches, to tell him that his art, spite of the tyrant's barbarity, will not be lost. This is faintly indicated in 'strings symphonious'; and it is certainly not till after 'The verse adorn again' that allusion is made to the greater poems of Spenser and Shakespeare. In this stanza they figure, if at all, as the Shakespeare of 'the Sonnets,' the Spenser of the 'Hymnes,' or the goodly company of Sidney and the numerous bards of 'England's Helicon.'"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 223/224.

119.1-7 'What ... air,] "Par. Lost vii 558-60: 'the [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Par. Lost vii 558-60: 'the sound / Symphonious of ten thousand Harpes that tun'd / Angelic harmonies'; and see also Progress of Poesy 2 (p. 161 above) and Ode for Music 88 (p. 274)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 197.

119.7 air,] "air! Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"air! Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755]; air? Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 23.

Add a note or query to this line

120 'What strains of vocal transport round her play! 1 Explanatory, 1 Textual

119.1 - 120.8 'What ... play!] "Great efflorescence of poetry in [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Great efflorescence of poetry in the reign of Elizabeth; it centres round her court, and she is often the object of its homage, hence 'round her.' And it is, fittingly, the sound of lyric poetry, the music of the harp, that the Bard's ear first catches, to tell him that his art, spite of the tyrant's barbarity, will not be lost. This is faintly indicated in 'strings symphonious'; and it is certainly not till after 'The verse adorn again' that allusion is made to the greater poems of Spenser and Shakespeare. In this stanza they figure, if at all, as the Shakespeare of 'the Sonnets,' the Spenser of the 'Hymnes,' or the goodly company of Sidney and the numerous bards of 'England's Helicon.'"

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 223/224.

120.8 play!] "play? Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"play? Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 23.

Add a note or query to this line

121 'Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, hear; 4 Explanatory

121.1-7 'Hear ... hear;] "A few of the poems [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"A few of the poems of Taliesin have been preserved, but most of those attributed to him in Gray's time are not earlier than the 12th century. See note on v. 110. Gray had his doubts as to the authenticity of Taliesin's poems. See his note to the Observations on the Pseudo-Rhythmus (%Works3C/A>, I, 365)."

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, 160.

121.6 Taliessin,] "Cf. n. on l. 110 [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Cf. n. on l. 110 supr. Gray, as Phelps points out, says in a note to his Observations on the Pseudo-Rhythms (written after 1761), ''If the remains of Taliessin be not fictitious.'' "

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224.

121.6 Taliessin,] "In his 'Observations on the [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"In his 'Observations on the Pseudo-Rhythmus', Works, ed. Gosse, i 365 n, G[ray]. qualifies a remark on Welsh poetry with 'if the remains of Taliessin ... be not fictitious'. It is not certain that all the poems attributed to him in the thirteenth-century MS which survives are his."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

121.6 Taliessin,] "Taliesin (as the name is [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Taliesin (as the name is more correctly spelt) was a semi-legendary Welsh poet of the sixth century A.D."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

Add a note or query to this line

122 'They breathe a soul to animate thy clay. 1 Explanatory, 1 Textual

122.1-8 'They ... clay.] "'Dead things with inbreath'd sense [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'Dead things with inbreath'd sense able to pierce', Milton, At a Solemn Music 4; 'strains that might create a soul / Under the ribs of Death', Comus 561-2."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

122.2 breathe] "breath is Gray's spelling in [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"breath is Gray's spelling in Wharton 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], 224.

Add a note or query to this line

123 'Bright Rapture calls, and soaring, as she sings, 3 Explanatory, 4 Textual

123.1-8 'Bright ... sings,] "Mitford refers to Congreve's ''Ode [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Mitford refers to Congreve's ''Ode to Lord Godolphin'': - ''And soars with rapture while she sings.'' Shelley in his ''Ode to a Skylark'' has given a new turn to the words: - ''And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest.''"

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], 202.

123.1-8 'Bright ... sings,] "What Walpole means when he [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"What Walpole means when he writes to Lyttelton (l. c.) ''I can even allow that image of Rapture hovering like an ancient grotesque, though it strictly has little meaning'' it would be hard to say. The image, as every one else has seen, is from the skylark, which Shelley says, is ''like an unbodied joy.'' Mitford says Gray drew from Congreve, Ode to Lord Godolphin, st. VI.

''And soars with rapture while she sings.''
He scarcely needed to draw from any one here; but we may also compare Waller,
''Singing she mounts; her airy wings are stretched
Towards Heaven, as if from Heaven her note she fetched.''
            (Of and to the Queen, ll. 7, 8);
and, with Bradshaw, Shelley, 'To a Skylark,' l. 10
''And singing still dost soar and soaring ever singest.''
Gray's implied simile well expresses the spontaneous, exuberant character of Elizabethan song; the epithet 'many-coloured' its variety."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224.

123.1-8 'Bright ... sings,] "Cp. Waller, Of the Queen [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. Waller, Of the Queen 7-8: 'Singing she mounts, her airy wings are stretched / Towards heaven, as if from heaven her note she fetched'; Congreve, Ode to Lord Godolphin 56: 'And soars with rapture while she sings'; Richard West, Monody on Queen Caroline st. ii: 'Sublime in air he spreads his dappled wings, / Mounts the blue aether, and in mounting sings'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

123.3 calls,] "wakes. To Mason, 1757." D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"wakes. To Mason, 1757."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224.

123.3 calls,] "wakes Mason MS." A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"wakes Mason MS."

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], 173.

123.3 calls,] "wakes Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"wakes Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 23.

123.3 calls,] "wakes   Mason." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"wakes   Mason."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

Add a note or query to this line

124 'Waves in the eye of heaven her many-coloured wings. 1 Explanatory

124.4-6 eye ... heaven] "A phrase for the sun [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"A phrase for the sun used by many poets: e.g. King John IV ii 15; Richard II III ii 37; Faerie Queene I iii 4, 7; Phineas Fletcher, Purple Island VI xviii 7. Cp. also 'here Love ... / ... waves his purple wings', Par. Lost iv 763-4; 'Colours that change whene'er they wave their Wings', Pope, Rape of the Lock ii 68."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

Add a note or query to this line


III. 3.

125 'The verse adorn again 1 Explanatory, 3 Textual

125.1-4 'The ... again] "''I understand what you mean [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"''I understand what you mean about 'The verse adorn again.' You may read

'Fierce War, and faithful Love
Resume their &c.'
But I do not think it signifies much, for there is no mistaking the sense, when one attends to it.'' Gray to Mason, June, 1757. The suggested change is imperfectly indicated, but does not seem to be an improvement."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 225.

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

125.1-4 'The ... again] "In Ma-2 [Letter to Mason, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"In Ma-2 [Letter to Mason, 11 June 1757] Gray wrote, 'I understand what you mean about the Verse adorn again, but do not think it signifies much, for there is no mistaking the sense, when one attends to it.' T & W (no. 239, n. 3) add: 'After ''adorn again'' Gray originally wrote, and afterwards scored through: ''you may read / Fierce War and faithful Love / Resume their''.'"

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 23.

125.1-4 'The ... again] "G[ray]. told Mason, 11 June [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. told Mason, 11 June 1757 (Corresp ii 504): 'I understand what you mean about the Verse adorn again, but do not think it signifies much, for there is no mistaking the sense, when one attends to it.' (Mason had no doubt objected to G.'s inverted word order, with 'verse' the object of 'adorn'.) After 'adorn again' in his letter G. wrote, and then deleted: 'you may read   Fierce War and faithful Love / Resume their'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

Add a note or query to this line

126 'Fierce war and faithful love, 4 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

126.1-5 'Fierce ... love,] "Spenser, Fairy Queen, first stanza [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Spenser, Fairy Queen, first stanza of dedication."

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, 161.

126.1-5 'Fierce ... love,] "A quotation from and reference [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"A quotation from and reference to Spenser."

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, 114.

126.1-5 'Fierce ... love,] "This line echoes Spenser's Faerie [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"This line echoes Spenser's Faerie Queene: Proem to the First Book: 'Fierce warres and faithfull loves shall moralise my song'. The line following refers to the allegorical mode and fictional content of Spenser's poem."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

Add a note or query to this line

127 'And truth severe, by fairy fiction dressed. 4 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

127.1-7 'And ... dressed.] "This line tersely describes Spenser's [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"This line tersely describes Spenser's design in the Faerie Queene, of which he himself says, in the letter to Sir Walter Raleigh which serves as his preface, ''To some, I know, this Methode will seeme displeasaunt, which had rather have good discipline delivered plainly in way of precepts, or sermoned at large, as they use, then [than] thus clowdily enwrapped in Allegoricall devises.'' Cf. also Milton in his Areopagitica, 23, ''Our sage and serious poet Spenser whom I dare be known to think a better teacher than Scotus or Aquinas''; and note that Una, whose fortunes, with those of the Red Cross Knight, form the subject of the first Book of the Faerie Queene is in Spenser another name for Truth."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 225/226.

127.2-3 truth severe,] "Cp. 'Truth, Wisdom, Sanctitude severe [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. 'Truth, Wisdom, Sanctitude severe and pure', Par. Lost iv 293; 'the severe Delights of Truth', Dryden, Religio Laici 233."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

127.5-6 fairy fiction] "Cp. 'No fairy field of [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. 'No fairy field of fiction all on flower' Young, Night Thoughts v 70."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

Add a note or query to this line

128 'In buskined measures move 6 Explanatory, 3 Textual

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

128.2 buskined] "The buskin was the poetical [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The buskin was the poetical name for Tragedy. There is a kind of ''Progress of Poesy'' in this stanza."

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, 161.

128.2 buskined] "Cf. Milton, Il Penseroso, 101, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Cf. Milton, Il Penseroso, 101, 102:

''Or what (though rare) of later age
Ennobled hath the buskin'd stage.''
The buskin is the cothurnus ([Greek word (omitted)]) which was worn by tragic actors, and hence became the emblem of Tragedy, as the soccus of Comedy. Masson is probably right in supposing that Milton's lines refer mainly to Shakespeare. It is the counterpart in Il Penseroso to the reference to Comedy in L'Allegro:
''If Jonson's learned sock be on,
Or sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child
Warble his native wood-notes wild.''
Var. Lect. mystic, to Mason, May, 1757, which surely was better; but perhaps changed to avoid alliteration."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 226.

128.2 buskined] "mystic Mason MS." A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"mystic Mason MS."

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], 173.

128.2 buskined] "mystic Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"mystic Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757]."

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 23.

128.2 buskined] "mystic   Mason." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"mystic   Mason."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

128.2 buskined] "'buskined' means tragic, alluding to [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'buskined' means tragic, alluding to the boot ('cothurnus') worn in Athenian tragedy. Cp. Milton, Il Penseroso 101-2: 'Or what (though rare) of later age, / Ennobled hath the Buskind stage.' G[ray].'s note in 1768 shows that he was referring to 'Shakespear'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 198.

128.2 buskined] "tragic, referring to the boot [...]" J. Reeves, 1973.

"tragic, referring to the boot worn in Athenian tragedy."

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, 114.

128.2 - 129.5 buskined ... Pain,] "The reference is to the [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The reference is to the tragedies of Shakespeare."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

Add a note or query to this line

129 'Pale Grief, and pleasing Pain, 4 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

128.2 - 129.5 buskined ... Pain,] "The reference is to the [...]" J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"The reference is to the tragedies of Shakespeare."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

129.4-5 pleasing Pain,] " ''Sweet pleasing payne,'' Spenser, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

" ''Sweet pleasing payne,'' Spenser, Faerie Queene, IX. x. 3 [of the passion of love]. Luke. But the origin of Gray's idea is Aristotle, Poetics, XXVII. [Greek line (omitted)], the [tragic] poet must provide that pleasure which arises from pity and fear."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 226.

129.4-5 pleasing Pain,] "Cp. 'pleasing paine', Faerie Queene [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. 'pleasing paine', Faerie Queene III x 60, 4; VI iii 32, 4 and ix 10, 3; 'pleasing pains', Dryden, Lucretius i 48; Eclogues iii 170; 'Song' from Tyrannic Love 3. Pope has 'pleasing pain', Dunciad ii 211."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

Add a note or query to this line

130 'With Horror, tyrant of the throbbing breast. 2 Explanatory, 4 Textual

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

130.1-7 'With ... breast.] "With Horror wild that chills [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With Horror wild that chills the throbbing breast. [to Mason, May, 1757.] To the same, June, - ' ''That chills the throbbing,'' &c. I dislike as much as you can do. What if we read ''With Horror, tyrant of the throbbing breast''.' Accordingly, teste Mitford, 'tyrant of the' is superscribed, l. c. in Mason's writing."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 226.

130.1-7 'With ... breast.] "With Horror wild, that chills [...]" A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"With Horror wild, that chills the throbbing breast. Mason MS."

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], 173.

130.1-7 'With ... breast.] "With horror wild, that chills [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"With horror wild, that chills the throbbing breast   Mason."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

130.1-7 'With ... breast.] "G[ray]. told Mason, 11 June [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. told Mason, 11 June 1757 (Corresp ii 504): 'That chills the throbbing &c: I dislike, as much as you can do. Horror wild I am forced to strike out, because of wild dismay in the first Stanza.' He then suggested the present reading. Cp. 'my throbbing breast', II Henry VI IV iv 5; 'Tyrant Passion preying on his breast', Dryden, Lucretius iii 198; 'And reign'd the short-liv'd Tyrant of his Breast', Pope, January and May 231; 'Thou gloomy Tyrant of the frighted Breast' Prior, Solomon ii 775."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

130.3-4 tyrant of] "that chills Ma-1 [Letter to [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"that chills Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757]. In Ma-2 [Letter to Mason, 11 June 1757] Gray wrote, 'That chills the throbbing &c: I dislike, as much as you can do.'"

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 23.

Add a note or query to this line

131 'A voice, as of the cherub-choir, 5 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

131.1-6 'A ... cherub-choir,] "With special reference, as the [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"With special reference, as the next line shows, to Paradise Lost."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 226.

131.1-6 'A ... cherub-choir,] "Cp. 'the Cherubick host in [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Cp. 'the Cherubick host in thousand quires', Milton, At a Solemn Music 12; and 'the quires of cherubim', Par. Lost iii 666."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

131.1-6 'A ... cherub-choir,] "Milton." J. Reeves, 1973.

"Milton."

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, 114.

131.1-6 'A ... cherub-choir,] "Milton." J. Heath-Stubbs, 1981.

"Milton."

Thomas Gray: Selected Poems. Ed. by John Heath-Stubbs. Manchester: Carcanet New Press Ltd., 1981, 80.

Add a note or query to this line

132 'Gales from blooming Eden bear; 2 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

132.3-4 blooming Eden] "'blooming Eden', Young, Night Thoughts [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'blooming Eden', Young, Night Thoughts iii."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

Add a note or query to this line

133 'And distant warblings lessen on my ear, 2 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

133.3 warblings] "Warble is a favourite word [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"Warble is a favourite word of Gray's for song or verse - whether of birds or poets. Cf. ''Ode on the Spring,'' 5, ''Progress of Poesy,'' 26 [, or ''Ode for Music,'' 24]. He seems to have taken it like many another word or phrase from Milton; in ''[L]'Allegro'' Shakespeare is said to ''Warble his native wood-notes wild.'' Warble or warbling occurs fourteen times in Milton, applied to birds, rivers, and the human voice."

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], 203.

Add a note or query to this line

134 'That lost in long futurity expire. 3 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

134.1-6 'That ... expire.] "'Why you would alter ''lost [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"'Why you would alter ''lost in long futurity'' I do not see unless, because you think ''lost'' and ''expire'' are tautologies, or because it looks as if the end of the prophecy were disappointed by it, and that people may think that poetry in Britain was, some time or other, really to expire, whereas the meaning only is that it was lost to his ear from the immense distance. I cannot give up ''lost,'' for it begins with an l.' Gray to Mason, June, 1757."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 226.

134.1-6 'That ... expire.] "G[ray]. wrote to Mason on [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"G[ray]. wrote to Mason on 11 June 1757 (Corresp ii 504): 'why you would alter lost in long futurity I do not see, unless because you think lost & expire are tautologous, or because it looks as if the end of the prophecy were disappointed by it, & that people may think Poetry in Britain was some time or other really to expire: whereas the meaning is only, that it was lost to his ear from the immense distance. I can not give up lost, for it begins with an L.' Cp. 'Th'Event of things in dark Futurity', Pope, Statius His Thebais 552."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

Add a note or query to this line

135 'Fond impious man, think'st thou, yon sanguine cloud, 4 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

135.1 'Fond] "Foolish." W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"Foolish."

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, 161.

135.1 - 138.7 'Fond ... ray.] "There is a remarkable resemblance, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"There is a remarkable resemblance, though it is probably only coincidence, between these lines and the passage quoted by Mitford from Vida (an Italian Latinist of the Renaissance, born circ. 1490), Hymnus D. Andreae Apostolo, l. 99 sq.:

''Impie, quid furis? . . . .
Tene putas posse illustres abscondere caeli
Auricomi flammas, ipsumque extinguere solem?
. . . . . . .
Forsitan humentem nebulam proflare, brevemque
Obsessis poteris radiis obtendere nubem.
Erumpet lux: erumpet rutilantibus auris
Lampas; et aurifera face nubila differet omnia.''
[['']Impious Man! Why dost thou rage? Thinkest thou that thou canst hide the splendid flames of the golden-tressed heaven, and quench the sun himself? Thou wilt, mayhap, avail to raise by thy breath a dark mist, and curtain with a momentary cloud his encumbered rays. Yet his light shall burst forth; forth with reddening gleam his torch shall burst, and scatter all the rack with a flood of golden fire.'']
The idea, apart from its treatment, is a commonplace of poetry. When Dekker, quoted by Mitford, If it be not good, the Divel is in it, wrote in 1612
        ''Think'st thou, base lord,
Because the glorious sun behind black clouds
Has awhile hid his beams, he's darken'd for ever,
Eclips'd never more to shine?''
he had been preceded by Shakespeare, Rich. II. III. 3. 63 sq.
''See, see, King Richard doth himself appear
As doth the blushing discontented sun
From out the fiery portal of the east
When he perceives the envious clouds are bent
To dim his glory and to stain the track
Of his bright passage to the occident.''
And comp. also Henry IV. Pt. I. 1. 2. 219 sq.
        ''...the sun
Who doth permit the base contagious clouds'' &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 226/227.

135.1 - 138.7 'Fond ... ray.] "Mitford compares a passage from [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Mitford compares a passage from Hieronymus Vida, Hymnus xv. Divo Andreae Apostolo 99-106, in his Poemata (1732) ii 111-12. Tovey considered the resemblance 'probably only coincidence', but it seems too close to be accidental: Impie, quid furis? / ... / Tene putas posse illustres abscondere caeli / Auricomi flammas, ipsumque extinguere solem / ... / Forsitan humentem nebulam proflare, brevemque / Obsessis poteris radiis obtendere nubem: / Erumpet lux, erumpet rutilantibus auris / Lampas, et auriflua face nubila differet omnia (Impious man, why dost thou rage? ... Thinkest thou that thou canst hide the splendid flames of the golden-tressed heaven, and quench the sun himself? Thou wilt, perhaps, avail to raise by thy breath a dark mist, and curtain with a momentary cloud his encumbered rays. Yet his light shall burst forth; forth with reddening gleam his torch shall burst, and scatter all the rack with a flood of golden fire.)"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

Add a note or query to this line

136 'Raised by thy breath, has quenched the orb of day? 4 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

135.1 - 138.7 'Fond ... ray.] "There is a remarkable resemblance, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"There is a remarkable resemblance, though it is probably only coincidence, between these lines and the passage quoted by Mitford from Vida (an Italian Latinist of the Renaissance, born circ. 1490), Hymnus D. Andreae Apostolo, l. 99 sq.:

''Impie, quid furis? . . . .
Tene putas posse illustres abscondere caeli
Auricomi flammas, ipsumque extinguere solem?
. . . . . . .
Forsitan humentem nebulam proflare, brevemque
Obsessis poteris radiis obtendere nubem.
Erumpet lux: erumpet rutilantibus auris
Lampas; et aurifera face nubila differet omnia.''
[['']Impious Man! Why dost thou rage? Thinkest thou that thou canst hide the splendid flames of the golden-tressed heaven, and quench the sun himself? Thou wilt, mayhap, avail to raise by thy breath a dark mist, and curtain with a momentary cloud his encumbered rays. Yet his light shall burst forth; forth with reddening gleam his torch shall burst, and scatter all the rack with a flood of golden fire.'']
The idea, apart from its treatment, is a commonplace of poetry. When Dekker, quoted by Mitford, If it be not good, the Divel is in it, wrote in 1612
        ''Think'st thou, base lord,
Because the glorious sun behind black clouds
Has awhile hid his beams, he's darken'd for ever,
Eclips'd never more to shine?''
he had been preceded by Shakespeare, Rich. II. III. 3. 63 sq.
''See, see, King Richard doth himself appear
As doth the blushing discontented sun
From out the fiery portal of the east
When he perceives the envious clouds are bent
To dim his glory and to stain the track
Of his bright passage to the occident.''
And comp. also Henry IV. Pt. I. 1. 2. 219 sq.
        ''...the sun
Who doth permit the base contagious clouds'' &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 226/227.

135.1 - 138.7 'Fond ... ray.] "Mitford compares a passage from [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Mitford compares a passage from Hieronymus Vida, Hymnus xv. Divo Andreae Apostolo 99-106, in his Poemata (1732) ii 111-12. Tovey considered the resemblance 'probably only coincidence', but it seems too close to be accidental: Impie, quid furis? / ... / Tene putas posse illustres abscondere caeli / Auricomi flammas, ipsumque extinguere solem / ... / Forsitan humentem nebulam proflare, brevemque / Obsessis poteris radiis obtendere nubem: / Erumpet lux, erumpet rutilantibus auris / Lampas, et auriflua face nubila differet omnia (Impious man, why dost thou rage? ... Thinkest thou that thou canst hide the splendid flames of the golden-tressed heaven, and quench the sun himself? Thou wilt, perhaps, avail to raise by thy breath a dark mist, and curtain with a momentary cloud his encumbered rays. Yet his light shall burst forth; forth with reddening gleam his torch shall burst, and scatter all the rack with a flood of golden fire.)"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

136.1-10 'Raised ... day?] "'The lamp of day is [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"'The lamp of day is quenched beneath the deep', Pope, Odyssey iii 427."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 200.

Add a note or query to this line

137 'Tomorrow he repairs the golden flood, 7 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

135.1 - 138.7 'Fond ... ray.] "There is a remarkable resemblance, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"There is a remarkable resemblance, though it is probably only coincidence, between these lines and the passage quoted by Mitford from Vida (an Italian Latinist of the Renaissance, born circ. 1490), Hymnus D. Andreae Apostolo, l. 99 sq.:

''Impie, quid furis? . . . .
Tene putas posse illustres abscondere caeli
Auricomi flammas, ipsumque extinguere solem?
. . . . . . .
Forsitan humentem nebulam proflare, brevemque
Obsessis poteris radiis obtendere nubem.
Erumpet lux: erumpet rutilantibus auris
Lampas; et aurifera face nubila differet omnia.''
[['']Impious Man! Why dost thou rage? Thinkest thou that thou canst hide the splendid flames of the golden-tressed heaven, and quench the sun himself? Thou wilt, mayhap, avail to raise by thy breath a dark mist, and curtain with a momentary cloud his encumbered rays. Yet his light shall burst forth; forth with reddening gleam his torch shall burst, and scatter all the rack with a flood of golden fire.'']
The idea, apart from its treatment, is a commonplace of poetry. When Dekker, quoted by Mitford, If it be not good, the Divel is in it, wrote in 1612
        ''Think'st thou, base lord,
Because the glorious sun behind black clouds
Has awhile hid his beams, he's darken'd for ever,
Eclips'd never more to shine?''
he had been preceded by Shakespeare, Rich. II. III. 3. 63 sq.
''See, see, King Richard doth himself appear
As doth the blushing discontented sun
From out the fiery portal of the east
When he perceives the envious clouds are bent
To dim his glory and to stain the track
Of his bright passage to the occident.''
And comp. also Henry IV. Pt. I. 1. 2. 219 sq.
        ''...the sun
Who doth permit the base contagious clouds'' &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 226/227.

135.1 - 138.7 'Fond ... ray.] "Mitford compares a passage from [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Mitford compares a passage from Hieronymus Vida, Hymnus xv. Divo Andreae Apostolo 99-106, in his Poemata (1732) ii 111-12. Tovey considered the resemblance 'probably only coincidence', but it seems too close to be accidental: Impie, quid furis? / ... / Tene putas posse illustres abscondere caeli / Auricomi flammas, ipsumque extinguere solem / ... / Forsitan humentem nebulam proflare, brevemque / Obsessis poteris radiis obtendere nubem: / Erumpet lux, erumpet rutilantibus auris / Lampas, et auriflua face nubila differet omnia (Impious man, why dost thou rage? ... Thinkest thou that thou canst hide the splendid flames of the golden-tressed heaven, and quench the sun himself? Thou wilt, perhaps, avail to raise by thy breath a dark mist, and curtain with a momentary cloud his encumbered rays. Yet his light shall burst forth; forth with reddening gleam his torch shall burst, and scatter all the rack with a flood of golden fire.)"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

137.3 repairs] "This seems borrowed from Milton: [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"This seems borrowed from Milton: - ''So sinks the daystar in the ocean-bed, / And yet anon repairs his drooping head.'' - Lycidas, 168."

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], 203.

137.3 repairs] "Milton, Lycidas, 168, 169 ''So [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"Milton, Lycidas, 168, 169

''So sinks the day-star in the ocean bed,
And yet anon repairs his drooping head.''
            Mitford.
No doubt the context (q.v.) has also influenced Gray.
A thoroughly Latin use of the word; the older meaning of reparare is to get once more, to recover; the sense of 'mend' is later. Cf. (with Mitford) Lucretius, V. 734,
atque alia illius reparari in parte locoque
[''and another [moon] be produced in its room and stead.'' Munro.]
Nearer to the later sense is Horace, Carm. IV. 7. 13,
Damna tamen celeres reparant coelestia lunae,
[''The seasons' difference rolling moons repair.'' Merivale.]
but Hor. preserves the older in Carm. III. 3. 60 (avitae Tecta velint reparare Trojae)."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 227/228.

137.3 repairs] "Restores, renews. Cp. Milton's Lycidas [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Restores, renews. Cp. Milton's Lycidas 167-9: 'Sunk though he be beneath the watry floar, / So sinks the day-star in the Ocean bed, / And yet anon repairs his drooping head.' Reparare is used of the moon by Horace, Odes IV vii 13, and Lucretius, v 734. Cp. also P. Fletcher, Purple Island VI lxiv 7: 'So soon repairs her light, trebling her new born rays'; and for 'repair', ibid lxx 7, and lxxi 1. Young, Night Thoughts iv 204-5, has 'a golden flood / Of endless day'; and Thomson, Summer 609, 'the flood of day' (of the sun's light)."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 200.

137.4-6 the ... flood,] "The bright beams of light." J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The bright beams of light."

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], 203.

Add a note or query to this line

138 'And warms the nations with redoubled ray. 3 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

135.1 - 138.7 'Fond ... ray.] "There is a remarkable resemblance, [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"There is a remarkable resemblance, though it is probably only coincidence, between these lines and the passage quoted by Mitford from Vida (an Italian Latinist of the Renaissance, born circ. 1490), Hymnus D. Andreae Apostolo, l. 99 sq.:

''Impie, quid furis? . . . .
Tene putas posse illustres abscondere caeli
Auricomi flammas, ipsumque extinguere solem?
. . . . . . .
Forsitan humentem nebulam proflare, brevemque
Obsessis poteris radiis obtendere nubem.
Erumpet lux: erumpet rutilantibus auris
Lampas; et aurifera face nubila differet omnia.''
[['']Impious Man! Why dost thou rage? Thinkest thou that thou canst hide the splendid flames of the golden-tressed heaven, and quench the sun himself? Thou wilt, mayhap, avail to raise by thy breath a dark mist, and curtain with a momentary cloud his encumbered rays. Yet his light shall burst forth; forth with reddening gleam his torch shall burst, and scatter all the rack with a flood of golden fire.'']
The idea, apart from its treatment, is a commonplace of poetry. When Dekker, quoted by Mitford, If it be not good, the Divel is in it, wrote in 1612
        ''Think'st thou, base lord,
Because the glorious sun behind black clouds
Has awhile hid his beams, he's darken'd for ever,
Eclips'd never more to shine?''
he had been preceded by Shakespeare, Rich. II. III. 3. 63 sq.
''See, see, King Richard doth himself appear
As doth the blushing discontented sun
From out the fiery portal of the east
When he perceives the envious clouds are bent
To dim his glory and to stain the track
Of his bright passage to the occident.''
And comp. also Henry IV. Pt. I. 1. 2. 219 sq.
        ''...the sun
Who doth permit the base contagious clouds'' &c."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 226/227.

135.1 - 138.7 'Fond ... ray.] "Mitford compares a passage from [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Mitford compares a passage from Hieronymus Vida, Hymnus xv. Divo Andreae Apostolo 99-106, in his Poemata (1732) ii 111-12. Tovey considered the resemblance 'probably only coincidence', but it seems too close to be accidental: Impie, quid furis? / ... / Tene putas posse illustres abscondere caeli / Auricomi flammas, ipsumque extinguere solem / ... / Forsitan humentem nebulam proflare, brevemque / Obsessis poteris radiis obtendere nubem: / Erumpet lux, erumpet rutilantibus auris / Lampas, et auriflua face nubila differet omnia (Impious man, why dost thou rage? ... Thinkest thou that thou canst hide the splendid flames of the golden-tressed heaven, and quench the sun himself? Thou wilt, perhaps, avail to raise by thy breath a dark mist, and curtain with a momentary cloud his encumbered rays. Yet his light shall burst forth; forth with reddening gleam his torch shall burst, and scatter all the rack with a flood of golden fire.)"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 199.

Add a note or query to this line

139 'Enough for me: with joy I see 2 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

139.4 - 140.6 with ... assign.] "The Bard is still addressing [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The Bard is still addressing Edward, and says he rejoices at the different doom that awaits the king and himself - the evil that is to fall on the house of the monarch and his descendants, and the triumph of his own poetical descendants in the persons of the Elizabethan poets."

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], 203.

Add a note or query to this line

140 'The different doom our fates assign. 4 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

139.4 - 140.6 with ... assign.] "The Bard is still addressing [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1903 [1st ed. 1891].

"The Bard is still addressing Edward, and says he rejoices at the different doom that awaits the king and himself - the evil that is to fall on the house of the monarch and his descendants, and the triumph of his own poetical descendants in the persons of the Elizabethan poets."

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], 203.

140.1-3 'The ... doom] "The different judgment on you, [...]" W. Lyon Phelps, 1894.

"The different judgment on you, King Edward, the destruction of your house, and on me, my final triumph in the house of Tudor and the Elizabethan poets."

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, 161.

140.5-6 fates assign.] "Dryden, Aeneid xi 197: 'the [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Dryden, Aeneid xi 197: 'the City which your Fates assign'; and Ovid's Art of Love i 786: 'The same the Fates for Hector's Thread assign.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 200.

Add a note or query to this line

141 'Be thine despair and sceptered care; 1 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

Add a note or query to this line

142 'To triumph, and to die, are mine.' 2 Explanatory, 1 Textual

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

142.1-7 'To ... mine.'] "In Ma-2 [Letter to Mason, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"In Ma-2 [Letter to Mason, 11 June 1757] Gray wrote, '. . . both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, & mutter something about Antithesis & Conceit in To triumph, to die, wch I do not comprehend, & am sure, it is altered for the better. it was before / Lo! to be free, to die, are mine. / if you like it better so, so let it be. it is more abrupt, & perhaps may mark the action better. or it may be, Lo! Liberty & Death are mine, wchever you please.'"

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 24.

142.1-7 'To ... mine.'] "Mitford compares Statius, Thebaid iii [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Mitford compares Statius, Thebaid iii 85-6, in which a bard who has survived his companions commits suicide in front of the tyrant: vado equidem exultans ereptaque fata / insequor et comites feror exspectatus ad umbras (I go, yea exultant, and meet the fate whereof [Tydeus] robbed me; I am borne to the shades of my expectant comrades). G[ray]. told Mason on 11 June 1757 (Corresp ii 504) that some of his friends 'dislike the conclusion of the Bard, & mutter something about Antithesis & Conceit in To triumph, to die, w[hi]ch I do not comprehend, & am sure, it is alterd for the better. it was before

Lo! to be free, to die, are mine.
if you like it better so, so let it be. it is more abrupt, & perhaps may mark the action better. or it may be, Lo! Liberty & Death are mine, w[hi]ch ever you please ... pray, think a little about this conclusion, for all depends upon it.'"

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 200.

Add a note or query to this line

143 He spoke, and headlong from the mountain's height 3 Explanatory

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

143.1 - 144.10 He ... night.] "The bard commits suicide by [...]" Alexander Huber, 2000.

"The bard commits suicide by jumping into the river below as soon as his prophecy of the doom of the Plantagenets has been delivered."

Alexander Huber <huber@thomasgray.org> (SUB Göttingen), URL: http://www.thomasgray.org/. Contributed on Sat Oct 28 12:16:57 2000 GMT.

143.7-8 mountain's height] "Dryden, Aeneid x 758: 'the [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"Dryden, Aeneid x 758: 'the Mountains Height'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 200.

Add a note or query to this line

144 Deep in the roaring tide he plunged to endless night. 4 Explanatory, 3 Textual

125.1 - 144.10 'The ... night.] "The conclusion of the Bard [...]" D.C. Tovey, 1922 [1st ed. 1898].

"The conclusion of the Bard was much criticized, even by Gray's admirers. Walpole (l.c.) says, ''The last stanza has no beauties for me. I even think its obscurity fortunate, for the allusions to Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, are not only weak, but the two last returning again, after appearing so gloriously in the first Ode, and with so much fainter colours, enervate the whole conclusion.''
We must bear in mind the difficulty of Gray's plan at this point. It would have been absurd and incongruous to attribute to prophecy and the Welsh Bard the distinctness which belongs to a poetic retrospect. The 'fainter colours' are absolutely necessary; and as it is there is too much of criticism underlying 'pleasing pain,' ''Truth severe by fairy Fiction drest,'' and too much learning in 'buskined measures.'
Gray himself thought the last part of the poem 'weakly,' and adds to Mason, ''and you think so too,'' but he hoped that the ''ten last lines would have escaped untouched.'' Mr Bonfoy and Mr Neville, he says, ''like the first Ode (that has no tout-ensemble) the best of the two and both somehow dislike the conclusion of the Bard, and mutter something about antithesis and conceit in 'to triumph, to die,' which I do not comprehend, and am sure it is altered for the better. It was before

'Lo! to be free to die, are (sic) mine.'
If you like it better so, so let it be. It is more abrupt, and perhaps may mark the action better: or it may be,
'Lo! liberty and death are mine.' ''
[to Mason, June 1757].
''Let it be observed,'' says Johnson, ''that the ode might have been concluded with an action of better example; but suicide is always to be had without expense of thought.'' This shows that Johnson was in the first instance a moralist and only in the second a critic; but it also shows that an autocratic position, such as his, in literature, may make a man's utterances quite fatuous."

Gray's English Poems, Original and Translated from the Norse and Welsh. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1922 [1st ed. 1898], 224/225.

143.1 - 144.10 He ... night.] "The bard commits suicide by [...]" Alexander Huber, 2000.

"The bard commits suicide by jumping into the river below as soon as his prophecy of the doom of the Plantagenets has been delivered."

Alexander Huber <huber@thomasgray.org> (SUB Göttingen), URL: http://www.thomasgray.org/. Contributed on Sat Oct 28 12:16:57 2000 GMT.

144.1-10 Deep ... night.] "In his copy of the [...]" R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"In his copy of the Odes Walpole wrote: 'It was originally sunk; Mr Garrick advised plung'd as a more emphatic word on such an occasion'. Cp. a line in Richard West's Ad Amicos, sent to G[ray]. in July 1737 (Corresp i 64 n): 'Yet some there are (ere sunk in endless night)'. See also Progress of Poesy 102 and n; and 'sunk in endless night', Young, Night Thoughts iii 216. Cp. also Virgil, Eclogues iii 59-60: Praeceps aerii specula de montis in undas / deferar; extremum hoc munus morientis habeto (Headlong from some towering mountain-crag I will plunge into the waves; this take thou as my last dying gift); King John II i 24: 'the ocean's roaring tides'; Dryden, Aeneid iii 529: 'the roaring Tides'; and Dryden, Ovid's Metamorphoses xii 456: 'Leapt headlong from the Hill of steepy height'."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 200.

144.1-10 Deep ... night.] "The poem by Thomas Gray [...]" Goetz Kluge, 2012.

"The poem by Thomas Gray and the painting The Bard by John Martin may have been an inspiration to Lewis Carroll and Henry Holiday in The Hunting of the Snark:

545     Erect and sublime, for one moment of time.
546           In the next, that wild figure they saw
547     (As if stung by a spasm) plunge into a chasm,
548           While they waited and listened in awe.
See also <http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonnetmaker/8256470263/in/set-72157632201902205/>."

Goetz Kluge <gk@goetzkluge.de>. Contributed on Sun Dec 9 17:02:27 2012 GMT.

144.7 plunged] "sunk Wharton and Mason MSS." A.L. Poole/L. Whibley, 1950 [1st ed. 1919].

"sunk Wharton and Mason 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], 173.

144.7 plunged] "sunk Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"sunk Wh-2 [Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755], Ma-1 [Letter to Mason, 24 or 31 May 1757]. In n. 7 to Wh-2 T & W comment that in his copy of O[des, 1757,] Walpole wrote, 'In the original this word was sunk but Mr Garrick suggested plung'd as a more emphatic word on such an occasion.'"

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 24.

144.7 plunged] "sunk   Mason, Wharton." R. Lonsdale, 1969.

"sunk   Mason, Wharton."

The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Roger Lonsdale. Longman Annotated English Poets Series. London and Harlow: Longmans, 1969, 200.

Add a note or query to this line

Gray's annotations

4
Mocking the air with colours idly spread.
    Shakespear's King John. [V. i. 72]
5
The Hauberk was a texture of steel ringlets, or rings interwoven, forming a coat of mail, that sate close to the body, and adapted itself to every motion.
9
— [By] The crested adder's pride.
    Dryden's Indian Queen. [III. i. 84]
11
Snowdon was a name given by the Saxons to that mountainous tract, which the Welch themselves call Craigian-eryri: it included all the highlands of Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire, as far east as the river Conway. R. Hygden[,] speaking of the castle of Conway built by King Edward the first, says, ''Ad ortum amnis Conway ad clivum montis Erery [At the source of the River Conway on the slope of Mt. Erery];'' and Matthew of Westminster, (ad ann. 1283,) ''Apud Aberconway ad pedes montis Snowdoniae fecit erigi castrum forte [Near (or at) Aberconway at the foot of Mt. Snowdon, he caused a fortified camp to be constructed.].''
13
Gilbert de Clare, surnamed the Red, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, son-in-law to King Edward.
14
Edmond de Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore. They both were Lords-Marchers, whose lands lay on the borders of Wales, and probably accompanied the King in this expedition.
18
['... haggard, wch conveys to you the the Idea of a Witch, is indeed only a metaphor taken from an unreclaim'd Hawk, wch is called a Haggard, & looks wild & farouche & jealous of its liberty.' Letter to Wharton, 21 Aug. 1755, T & W no. 205.]
19
The image was taken from a well-known picture of Raphael, representing the Supreme Being in the vision of Ezekiel: there are two of these paintings (both believed original), one at Florence, the other at Paris.
20
Shone, like a meteor, streaming to the wind.
    Milton's Paradise Lost. [i. 537]
35
The shores of Caernarvonshire opposite to the isle of Anglesey.
38
Cambden and others observe, that eagles used annually to build their aerie among the rocks of Snowdon, which from thence (as some think) were named by the Welch Craigian-eryri, or the crags of the eagles. At this day (I am told) the highest point of Snowdon is called the eagle's nest. That bird is certainly no stranger to this island, as the Scots, and the people of Cumberland, Westmoreland, &c. can testify: it even has built its nest in the Peak of Derbyshire. [See Willoughby's Ornithol. published by Ray.] [John Ray (1627-1705) published (1676) and translated (London, 1678) the Ornithologia of his patron Francis Willughby (1635-72).]
40
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops,
That visit my sad heart—
    Shakesp. Jul. Caesar. [II. i. 289-90]
47
See the Norwegian Ode, that follows. [Fatal Sisters]
54
Edward the Second, cruelly butchered in Berkley-Castle [in 1327 near the Severn River in western England].
57
Isabel of France, Edward the Second's adulterous Queen.
59
Triumphs of Edward the Third in France.
64
Death of that King, abandoned by his Children, and even robbed in his last moments by his Courtiers and his Mistress [Alice Perrers, in 1377].
67
Edward, the Black Prince, dead some time before his Father [in 1376].
71
Magnificence of Richard the Second's reign. See Froissard, and other contemporary Writers.
77
Richard the Second, (as we are told by Archbishop Scroop and the confederate Lords in their manifesto, by Thomas of Walsingham, and all the older Writers)[,] was starved to death [in 1400]. The story of his assassination by Sir Piers of Exon, is of much later date.
83
Ruinous civil wars of York and Lancaster.
87
Henry the Sixth, George Duke of Clarence, Edward the Fifth, Richard Duke of York, &c. believed to be murthered secretly in the Tower of London. The oldest part of that structure is vulgarly attributed to Julius Caesar.
89
[Consort] Margaret of Anjou, a woman of heroic spirit, who struggled hard to save her Husband and her Crown.
[Father] Henry the Fifth.
90
Henry the Sixth very near being canonized. The line of Lancaster had no right of inheritance to the Crown.
91
The white and red roses, devices of York and Lancaster [presumably woven above and below on the loom].
93
The silver Boar was the badge of Richard the Third; whence he was usually known in his own time by the name of the Boar.
99
Eleanor of Castile died a few years after the conquest of Wales. The heroic proof she gave of her affection for her Lord [she is supposed to have sucked the poison from a wound Edward I received] is well known. The monuments of his regret, and sorrow for the loss of her, are still to be seen at Northampton, Geddington, Waltham, and other places.
109
It was the common belief of the Welch nation, that King Arthur was still alive in Fairy-Land, and should return again to reign over Britain.
110
Both Merlin [Myrddin] and Taliessin had prophesied, that the Welch should regain their sovereignty over this island; which seemed to be accomplished in the House of Tudor [1768].
Accession of the House of Tudor [1757].
117
Speed relating an audience given by Queen Elizabeth to Paul Dzialinski, Ambassadour of Poland, says, 'And thus she, lion-like rising, daunted the malapert Orator no less with her stately port and majestical deporture, than with the tartnesse of her princelie checkes.' [John Speed (1552-1629) published his History of Great Britaine ... to ... King James in 1611.]
121
Taliessin, Chief of the Bards, flourished in the VIth Century. His works are still preserved, and his memory held in high veneration among his Countrymen. [His Book exists in only a thirteenth-century version and many of the poems in it may not be by Taliessin.]
126
Fierce wars and faithful loves shall moralize my song.
    Spenser's Proëme to the Fairy Queen [l. 9].
128
Shakespear.
131
Milton.
133
The succession of Poets after Milton's time.

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.
  • Eighteenth-Century Poetry. An Annotated Anthology. Edited by David Fairer and Christine Gerrard. Blackwell annotated anthologies. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999.
  • 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].
  • Pashchenko, Mikhail. "The Sublimation of History in Thomas Gray's 'The Bard'". Anglia: Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie 126(3) (2008), 461-476.
  • 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.

About this text

  • Composition: 1754-1757
  • Publication: 1757
  • Base text: 1768
  • Metre: mixed metres
  • Rhyme scheme: ababccddefefgg ababccddefefgg abcbacdeedfgfghicijj (irregular)
  • Stanza: strophe, antistrophe, epode
  • Genre: Pindaric ode
  • Finding Aid: MS witnesses
  • Notes/Queries: 529
  • Source: TEI/XML
  • Visualization: Poem Viewer

Editions in the Digital Library

  • 1757: Odes by Mr. Gray. London, 1757.
  • 1765 vol. vi: A Collection of Poems in six volumes. By several hands. Vol. vi. London, 1765 [1st ed. 1758, two vols. 1748].
  • 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.
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