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"[Epitaph on Sir William Williams]"

    • Archive Work ID: poems.epww
    • Uniform Title: "[Epitaph on Sir William Williams]" [e-text]
    • First Line: Here, foremost in the dangerous paths of fame,
    • Language: English
    • First Published: 1775
    • References: Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 104-105; Lonsdale (ed.), Poems (1969), 238-240
    • Summary: Written between May and August 1761 at the request of one of the executors of Sir William Williams, a politician and soldier Gray briefly met early in October 1760, who died 27 April 1761 on an expedition against Belle Ile. First published, as "Epitaph II. On Sir William Williams", in Mason's Poems (1775), 62.

    1 Manuscript:

      • [MS image]Archive MS ID: mss.0060 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Epitaph on Sr W J Williams"
      • Date: [after 1771]
      • Physical Description: 1 page; transcript in the hand of William Mason
      • Language: English
      • Location: GBR/1058/GRA/1, Commonplace Book, Vol. III, 1108, College Library, Pembroke College, Cambridge, Cambridge, UK <http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/>
      • Alternate Form: Microfilm copy available in Poetic Commonplace Books and Manuscripts of Thomas Gray, 1716-1771, from Pembroke College, Cambridge (1999), reel one
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 46, 83; Poetic C. B., Pembroke College (1999), 30; Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 105, for variants and rejected stanza
      • Contents: Transcript in the hand of William Mason, here entitled "Epitaph on Sr W J Williams" with two variants of l. 12 in "Variations" and a "Rejected Stanza", in Gray's Commonplace Book, vol. III, 1108.
      • Surrogates: Digital facsimile [JPEG] from original MS available online.

Contents

Manuscripts