"Song I"

• Archive Work ID: poems.sng1
• Uniform Title: "Song I" [e-text]
• First Line: 'Midst beauty and pleasure's gay triumphs, to languish
• Language: English
• First Published: 1797
• References: Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 99; Lonsdale (ed.), Poems (1969), 240-241
• Summary: Written before October 1761 at the request of Gray's friend Henrietta Speed. Walpole transcribed and sent it in a letter to Caroline Campbell, Countess of Ailesbury, 28 November 1761. First published, beginning "With beauty, with pleasure surrounded, to languish", in Pope's Works (1797), ed. Joseph Warton, vol. II, 285n. Entitled "Amatory Lines" by Mitford and Northup, Bibliography (1917), 61.

2 Manuscripts:

• • Archive MS ID: mss.0149 (Source: EAD/XML)
  • Title: [untitled]
  • Date: July 1790
  • Physical Description: [1?] page; transcript in the hand of Hester Lynch Thrale
  • Language: English
  • Location: HM 12183, Vol. V, 153, Department of Manuscripts, The Huntington, San Marino, CA, USA <https://www.huntington.org/library-collections>
  • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 124, 91; Balderston, K. C. (ed.), Thraliana (Oxford, 1942)
  • Contents: Transcript in the hand of Hester Lynch Thrale, untitled and beginning "With Beauty, with Pleasure surrounded--to languish", in her MS Thraliana, vol. V, 153.
  
  
• • Archive MS ID: mss.0151 (Source: EAD/XML)
  • Title: [untitled]
  • Date: [after 1761]
  • Physical Description: 1 page, 230 mm x 190 mm; transcript in an unidentified hand
  • Language: English
  • Location: HM 12550, Department of Manuscripts, The Huntington, San Marino, CA, USA <https://www.huntington.org/library-collections>
  • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 126, 91; Richardson, Gayle M., "HM 12550". E-mail to the editor, 15 November 2006
  • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified hand, untitled and beginning "With beauty with pleasure surrounded to languish", together with MS 0159, annotated in the hand of Horace Walpole "The following two poems were given to Mr. Jacob by (Miss Speed) Countess of Vim, who told him they (were) written by Mr. Gray".