If By Dull Rhymes Our English Must Be Chain'd
If By Dull Rhymes Our English Must Be Chain'd
Original Text
John Keats, Life, Letters, and Literary Remains, ed. Richard Monckton Milnes (New York: George P. Putnam, 1848): 391 (sonnet no. XVII). PR 4836 A4 1848 Robarts Library.
1If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,
3Fetter'd, in spite of pained loveliness;
4Let us find out, if we must be constrain'd,
5 Sandals more interwoven and complete
6To fit the naked foot of poesy;
7Let us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress
8Of every chord, and see what may be gain'd
9 By ear industrious, and attention meet:
10Misers of sound and syllable, no less
12 Jealous of dead leaves in the bay wreath crown;
13So, if we may not let the Muse be free,
14 She will be bound with garlands of her own.
Notes
2] Andromeda: Ethiopian princess who was rescued from amonster by Perseus, her husband-to-be. Back to Line
11] Midas: Phrygian king who wished for gold, more than anything, and was granted the ambiguous gift of turning everything he touched into gold. Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1848
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
RPO 1998.
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