Sonnet I

Charlotte Smith 1749 (London) – 1806 (Tilford, Surrey)



o

THE partial Muse, has from my earliest hours,
   Smil'd on the rugged path I'm doom'd to tread,
And still with sportive hand has snatch'd wild flowers,
   To weave fantastic garlands for my head:
But far, far happier is the lot of those
   Who never learn'd her dear delusive art;
Which, while it decks the head with many a rose,
   Reserves the thorn, to fester in the heart.
For still she bids soft Pity's melting eye
   Stream o'er the ills she knows not to remove,
Points every pang, and deepens every sigh
   Of mourning friendship or unhappy love.
Ah! then, how dear the Muse's favours cost,
If those paint sorrow best--who feel it most!

o

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

37 sec read
188

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDCDEFEGHI
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 655
Words 117
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Charlotte Smith

Charlotte Turner Smith was an English Romantic poet and novelist. She initiated a revival of the English sonnet, helped establish the conventions of Gothic fiction, and wrote political novels of sensibility. A successful writer, she published ten novels, three books of poetry, four children's books, and other assorted works over the course of her career. She saw herself as a poet first and foremost, poetry at that period being considered the most exalted form of literature. Scholars now credit her with transforming the sonnet into an expression of woeful sentiment. more…

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