To The Nightingale
James Thomson 1700 (Port Glasgow) – 1748 (London)
O nightingale, best poet of the grove,
That plaintive strain can ne'er belong to thee,
Blessed in the full possession of thy love:
O lend that strain, sweet Nighingale, to me!
'Tis mine, alas! to mourn a wretched fate:
I love a maid who all my bosom charms,
Yet lose my days without this lovely mate;
Inhuman fortune keeps her from my arms.
You happy birds! by nature's simple laws
Lead your soft lives, sustained by nature's fare;
You dwell wherever roving fancy draws,
And love and song is all your pleasing care:
But we, vain slaves of interest and of pride,
Dare not be blessed, lest envious tongues should blame;
And hence, in vain I languish for my bride!
O mourn with me, sweet bird, my hapless flame.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 112 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAXA BCBC DEDE FGFG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 701 |
Words | 131 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"To The Nightingale" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20638/to-the-nightingale>.
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