Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
May 29, 1787
The New York Packet
New York, New York County, New York
What is this article about?
The poem describes escaping life's cares to spend serene evenings by the fire with Aminda, a book, and a friend, engaging in reflection, conversation, and writing, finding contentment in poverty despite fortune's partiality.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
POET's CORNER
The EVENING CHOICE.
Escap'd from all the cares of life,
From worldly bust'ling duns, and strife,
When Sol is shrouded in the west,
And by labour laid at rest;
Let me with peaceful mind retire,
Serenely to the sparkling fire;
And as it plays while it burns,
My genius shall awake by turns.
To this retreat, dear fortune, send
Aminda, and a book, and friend,
A sheet of paper, pen and ink,
To note whate'er I read or think;
And thus the evening hours I'd spend
Between Aminda and my friend
Now chatting--low upon Parnassus--
Now truly pitying human cases--
Now feeling for another's grief--
Now wishing to afford relief--
Now thinking on my native home--
Now blaming fate that made me roam--
Now laughing--musing--joking--smiling--
The fleeting time and world beguiling:
Thus let me pass the winter o'er,
Nor think of partial fortune more,
Thus let true happiness conspire
To quell each worthless, mean desire
I see it plain, the rich have care,
Then why should I, though poor, despair?
The EVENING CHOICE.
Escap'd from all the cares of life,
From worldly bust'ling duns, and strife,
When Sol is shrouded in the west,
And by labour laid at rest;
Let me with peaceful mind retire,
Serenely to the sparkling fire;
And as it plays while it burns,
My genius shall awake by turns.
To this retreat, dear fortune, send
Aminda, and a book, and friend,
A sheet of paper, pen and ink,
To note whate'er I read or think;
And thus the evening hours I'd spend
Between Aminda and my friend
Now chatting--low upon Parnassus--
Now truly pitying human cases--
Now feeling for another's grief--
Now wishing to afford relief--
Now thinking on my native home--
Now blaming fate that made me roam--
Now laughing--musing--joking--smiling--
The fleeting time and world beguiling:
Thus let me pass the winter o'er,
Nor think of partial fortune more,
Thus let true happiness conspire
To quell each worthless, mean desire
I see it plain, the rich have care,
Then why should I, though poor, despair?
What sub-type of article is it?
Ode
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
Friendship
Love Courtship
What keywords are associated?
Evening Choice
Peaceful Retreat
Aminda
Contentment
Poverty
Fortune
Parnassus
Winter Evenings
Poem Details
Title
The Evening Choice.
Form / Style
Rhymed Couplets
Key Lines
Escap'd From All The Cares Of Life, From Worldly Bust'ling Duns, And Strife,
To This Retreat, Dear Fortune, Send Aminda, And A Book, And Friend,
Thus Let True Happiness Conspire To Quell Each Worthless, Mean Desire
I See It Plain, The Rich Have Care, Then Why Should I, Though Poor, Despair?