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Poem
September 11, 1761
The New Hampshire Gazette
Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
What is this article about?
A satirical parody of Cato's soliloquy, set in a country assembly-room, where the speaker impatiently awaits the arrival of fiddlers to start dancing, personifying music's charm and decrying the absent, drunken musician.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
LONDON, April 18.
A PARODY on CATO's SOLILOQUY, Written in Country Assembly-Room, waiting for the Fiddlers.
It must be so--Musick, thou charm'st well--
Else whence this pleasing Hope, this fond Desire,
This longing after Dancing!
Or whence this secret Dread, and inward Thought,
Of absent Fiddlers! Why shrinks the Body
Into itself, and slumbers with Inaction!
It is the Joy that moves within us,
'Tis Life itself, that points out to us Dancing,
And intimateth Harmony to Man.
Harmony! what pleasing cheerful Sounds!
O'er what Variety of well tun'd Strings,
Through what num'rous Instruments may ye pass!
The Viol, Lute and Harp, all lie before me,
But only Dirt and Clouds of Dust rest on them.
Here will I hold. If there's one Fiddler
(And that there is one all the Parish knows.
Through all her Alehouses he must delight to play,
And that which he sighs in makes us happy.)
But who! or where! this drunken Fellow is--
I'm weary of Conjectures--This will end them.
Enter Fiddler.
A PARODY on CATO's SOLILOQUY, Written in Country Assembly-Room, waiting for the Fiddlers.
It must be so--Musick, thou charm'st well--
Else whence this pleasing Hope, this fond Desire,
This longing after Dancing!
Or whence this secret Dread, and inward Thought,
Of absent Fiddlers! Why shrinks the Body
Into itself, and slumbers with Inaction!
It is the Joy that moves within us,
'Tis Life itself, that points out to us Dancing,
And intimateth Harmony to Man.
Harmony! what pleasing cheerful Sounds!
O'er what Variety of well tun'd Strings,
Through what num'rous Instruments may ye pass!
The Viol, Lute and Harp, all lie before me,
But only Dirt and Clouds of Dust rest on them.
Here will I hold. If there's one Fiddler
(And that there is one all the Parish knows.
Through all her Alehouses he must delight to play,
And that which he sighs in makes us happy.)
But who! or where! this drunken Fellow is--
I'm weary of Conjectures--This will end them.
Enter Fiddler.
What sub-type of article is it?
Satire
What themes does it cover?
Satire Society
What keywords are associated?
Parody Cato
Waiting Fiddlers
Country Assembly
Longing Dancing
Absent Musician
Poem Details
Title
A Parody On Cato's Soliloquy
Subject
Written In Country Assembly Room, Waiting For The Fiddlers.
Form / Style
Parody Of Dramatic Soliloquy In Verse
Key Lines
It Must Be So Musick, Thou Charm'st Well
This Longing After Dancing!
Of Absent Fiddlers! Why Shrinks The Body
But Who! Or Where! This Drunken Fellow Is
Enter Fiddler.