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Poem
April 8, 1786
Fowle's New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser
Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
What is this article about?
An ode celebrating the arrival of spring, describing nature's renewal with flowers, birds, and streams, while contrasting it with the irreversible decay of human youth and advocating virtue for eternal hope beyond life.
Merged-components note: Merged image into poem due to spatial overlap in bounding boxes and sequential reading order, likely serving as an illustration for the poem.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
Vernal Spring
An ODE to SPRING.
Hail, genial Goddess, blooming Spring
Thy blest return, O let me sing,
And aid my languid lays;
Let me not sink in sloth supine,
While all creation at thy shrine
Its annual tribute pays.
Escap'd from winter's freezing power,
Each bloom greets thee, and each flower,
While foremost of the train,
By nature artless handmaid! drest,
The snow-drop comes in lilly'd vest,
Prophetic of thy reign.
The lark now strains his warbling throat,
And with a loud and cheerful note
Calls echo from her cell.
Be warn'd, ye fair, that listen round,
A beauteous nymph became a shroud;
By having lov'd too well.
The bright hair'd sun, with warmth divine
Bids trees and shrubs before thy shrine
Their infant buds display;
Again the streams refresh the plains,
Which winter bound in icy chains,
And sparkling bless his ray.
Life giving zephyrs breathe around;
And instant glows th' enamell'd ground,
With nature's vary'd hues:
Not so returns our youth decay'd,
Alas! nor air, nor sun, nor shade,
The spring of life renews.
The sun's too quick revolving beam
Dissolves at once the human dream,
And brings th' appointed hour:
Too late we catch his parting ray,
And mourn the idly-wasted day,
No longer in our pow'r.
Then happiest he, whose lengthen'd sight
Pursues by virtue's steady light,
A hope beyond the skies;
Where frowning winter ne'r shall come,
But rosy Spring for ever bloom;
And suns eternal rise.
An ODE to SPRING.
Hail, genial Goddess, blooming Spring
Thy blest return, O let me sing,
And aid my languid lays;
Let me not sink in sloth supine,
While all creation at thy shrine
Its annual tribute pays.
Escap'd from winter's freezing power,
Each bloom greets thee, and each flower,
While foremost of the train,
By nature artless handmaid! drest,
The snow-drop comes in lilly'd vest,
Prophetic of thy reign.
The lark now strains his warbling throat,
And with a loud and cheerful note
Calls echo from her cell.
Be warn'd, ye fair, that listen round,
A beauteous nymph became a shroud;
By having lov'd too well.
The bright hair'd sun, with warmth divine
Bids trees and shrubs before thy shrine
Their infant buds display;
Again the streams refresh the plains,
Which winter bound in icy chains,
And sparkling bless his ray.
Life giving zephyrs breathe around;
And instant glows th' enamell'd ground,
With nature's vary'd hues:
Not so returns our youth decay'd,
Alas! nor air, nor sun, nor shade,
The spring of life renews.
The sun's too quick revolving beam
Dissolves at once the human dream,
And brings th' appointed hour:
Too late we catch his parting ray,
And mourn the idly-wasted day,
No longer in our pow'r.
Then happiest he, whose lengthen'd sight
Pursues by virtue's steady light,
A hope beyond the skies;
Where frowning winter ne'r shall come,
But rosy Spring for ever bloom;
And suns eternal rise.
What sub-type of article is it?
Ode
What themes does it cover?
Nature Seasons
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Spring Ode
Nature Renewal
Youth Decay
Virtue Hope
Eternal Spring
Poem Details
Title
Vernal Spring An Ode To Spring.
Subject
To Spring
Form / Style
Rhymed Stanzas
Key Lines
Hail, Genial Goddess, Blooming Spring
Thy Blest Return, O Let Me Sing,
And Aid My Languid Lays;
Not So Returns Our Youth Decay'd,
Alas! Nor Air, Nor Sun, Nor Shade,
The Spring Of Life Renews.
Then Happiest He, Whose Lengthen'd Sight
Pursues By Virtue's Steady Light,
A Hope Beyond The Skies;