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Poem
October 13, 1808
Kentucky Gazette And General Advertiser
Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky
What is this article about?
An ode invoking the Eolian harp to produce soothing music amid natural scenes of morning, evening, and spring, to ease distress, inspire love and joy, and bring peace and contemplation.
Merged-components note: The image overlaps spatially with the poem and is likely a related illustration, given the sequential reading order.
Clipping
OCR Quality
75%
Good
Full Text
TO SOAR ALOFT ON FANCY'S WING?
Ode to the Eolian Harp.
I from thy shell, where many a joyless mouth,
All silent thou hast slept, while Winter storm,
Shook o'er the trembling world
His iron rod severe,
Swell forth soft spirit of the tuneful harp
Eolian! Thou, thro' all thy cadence sweet,
Whose every note is love,
And sympathy divine.
Lo! zephyr woos thee, and the sprite spring
With flowing tresses, interweav'd with flowers,
Herself has cull'd returns
From many a fragrant heath:
Thee, too, the virgins wait, in yonder bower,
With wiles, and wit, and roseate dimples sweet
Touch'd by the tepid airs
That wanton wildly round
With thy mildest movements meet their hearts
To kindness: and some favour'd youth be near
To catch, in whispers breath'd,
Th'assent that makes him blest.
Ah! then, not angels emulate the bliss
That must convulse his soul, as deep he feels
The new sensation spread,
The agony of joy
There, sweet enchantress! and thy vocal strain,
Now let me hear, when morn, with dewy locks,
First climbs the uplands grey,
And listens to the lark
Or, when mild evening mounts her silv'ry car,
Skirted with shadows, and diffuses round
Her balmy breath benign:
What time the pale ey'd moon
Lights the blue east, and calls the vagrant wind
Lost in the turmoils of the tiresome day,
To solitude and peace,
And contemplation pure
Then let me hear thee. But O! chief attend.
Sweet power of mildest moods! or whether morn
Climbs the green uplands bright
Or eve her silv'ry car,
Skirted with shadows round, ascends sublime
Or, all refulgent, from his throne direct,
The bright sun pours profuse.
His tide of dazzling day.
Whene'er, amid the changing scenes of life
Distress is mine, or turbulence and ire
Beneath their lawless sway,
Inglorious, bend my breast.
O! then be present! For not all the powers
Of modern music, modulated nice,
Tho' boastful of success,
Can then with thee compare
Soft syren! whose wild cadence, stealing sweet
O'er the fix'd ear, sooths more the wounded soul,
Than all that envious art
Or nature knows beside.
Ode to the Eolian Harp.
I from thy shell, where many a joyless mouth,
All silent thou hast slept, while Winter storm,
Shook o'er the trembling world
His iron rod severe,
Swell forth soft spirit of the tuneful harp
Eolian! Thou, thro' all thy cadence sweet,
Whose every note is love,
And sympathy divine.
Lo! zephyr woos thee, and the sprite spring
With flowing tresses, interweav'd with flowers,
Herself has cull'd returns
From many a fragrant heath:
Thee, too, the virgins wait, in yonder bower,
With wiles, and wit, and roseate dimples sweet
Touch'd by the tepid airs
That wanton wildly round
With thy mildest movements meet their hearts
To kindness: and some favour'd youth be near
To catch, in whispers breath'd,
Th'assent that makes him blest.
Ah! then, not angels emulate the bliss
That must convulse his soul, as deep he feels
The new sensation spread,
The agony of joy
There, sweet enchantress! and thy vocal strain,
Now let me hear, when morn, with dewy locks,
First climbs the uplands grey,
And listens to the lark
Or, when mild evening mounts her silv'ry car,
Skirted with shadows, and diffuses round
Her balmy breath benign:
What time the pale ey'd moon
Lights the blue east, and calls the vagrant wind
Lost in the turmoils of the tiresome day,
To solitude and peace,
And contemplation pure
Then let me hear thee. But O! chief attend.
Sweet power of mildest moods! or whether morn
Climbs the green uplands bright
Or eve her silv'ry car,
Skirted with shadows round, ascends sublime
Or, all refulgent, from his throne direct,
The bright sun pours profuse.
His tide of dazzling day.
Whene'er, amid the changing scenes of life
Distress is mine, or turbulence and ire
Beneath their lawless sway,
Inglorious, bend my breast.
O! then be present! For not all the powers
Of modern music, modulated nice,
Tho' boastful of success,
Can then with thee compare
Soft syren! whose wild cadence, stealing sweet
O'er the fix'd ear, sooths more the wounded soul,
Than all that envious art
Or nature knows beside.
What sub-type of article is it?
Ode
What themes does it cover?
Nature Seasons
Moral Virtue
Love Courtship
What keywords are associated?
Eolian Harp
Ode
Nature
Music
Soothing
Contemplation
Love
Distress
Poem Details
Title
Ode To The Eolian Harp.
Subject
To The Eolian Harp
Key Lines
I From Thy Shell, Where Many A Joyless Mouth,
Swell Forth Soft Spirit Of The Tuneful Harp Eolian!
Whose Every Note Is Love, And Sympathy Divine.
Soft Syren! Whose Wild Cadence, Stealing Sweet O'er The Fix'd Ear, Sooths More The Wounded Soul,
Than All That Envious Art Or Nature Knows Beside.