"But gen'rous Alfred's Mercy, so he'll find, / Has left Impressions grateful on my Mind"
— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by W. Botham, for James Knapton
Date
1723
Metaphor
"But gen'rous Alfred's Mercy, so he'll find, / Has left Impressions grateful on my Mind"
Metaphor in Context
While Rabal restless on his Bed revolv'd
Th' atrocious Deed, that rashly he resolv'd
To perpetrate, his conscious Soul relents,
And of the black Engagement he repents:
Then anxious to himself he thus begun;
What has ungrateful savage Rabal done?
Shall I consent that by a treach'rous Blow
A Prince shall die to whom my Life I owe?
Shall he, the Flow'r and Joy of humane Kind,
The Man, he gracious sav'd, his Murd'rer find?
If I advance to strike him to the Heart,
Aw'd by his Presence I should backward start:
My shudd'ring Soul would feel distracting Pains,
And struck with Horrour leave my freezing Veins:
My Sword uplifted from my trembling Hand
Would fall, while I should pale and lifeless stand:
But gen'rous Alfred's Mercy, so he'll find,
Has left Impressions grateful on my Mind.
Th' atrocious Deed, that rashly he resolv'd
To perpetrate, his conscious Soul relents,
And of the black Engagement he repents:
Then anxious to himself he thus begun;
What has ungrateful savage Rabal done?
Shall I consent that by a treach'rous Blow
A Prince shall die to whom my Life I owe?
Shall he, the Flow'r and Joy of humane Kind,
The Man, he gracious sav'd, his Murd'rer find?
If I advance to strike him to the Heart,
Aw'd by his Presence I should backward start:
My shudd'ring Soul would feel distracting Pains,
And struck with Horrour leave my freezing Veins:
My Sword uplifted from my trembling Hand
Would fall, while I should pale and lifeless stand:
But gen'rous Alfred's Mercy, so he'll find,
Has left Impressions grateful on my Mind.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "impression" and "mind" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Only 1 entry in ESTC (1723).
Richard Blackmore, Alfred. An Epick Poem. In Twelve Books (London: Printed by W. Botham, for James Knapton, 1723). <Link to ECCO><Link to LION>
Richard Blackmore, Alfred. An Epick Poem. In Twelve Books (London: Printed by W. Botham, for James Knapton, 1723). <Link to ECCO><Link to LION>
Date of Entry
05/12/2005
