"Before my wondering sense new phantoms dance, / And stamp their horrid shapes upon my brain."
— Dodsley, Robert (1703-1764)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Dodsley
Date
1757, 1758, 1771, 1777
Metaphor
"Before my wondering sense new phantoms dance, / And stamp their horrid shapes upon my brain."
Metaphor in Context
Before my wondering sense new phantoms dance,
And stamp their horrid shapes upon my brain--
A wretch with jealous brow, and eyes askance,
Feeds all in secret on his bosom pain.
Fond love, fierce hate assail;
Alternate they prevail:
While conscious pride and shame with rage conspire,
And urge the latent spark to flames of torturing fire.
(p. 7 in 1757 ed.)
And stamp their horrid shapes upon my brain--
A wretch with jealous brow, and eyes askance,
Feeds all in secret on his bosom pain.
Fond love, fierce hate assail;
Alternate they prevail:
While conscious pride and shame with rage conspire,
And urge the latent spark to flames of torturing fire.
(p. 7 in 1757 ed.)
Provenance
Searching "stamp" and "brain" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
See Melpomene, or The Regions of Terror and Pity. An Ode. (London: [s.n.], 1757) <Link to Hathi Trust>. I count 9 entries for this title in the ESTC (1757, 1758, 1771, 1777).
The poem was printed with Cleone. A Tragedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre Royal in Covent-Garden. Written by R. Dodsley (London, 1758) <Link to ECCO> and collected in Trifles: viz. Cleone. A Tragedy. Melpomene: or, the Regions of Terror and Pity. A Poem. Agriculture. A Poem. The Oeconomy of Human Life. Vol. II. Written by R. Dodsley. (London: J. Dodsley, 1771). <Link to ECCO>
Dodsley's Trifles were first published in 1745 in one volume. James Dodsley seems to have issued so-called "second" editions in 1771 and in 1777. The second volume of Trifles contains works written after 1745.
I have taken my text from the edition of Trifles, issued in 1777 <Link to ECCO> and checked metaphors against the 1757 printing available through the Hathi Trust.
The poem was printed with Cleone. A Tragedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre Royal in Covent-Garden. Written by R. Dodsley (London, 1758) <Link to ECCO> and collected in Trifles: viz. Cleone. A Tragedy. Melpomene: or, the Regions of Terror and Pity. A Poem. Agriculture. A Poem. The Oeconomy of Human Life. Vol. II. Written by R. Dodsley. (London: J. Dodsley, 1771). <Link to ECCO>
Dodsley's Trifles were first published in 1745 in one volume. James Dodsley seems to have issued so-called "second" editions in 1771 and in 1777. The second volume of Trifles contains works written after 1745.
I have taken my text from the edition of Trifles, issued in 1777 <Link to ECCO> and checked metaphors against the 1757 printing available through the Hathi Trust.
Date of Entry
04/11/2005
