Poems List
Explore poems from our collection
The Challenge: A Court Ballad
The Challenge: A Court Ballad
I.
To one fair lady out of Court,
And two fair ladies in,
Who think the Turk and Pope a sport,
And wit and love…
Summer
Summer
See what delights in sylvan scenes appear!
Descending Gods have found Elysium here.
In woods bright Venus with Adonis stray'd,
And cha…
Sound and Sense
Sound and Sense
True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have learned to dance.
'Tis not enough no harshness gives offe…
Solitude: An Ode
Solitude: An Ode
I.
How happy he, who free from care
The rage of courts, and noise of towns;
Contented breaths his native air,
In his own gro…
Prayer of St. Francis Xavier
Prayer of St. Francis Xavier
Thou art my God, sole object of my love;
Not for the hope of endless joys above;
Nor for the fear of endless pains below,
Sappho to Phaon (Ovid Heroid XV)
Sappho to Phaon (Ovid Heroid XV)
Say, lovely youth, that dost my heart command,
Can Phaon's eyes forget his Sappho's hand?
Must then her name the wretche…
On Mr. Gay
On Mr. Gay
Of Manners gentle, of Affections mild;
In Wit, a Man; Simplicity, a Child:
With native Humour temp'ring virtuous Rage,
Form'd to delight…
On the Countess of Burlington Cutting Paper
On the Countess of Burlington Cutting Paper
Pallas grew vapourish once, and odd,
She would not do the least right thing,
Either for goddess, or for god, …
On Certain Ladies
On Certain Ladies
When other fair ones to the shades go down,
Still Chloe, Flavin, Delia, stay in town:
Those ghosts of beauty wandering here reside,
On a Fan of the Author's Design
On a Fan of the Author's Design
Come gentle Air! th' AEolian shepherd said,
While Procris panted in the secret shade:
Come, gentle Air, the fairer Delia …
Occasioned By Some Verses of His Grace the Duke of Buckingham
Occasioned By Some Verses of His Grace the Duke of Buckingham
Muse, 'tis enough: at length thy labour ends,
And thou shalt live, for Buckingham commends.
Ode on St. Cecilia's Day
Ode on St. Cecilia's Day
I.
Descend ye Nine! descend and sing;
The breathing instruments inspire,
Wake into voice each silent string,
And swe…
Inscription on a Grotto, the Work of Nine Ladies.
Inscription on a Grotto, the Work of Nine Ladies.
Here, shunning idleness at once and praise,
This radiant pile nine rural sisters raise;
The glittering …
Lines Written in Windsor Forest
Lines Written in Windsor Forest
All hail, once pleasing, once inspiring shade!
Scene of my youthful loves and happier hours!
Where the kind Muses met me …
In Imitation of Cowley : The Garden
In Imitation of Cowley : The Garden
Fain would my Muse the flow'ry Treasures sing,
And humble glories of the youthful Spring;
Where opening Roses breathi…
In Imitation of E. of Dorset : Artemisia
In Imitation of E. of Dorset : Artemisia
Tho' Artemisia talks, by fits,
Of councils, classics, fathers, wits;
Reads Malbranche, Boyle, and Locke;
Y…
From an Essay on Man
From an Essay on Man
Heav'n from all creatures hides the book of fate,
All but the page prescrib'd, their present state:
From brutes what men, from men w…
Impromptu, to Lady Winchelsea
Impromptu, to Lady Winchelsea
In vain you boast Poetic Names of yore,
And cite those Sapho's we admire no more:
Fate doom'd the Fall of ev'ry Female Wit,…
Essay on Man
Essay on Man
The First Epistle
Awake, my ST. JOHN!(1) leave all meaner things
To low ambition, and the pride of Kings.
Let us (since Life can…
Epistles to Several Persons: Epistle IV, To Richard Boyle,
Epistles to Several Persons: Epistle IV, To Richard Boyle,
Est brevitate opus, ut currat sententia, neu se
Impediat verbis lassas onerantibus aures:
Et s…
EPISTLE II: TO A LADY (Of the Characters of Women )
EPISTLE II: TO A LADY (Of the Characters of Women )
NOTHING so true as what you once let fall,
"Most Women have no Characters at all."
Matter too soft a …
Eloisa to Abelard
Eloisa to Abelard
In these deep solitudes and awful cells,
Where heav'nly-pensive contemplation dwells,
And ever-musing melancholy reigns;
What mea…
Couplets on Wit
Couplets on Wit
I
But our Great Turks in wit must reign alone
And ill can bear a Brother on the Throne.
II
Wit is like fait…
Chorus of Athenians
Chorus of Athenians
Strophe I.
Ye shades, where sacred truth is sought;
Groves, where immortal Sages taught;
Where heav'nly visions of Plato fir'd,…