[Composed, almost extempore, in a short walk on the western side of Rydal Lake.—I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
Scorn not the Sonnet; Critic, you have frowned,
Mindless of its just honours; with this key
Shakspeare unlocked his heart;[462] the melody
Of this small lute gave ease to Petrarch's wound;[463]
A thousand times this pipe did Tasso sound;[464] 5
With it Camöens soothed[465] an exile's grief;[466]
The Sonnet glittered a gay myrtle leaf
Amid the cypress with which Dante[467] crowned
His visionary brow: a glow-worm lamp,
It cheered mild Spenser, called from Faery-land 10
To struggle through dark ways;[468] and, when a damp
Fell round the path of Milton, in his hand
The Thing became a trumpet;[469] whence he blew
Soul-animating strains—alas, too few![470]
FOOTNOTES:
[462] Shakespeare's sonnets are autobiographical: compare Nos. 24, 30, 39, 105, 116.—Ed.
[463] Petrarch's were all inspired by his devotion to Laura.—Ed.
[464] Tasso's works include two volumes of sonnets, first published in 1581 and 1592.—Ed.
[465] 1837.
Camöens soothed with it ... 1827.