Part Of An Irregular Fragment, Found In A Dark Passage Of The Tower Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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ADVERTISEMENTA
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The following Poem is formed on a very singular and sublime idea A young gentleman possessed of an uncommon genius for drawing on visiting the Tower of London passing one door of a singular construction asked what apartment it led to and expressed a desire to have it opened The person who shewed the place shook his head and answered Heaven knows what is within that door it has been shut for ages This answer made small impression on the other hearers but a very deep one on the imagination of this youth Gracious Heaven an apartment shut up for ages and in the TowerB
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Ye Towers of Julius London's lasting shameC
By many a foul and midnight murder fedD
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Genius builds on a slight foundation and rears beautiful structures on the baseless fabric of a vision The above transient hint dwelt on the young man's fancy and conjured into his memory all the murders which history records to have been committed in the Tower Henry the Sixth the Duke of Clarence the two young princes sons of Edward the Fourth Sir Thomas Overbury c He supposes all their ghosts assembled in this unexplored apartment and to these his fertile imagination has added several others One of the spectres raises an immense pall of black velvet and discovers the remains of a murdered royal family whose story is lost in the lapse of time The gloomy wildness of these images struck my imagination so forcibly that endeavouring to catch the fire of the youth's pencil this Fragment was producedE
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PART OF AN IRREGULAR FRAGMENT FOUND IN A DARK PASSAGE OF THE TOWERB
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Rise winds of night relentless tempests riseF
Rush from the troubled clouds and o'er me rollG
In this chill pause a deeper horror liesF
A wilder fear appals my shudd'ring soulG
'Twas on this day A this hour accurstE
That Nature starting from reposeH
Heard the dire shrieks of murder burstE
From infant innocence they roseH
And shook these solemn towersI
I shudd'ring pass that fatal roomJ
For ages wrapt in central gloomJ
I shudd'ring pass that iron doorK
Which Fate perchance unlocks no moreK
Death smear'd with blood o'er the dark portal lowersI
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A The anniversary of the murder of Edward the Fifth and his brother Richard Duke of YorkL
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How fearfully my step resoundsI
Along these lonely boundsI
Spare savage blast the taper's quiv'ring firesI
Deep in these gath'ring shades its flame expiresI
Ye host of heaven the door recedesI
It mocks my grasp what unseen handsI
Have burst its iron bandsI
No mortal force this gate unbarr'dE
Where danger lives which terrors guardE
Dread powers its screaming hinges closeI
On this dire scene of impious deedsI
My feet are fix'd Dismay has boundE
My step on this polluted groundE
But lo the pitying moon a line of lightE
Athwart the horrid darkness dimly throwsI
And from yon grated window chases nightE
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Ye visions that before me rollG
That freeze my blood that shake my soulG
Are ye the phantoms of a dreamM
Pale spectres are ye what ye seemM
They glide more nearN
Their forms unfoldE
Fix'd are their eyes on me they bendE
Their glaring look is coldE
And hark I hearO
Sounds that the throbbing pulse of life suspendE
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IVP
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No wild illusion cheats thy sightE
With shapes that only live in nightE
Mark the native glories spreadE
Around my bleeding browQ
The crown of Albion wreath'd my headE
And Gallia's lilies A twin'd belowR
When my father shook his spearN
When his banner sought the skiesI
Her baffled host recoil'd with fearN
Nor turn'd their shrinking eyesI
Soon as the daring eagle springsI
To bask in heav'n's empyreal lightE
The vultures ply their baleful wingsI
A cloud of deep'ning colour marks their flightE
Staining the golden dayE
But see amid the rav'nous broodE
A bird of fiercer aspect soarK
The spirits of a rival race BS
Hang on the noxious blast and traceI
With gloomy joy his destin'd preyE
Inflame th' ambitious with that thirsts for bloodE
And plunge his talons deep in kindred goreK
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A Henry the Sixth crowned when an infant at ParisI
B Richard the Third by murdering so many near relations seemed to revenge the sufferings of Henry the Sixth and his family on the House of YorkL
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VS
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View the stern form that hovers nighP
Fierce rolls his dauntless eyeP
In scorn of hideous deathT
Till starting at a brother's A nameC
Horror shrinks his glowing frameC
Locks the half utter'd groanU
And chills the parting breathT
Astonish'd Nature heav'd a moanU
When her affrighted eye beheld the handsI
She form'd to cherish rend her holy bandsI
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A Richard the Third who murdered his brother the Duke of ClarenceI
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VIP
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Look where a royal infant A kneelsI
Shrieking and agoniz'd with fearN
He sees the dagger pointed nearN
A much lov'd brother's B breastE
And tells an absent mother all he feelsI
His eager eye he casts aroundE
Where shall her guardian form be foundE
On which his eager eye would restE
On her he calls in accents wildE
And wonders why her step is slowR
To save her suff'ring childE
Rob'd in the regal garb his brother standsI
In more majestic woeR
And meets the impious stroke with bosom bareV
Then fearless grasps the murd'rer's handsI
And asks the minister of hell to spareV
The child whose feeble arms sustainW
His bleeding form from cruel DeathT
In vain fraternal fondness pleadsI
For cold is now his livid cheekX
And cold his last expiring breathT
And now with aspect meekX
The infant lifts his mournful eyeP
And asks with trembling voice to dieP
If death will cure his heaving heart of painW
His heaving heart now bleedsI
Foul tyrant o'er the gilded hourB
That beams with all the blaze of powerB
Remorse shall spread her thickest shroudE
The furies in thy tortur'd earO
Shall howl with curses deep and loudE
And wake distracting fearN
I see the ghastly spectre riseI
Whose blood is cold whose hollow eyesI
Seem from his head to startE
With upright hair and shiv'ring heartE
Dark o'er thy midnight couch he bendsI
And clasps thy shrinking frame thy impious spirit rendsI
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A Richard Duke of YorkL
B Edward the FifthY
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VIIP
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Now his thrilling accents dieP
His shape eludes my searching eyeP
But who is he A convuls'd with painW
That writhes in every swelling veinW
Yet in so deep so wild a groanU
A sharper anguish seems to liveP
Than life's expiring pang can giveP
He dies deserted and aloneU
If pity can allay thy woesI
Sad spirit they shall find reposeI
Thy friend thy long lov'd friend is nearN
He comes to pour the parting tearV
He comes to catch the parting breathT
Ah heaven no melting look he wearsI
His alter'd eye with vengeance glaresI
Each frantic passion at his soulG
'Tis he has dash'd that venom'd bowlG
With agony and deathT
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A Sir Thomas Overbury poisoned in the Tower by SomersetE
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VIIIP
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But whence arose that solemn callZ
Yon bloody phantom waves his handE
And beckons me to deeper gloomJ
Rest troubled form I comeA2
Some unknown power my step impelsI
To horror's secret cellsI
For thee I raise this sable pallB2
It shrouds a ghastly bandE
Stretch'd beneath thy eye shall traceI
A mangled regal raceI
A thousand suns have roll'd since lightE
Rush'd on their solid nightE
See o'er that tender frame grim famine hangsI
And mocks a mother's pangsI
The last last drop which warm'd her veinsI
That meagre infant drainsI
Then gnaws her fond sustaining breastE
Stretch'd on her feeble knees beholdE
Another victim sinks to lasting restE
Another yet her matron arms would foldE
Who strives to reach her matron arms in vainW
Too weak her wasted form to raiseI
On him she bends her eager gazeI
She sees the soft imploring eyeP
That asks her dear embrace the cure of painW
She sees her child at distance dieP
But now her stedfast heart can bearV
Unmov'd the pressure of despairV
When first the winds of winter urge their courseI
O'er the pure stream whose current smoothly glidesI
The heaving river swells its troubled tidesI
But when the bitter blast with keener forceI
O'er the high wave an icy fetter throwsI
The harden'd wave is fix'd in dead reposeI
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IXI
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Say who that hoary form alone he standsI
And meekly lifts his wither'd handsI
His white beard streams with bloodE
I see him with a smile derideE
The wounds that pierce his shrivel'd sideE
Whence flows a purple floodE
But sudden pangs his bosom tearV
On one big drop of deeper dyeP
I see him fix his haggard eyeP
In dark and wild despairV
That sanguine drop which wakes his woeR
Say spirit whence its sourceI
Ask no more its source to knowR
Ne'er shall mortal eye exploreK
Whence flow'd that drop of human goreK
Till the starting dead shall riseI
Unchain'd from earth and mount the skiesI
And time shall end his fated courseI
Now th' unfathom'd depth beholdE
Look but once a second glanceI
Wraps a heart of human moldE
In death's eternal tranceI
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XI
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That shapeless phantom sinking slowR
Deep down the vast abyss belowR
Darts thro' the mists that shroud his frameC
A horror nature hates to nameC
Mortal could thine eyes beholdE
All those sullen mists enfoldE
Thy sinews at the sight accurstE
Would wither and thy heart strings burstE
Death would grasp with icy handE
And drag thee to our grizly bandE
Away the sable pall I spreadE
And give to rest th' unquiet deadE
Haste ere its horrid shroud encloseI
Thy form benumb'd with wild affrightE
And plunge thee far thro' wastes of nightE
In yon black gulph's abhorr'd reposeI
As starting at each step I flyP
Why backward turns my frantic eyeP
That closing portal pastE
Two sullen shades half seen advanceI
On me a blasting look they castE
And fix my view with dang'rous spellsI
Where burning frenzy dwellsI
Again their vengeful look and now a speechlessI

Helen Maria Williams



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