In awful pomp and melancholy state,
See settled Reason on the judgement-seat;
Around her crowd Distrust, and Doubt, and Fear,
And thoughtful Foresight, and tormenting Care;
Far from the throne the trembling Pleasures stand,
Chain'd up or exiled by her stern command.
Wretched her subjects, gloomy sits the queen,
Till happy chance reverts the cruel scene;
And apish Folly, with her wild resort
Of wit and jest, disturbs the solemn court.
See the fantastic Minstrelsy advance
To breathe the song and animate the dance.
Bless'd the usurper! happy the surprise!
Her mimic postures catch our eager eyes;
Her jingling bells affect our captive ear,
And in the sights we see and sounds we hear,
Against our judgement she our sense employs,
The laws of troubled reason she drestroys,
And in their place rejoices to indite
Wild schemes of mirth and plans of loose delight.
A Passage In The Moriae Encomium Of Erasmus. Imitated
Matthew Prior
(1)
Poem topics: dance, fear, song, place, sense, hear, chance, doubt, chain, delight, queen, stand, command, scene, gloomy, eager, crowd, breathe, happy, wild, Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
<< Solomon On The Vanity Of The World, A Poem. In Three Books. - Pleasure. Book Ii. Poem
An Ode - Presented To The King, On His Majesty's Arrival In Holland, After The Queen's Death Poem>>
Write your comment about A Passage In The Moriae Encomium Of Erasmus. Imitated poem by Matthew Prior
Best Poems of Matthew Prior