Drury-lane Prologue Spoken By Mr. Garrick Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDD EEFFGGHH IIJJKKGGLLMM NNOOPPJJQQ RS TTUUVV WWQQXXYZ A2A2B2B2C2C2SS| When Learning's triumph o'er her barb'rous foes | A |
| First rear'd the stage immortal Shakespear rose | A |
| Each change of many colour'd life he drew | B |
| Exhausted worlds and then imagin'd new | B |
| Existence saw him spurn her bounded reign | C |
| And panting Time toil'd after him in vain | C |
| His pow'rful strokes presiding Truth impress'd | D |
| And unresisted Passion storm'd the breast | D |
| - | |
| Then Jonson came instructed from the school | E |
| To please in method and invent by rule | E |
| His studious patience and laborious art | F |
| By regular approach essay'd the heart | F |
| Cold Approbation gave the ling'ring bays | G |
| For those who durst not censure scarce could praise | G |
| A mortal born he met the general doom | H |
| But left like Egypt's kings a lasting tomb | H |
| - | |
| The Wits of Charles found easier ways to fame | I |
| Nor wish'd for Jonson's art or Shakespear's flame | I |
| Themselves they studied as they felt they writ | J |
| Intrigue was plot obscenity was wit | J |
| Vice always found a sympathetic friend | K |
| They pleas'd their age and did not aim to mend | K |
| Yet bards like these aspir'd to lasting praise | G |
| And proudly hop'd to pimp in future days | G |
| Their cause was gen'ral their supports were strong | L |
| Their slaves were willing and their reign was long | L |
| Till Shame regain'd the post that Sense betray'd | M |
| And Virtue call'd Oblivion to her aid | M |
| - | |
| Then crush'd by rules and weaken'd as refin'd | N |
| For years the pow'r of tragedy declin'd | N |
| From bard to bard the frigid caution crept | O |
| Till Declamation roar'd while Passion slept | O |
| Yet still did Virtue deign the stage to tread | P |
| Philosophy remain'd though Nature fled | P |
| But forc'd at length her ancient reign to quit | J |
| She saw great Faustus lay the ghost of wit | J |
| Exulting Folly hail'd the joyful day | Q |
| And pantomime and song confirm'd her sway | Q |
| - | |
| But who the coming changes can presage | R |
| And mark the future periods of the stage | S |
| - | |
| Perhaps if skill could distant times explore | T |
| New Behns new Durfoys yet remain in store | T |
| Perhaps where Lear has rav'd and Hamlet died | U |
| On flying cars new sorcerers may ride | U |
| Perhaps for who can guess th' effects of chance | V |
| Here Hunt may box or Mahomet may dance | V |
| - | |
| Hard is his lot that here by Fortune plac'd | W |
| Must watch the wild vicissitudes of taste | W |
| With ev'ry meteor of caprice must play | Q |
| And chase the new blown bubbles of the day | Q |
| Ah let not censure term our fate our choice | X |
| The stage but echoes back the public voice | X |
| The drama's laws the drama's patrons give | Y |
| For we that live to please must please to live | Z |
| - | |
| Then prompt no more the follies you decry | A2 |
| As tyrants doom their tools of guilt to die | A2 |
| 'Tis yours this night to bid the reign commence | B2 |
| Of rescu'd Nature and reviving Sense | B2 |
| To chase the charms of Sound the pomp of Show | C2 |
| For useful Mirth and salutary Woe | C2 |
| Bid scenic Virtue form the rising age | S |
| And Truth diffuse her radiance from the stage | S |
Samuel Johnson
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About Drury-lane Prologue Spoken By Mr. Garrick
Drury-lane Prologue Spoken By Mr. Garrick is a poem by Samuel Johnson. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.