Difference between revisions of "Poems on Witty Subjects in Congress"
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The gen'rous Idea your last Peice [''sic''] expresses<br /> | The gen'rous Idea your last Peice [''sic''] expresses<br /> | ||
− | Instead of exciting my Ardour, depresses.<br /> | + | Instead of <s>exal</s> exciting my Ardour, depresses.<br /> |
The Muses I know by Experience are Gilts<br /> | The Muses I know by Experience are Gilts<br /> | ||
And he moves unsafely who moves upon Stilts.<br /> | And he moves unsafely who moves upon Stilts.<br /> | ||
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They told me to follow but as swift as the Wind<br /> | They told me to follow but as swift as the Wind<br /> | ||
They gained its high Top and left me behind.<br /> | They gained its high Top and left me behind.<br /> | ||
− | Thus jilted I labour'd but quickly I found<br /> | + | Thus jilted, I labour'd but quickly I found<br /> |
My Tread was too clumsy for poetick Ground.<br /> | My Tread was too clumsy for poetick Ground.<br /> | ||
And wanting their Aid to assist my weak Passes<br /> | And wanting their Aid to assist my weak Passes<br /> |
Revision as of 18:00, 15 April 2014
George Wythe and Willam Ellery, "Poems on Witty Subjects in Congress," American Revolutionary War Manuscripts Collection, Boston Public Library, MS.Ch.E.8.31-33.[1]
Contents
- 1 Manuscript text, November-December 1776
- 1.1 "A Member of the Antinovanglian Faction to W. E.," by George Wythe (VA)
- 1.2 "A Novanglican to G.W.," by William Ellery (RI)
- 1.3 "Instead of Controlling Our Mary's Cross Humor," by William Ellery
- 1.4 "For Farms in Utopia, the Moon, or Some Fairyland," by George Wythe
- 1.5 "Epigram," by William Ellery
- 1.6 "Answer to Epigram," by George Wythe
- 1.7 "Unless You Will Take One Line for Your Ten," by William Ellery
- 1.8 "You've Not only Quitted Your Arrear," by George Wythe
- 1.9 "Some Mere Poetaster Call Tully," by George Wythe
- 1.10 "The Gen'rous Idea Your Last Piece Expresses," by William Ellery
- 1.11 "A Commissioner, to the People of Philadelphia," by William Ellery
- 2 See also
- 3 References
- 4 External links
Manuscript text, November-December 1776
"A Member of the Antinovanglian Faction to W. E.," by George Wythe (VA)
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"A Novanglican to G.W.," by William Ellery (RI)
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"Instead of Controlling Our Mary's Cross Humor," by William Ellery
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"For Farms in Utopia, the Moon, or Some Fairyland," by George Wythe
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And if slaves you include in your capitation, |
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"Epigram," by William Ellery
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"Answer to Epigram," by George Wythe
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"Unless You Will Take One Line for Your Ten," by William Ellery
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"You've Not only Quitted Your Arrear," by George Wythe
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"Some Mere Poetaster Call Tully," by George Wythe
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"The Gen'rous Idea Your Last Piece Expresses," by William Ellery
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"A Commissioner, to the People of Philadelphia," by William Ellery
In this poem, Ellery chastises the conservative position of Andrew Allen, delegate from Pennsylvania, for his commonwealth's reluctance to support independence from Great Britain. The first letter of each line spells out "ANDREW ALLEN" (emphasized here). Ellery apparently attempted to get the poem published, as there is another draft with the lines transposed to avoid obvious "libellus famosos" (libel), and a dialogue with a reluctant printer:
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See also
References
- ↑ See W. Edwin Hemphill, "George Wythe Courts the Muses," William and Mary Quarterly 3rd ser., 9, no. 3 (July 1952), 338-345.
- ↑ "Novanglian": New Englander.
- ↑ "Dire desire to write," paraphrase of Virgil, Aeneid, Book V, line 721.
- ↑ "The love which consumed Dido," Queen of Carthage.
- ↑ Ovid, Ex Ponto III, xxxvi.
- ↑ Jester, clown.
- ↑ Defy nature, literally "go against Minerva's will." Cicero, De Officiis, I, 31, 110.
- ↑ Wythe is a Virginian Cicero: Marcus Tullius Cicero.
- ↑ A great law of Nature.
- ↑ Classical Greek cry of exultation or triumph, traditionally addressed to Apollo the healer.
- ↑ "As of late, you see."
- ↑ Libellus famosos: libel.
- ↑ Possibly a reference to the colonial punishment of cutting off ears?
- ↑ Edmund Curll (c. 1675 – 1747), whose name was synonymous with "unscrupulous publication and publicity."
External links
- Boston Public Library, Special Collections.
- American Revolutionary War Manuscripts at the Boston Public Library, Internet Archive.
- Read these poems in the Internet Archive.