Sonett-Forum

Prais'd be the Poet, who the Sonnet's claim,
Severest of the orders that belong
Distinct and separate to the Delphic Song,
Shall venerate, nor its appropriate name
Lawless assume. Peculiar is its frame,
From him deriv'd, who shunn'd the City Throng,
And warbled sweet thy rocks and streams among,
Lonely Valclusa!--and that Heir of Fame,
Our greater MILTON, hath, by many a lay
Form'd on that arduous model, fully shown
That English Verse may happily display
Those strict energic measures, which alone
Deserve the name of SONNET, and convey
A grandeur, grace and spirit, all their own.

To The Same

Marcellus, since the ardors of my strain
To thy young eyes and kindling fancy, gleam
With somewhat of the vivid hues, that stream
From Poesy's bright orb, each envious stain
Shed by dull Critics, venal, vex'd and vain,
Seems recompens'd at full;--and so wou'd seem
Did not maturer Sons of Phoebus deem
My verse Aonian.--Thou, in time, shalt gain,
Like them, amid the letter'd World, that sway
Which makes encomium fame;--so thou adorn,
Extend, refine and dignify thy lay,
And Indolence, and Syren Pleasure scorn;
Then, at high noon, thy Genius shall display
The splendors promis'd in its shining morn.