To Mr. Henry Cary, on the Publication of His Sonnets

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To Mr. Henry Cary, on the Publication of His Sonnets

Praised 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 derived who shunned 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
Formed on that arduous model, fully shown
The 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.