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- 1816
- IF BY DULL RHYMES OUR ENGLISH MUST BE CHAIN'D
- by John Keats
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- If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,
- And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet
- Fetter'd in spite of pained loveliness,
- Let us find out, if we must be constrain'd,
- Sandals more interwoven and complete
- To fit the naked foot of Poesy:
- Let us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress
- Of every chord, and see what may be gain'd
- By ear industrious and attention meet;
- Misers of sound and syllable, no less
- Than Midas of his coinage, let us be
- Jealous of dead leaves in the bay wreath crown;
- So, if we may not let the Muse be free,
- She will be bound with garlands of her own.
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- THE END
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