The Project Gutenberg EBook of Original sonnets on various subjects; and
odes paraphrased from Horace, by Anna Seward

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Original sonnets on various subjects; and odes paraphrased from Horace

Author: Anna Seward

Release Date: December 30, 2008 [EBook #27663]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORIGINAL SONNETS--VARIOUS SUBJECTS ***

Produced by Michael Roe and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
produced from scanned images of public domain material
from the Google Print project.)

ORIGINAL SONNETS, &c.

BY ANNA SEWARD.

* * * * *

PRICE SIX SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE.

Entered at Stationers hall.

ORIGINAL SONNETS
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS;

AND
ODES
PARAPHRASED FROM HORACE:

BY
ANNA SEWARD.

[Illustration:

"_Come, bright_ IMAGINATION _come, relume
Thy orient lamp._"

_See Sonnet 1_
]

_LONDON_:

PRINTED FOR G. SAEL, NO. 192, STRAND; AND SOLD BY MR. SWINNEY,
BIRMINGHAM, AND MR. MORGAN, LICHFIELD.

1799.

PREFACE.

Whatever other excellence may be wanting in the ensuing Poems, they
are, with only nine exceptions out of the hundred, strictly Sonnets.
Those nine vary only from the rules of the legitimate Sonnet in that
they rhime _three_, instead of _four_ times in the _first_ part. The
pause is in _them_, as in the _rest_, variously placed through the
course of the verses; and thus they bear no more resemblance than
their associates, to those minute Elegies of twelve alternate rhimes,
closing with a couplet, which assume the name of Sonnet, without any
other resemblance to that order of Verse, except their limitation to
fourteen lines. I never found the quadruple rhimes injurious to the
general expression of the sense, but in the excepted instances. When
it is considered how few they are in so _large_ a number, I flatter
myself the idea will vanish that our language is not capable of doing
justice to the _regular_ Sonnet.

From the Supplement to the Gentleman's Magazine for 1786, I shall
insert Mr. White's definition of the nature and perfection of this
spe