[Page 25]

ON HEARING THE MESSIAH

PERFORMED IN GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL, SEPT. 18, 1835.

1 Oh, stay, harmonious and sweet sounds, that die
2 In the long vaultings of this ancient fane!
3 Stay, for I may not hear on earth again
4 Those pious airs that glorious harmony;
5 Lifting the soul to brighter orbs on high,
6 Worlds without sin or sorrow!
6 Ah, the strain
7 Has died ev'n the last sounds that lingeringly
8 Hung on the roof ere they expired!
8 And I,
9 Stand in the world of strife, amidst a throng,
10 A throng that recks not or of death, or sin!
11 Oh, jarring scenes! to cease, indeed, ere long;
12 The worm hears not the discord and the din;
13 But he whose heart thrills to this angel song,
14 Feels the pure joy of heaven on earth begin! [Page 26]

Text

  • TEI/XML (XML - 68K / ZIP - 6.6K) / ECPA schema (RNC - 357K / ZIP - 73K)
  • Plain text [excluding paratexts] (TXT - 716 / ZIP - 634 )

Facsimile (Source Edition)

(Page images digitized from a copy held at the University of California Libraries.)

Images

PDF

All Images (PDF - 466K)

About this text

Title (in Source Edition): ON HEARING “THE MESSIAH” PERFORMED IN GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL, SEPT. 18, 1835.
Themes:
Genres: sonnet

Text view / Document view

Source edition

Bowles, William Lisle, 1762-1850. The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, Vol. I. With Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by George Gilfillan. Edinburgh: James Nichol, 9 North Bank Street..., 1855, pp. 25-26.  (Page images digitized from a copy held at the University of California Libraries.)

Editorial principles

Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. This ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

Other works by William Lisle Bowles