Sonnet [on the Death of Mr Richard West]

1 In vain to me the smiling mornings shine,
2 And reddening Phoebus lifts his golden fire:
3 The birds in vain their amorous descant join,
4 Or cheerful fields resume their green attire:
5 These ears, alas! for other notes repine,
6 A different object do these eyes require.
7 My lonely anguish melts no heart but mine;
8 And in my breast the imperfect joys expire.
9 Yet morning smiles the busy race to cheer,
10 And new-born pleasure brings to happier men:
11 The fields to all their wonted tribute bear;
12 To warm their little loves the birds complain.
13 I fruitless mourn to him that cannot hear,
14 And weep the more because I weep in vain.

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About this text

Title (in Source Edition): Sonnet [on the Death of Mr Richard West]
Author: Thomas Gray
Themes:
Genres: sonnet

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Source edition

Gray, Thomas, 1716-1771. Thomas Gray: English poems. Web. Oxford: Thomas Gray Archive, 2002. http://www.thomasgray.org/texts/poems.shtml

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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.

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