Penny Dreadfuls, 1812 · page 119 of 258
Psyche, and other poems — page 119: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Description This is a running poetry page from what appears to be a narrative poem. The heading "CANTO V." indicates this is the fifth section of a longer work. The text consists of two nine-line stanzas in formal verse that express the speaker's struggle to capture in language the beautiful visions and dreams that visit them in solitude—celestial scenes of angels and harmony that vanish when the speaker attempts to describe them to others. The emotional tone is melancholic, emphasizing the gap between inner inspiration and artistic expression.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CANTO V. DELIGHTFUL visions of my lonely hours ! Charm of my life and solace of my care! Oh! would the muse but lend proportioned powers, And give me language, equal to declare The wonders which she bids my fancy share, When rapt in her to other worlds I fly, See angel forms unutterably fair, » And hear the inexpressive harmony That seems to float on air, and warble through the sky. Might { the swiftly glancing scenes recal ! Bright as the roseate clouds of summer’s eve, The dreams which hold my soul in willing thrall, And half my visionary days deceive, Communicable shape might then receive, And other hearts be ravished with the strain: But scarce I seek the airy threads to weave, When quick confusion mocks the fruitless pain, And all the fairy forms are vanished from my brain. Cconicloooks.comnn