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The poems (1969)

Gray, Thomas (1716-1771)

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[section]
 1. 
1 [Lines Spoken by the Ghost of John Dennis at the Devil Tavern]
 2. 
2 [Translation from Statius,
 3. 
3 [Lines on Beech Trees]
 4. 
4 [Translation from Tasso,
 5. 
5 [Translation from Dante,
 6. 
6 [Translation from Propertius,
expand section7. 
7 Agrippina, a Tragedy
 8. 
8 [Translation] from Propertius,
 9. 
9 Ode on the Spring
 10. 
10 Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College
 11. 
11 Sonnet [on the Death of Mr Richard West]
 12. 
12 Ode to Adversity
 13. 
13 [Hymn to Ignorance.
 14. 
14 Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes
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15 [The Alliance of Education and Government.
 16. 
16 [Tophet]
 17. 
17 Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
 18. 
18 A Long Story
 19. 
19 Stanzas to Mr Bentley
expand section20. 
20 The Progress of Poesy.
expand section21. 
21 The Bard.
 22. 
22 [Ode on the Pleasure Arising from Vicissitude]
 23. 
23 [Epitaph on Mrs Clerke]
 24. 
24 [Epitaph on a Child]
 25. 
25 The Fatal Sisters.
 26. 
26 The Descent of Odin.
 27. 
27 The Triumphs of Owen.
 28. 
28 [The Death of Hoel]
 29. 
29 [Caradoc]
 30. 
30 [Conan]
 31. 
31 [Sketch of his Own Character]
 32. 
32 [Epitaph on Sir William Williams]
 33. 
33 Song I
 34. 
34 Song II
 35. 
35 The Candidate
 36. 
36 William Shakespeare to Mrs Anne,
 37. 
37 [Epitaph on Mrs Mason]
 38. 
38 [Parody on an Epitaph]
 39. 
39 [Invitation to Mason]
 40. 
40 On L[or]d H[olland']s Seat near M[argat]e, K[en]t
 41. 
41 Ode for Music
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FRAGMENTARY AND UNDATED POEMS
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POEMS OF DOUBTFUL AUTHENTICITY

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242

34 Song II

(‘Thyrsis, when we parted, swore’)

Thyrsis, when we parted, swore
Ere the spring he would return.
Ah, what means yon violet flower,
And the buds that deck the thorn?
'Twas the lark that upward sprung!
'Twas the nightingale that sung!
243

Idle notes, untimely green,
Why such unavailing haste?
Western gales and skies serene
Prove not always winter past.
Cease my doubts, my fears to move;
Spare the honour of my love.
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