The Sonnet

What is a sonnet? ’T is the pearly shell That murmurs of the far-off murmuring sea; A precious jewel carved most curiously; It is a little picture painted well. What is a sonnet? ’T is the tear that fell From a great poet’s hidden ecstasy; A two-edged sword, a star, a song,—ah me! Sometimes a heavy-tolling funeral bell. This was the flame that shook with Dante’s breath, The solemn organ whereon Milton played, And the clear glass where Shakespeare’s shadow falls: A sea this is,—beware who ventureth! For like a fiord the narrow floor is laid Mid-ocean deep to the sheer mountain walls.

Collection: 
English
Richard Watson Gilder

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