THE Muses, Tom, thy Jealous Lovers be, Striving which has the greatest share in thee. Euterpe calls thee hers; such is thy skill In pastoral sonnets and in rural quill. Melpomene claims thee for her own, and cries, Thou hast an excellent vein for elegies. 'Tis true; but then Calliope disdains, Urging thy fancy in heroic strains, Thus all the Nine: Apollo by his laws Sits judge, in person to decide the cause: Beholds thy comedy, approves thy art, And so gives sentence on Thalia's part. To her he dooms thee only of the Nine; What though the rest with jealousy repine? Then let thy comedy, Thalia's daughter, Begin to know her mother Muse by laughter, Out with't, I say, smother not this thy birth, But publish to the world thy harmless mirth. No fretting frontispiece, nor biting satire [nature. Needs usher't forth: born tooth'd? fie! 'tis 'gainst Thou hast th' applause of all: king, queen, and Court, And University, all lik'd thy sport. No blunt preamble in a cynic humour Need quarrel at dislike, and (spite of rumour) Force a more candid censure, and extort An approbation, maugre all the Court. Such rude and snarling prefaces suit not thee; They are superfluous: for thy comedy, Back't with its own worth and the author's name, Will find sufficient welcome, credit, fame. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CASABIANCA by FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS THE MARRIAGE VOW by LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON GOD'S ACRE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW HEALTHFUL OLD AGE, FR. AS YOU LIKE IT by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE MOLLY PITCHER [JUNE 28, 1778] by KATE BROWNLEE SHERWOOD |