If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,
And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet
Fetter'd, in spite of pained loveliness;
Let us find out, if we must be constrain'd,
Sandals more interwoven and complete
To fit the naked foot of poesy;
Let us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress
Of every chord, and see what may be gain'd
By ear industrious, and attention meet:
Misers of sound and syllable, no less
Than Midas of his coinage, let us be
Jealous of dead leaves in the bay wreath crown;
So, if we may not let the Muse be free,
She will be bound with garlands of her own.
More verses by John Keats
- Otho The Great - Act Iii
- Sonnet Xiv. Addressed To The Same (Haydon)
- Sonnet Xiii. Addressed To Haydon
- On Hearing The Bag-Pipe And Seeing
- Otho The Great - Act Ii