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Creator:
Print made by William Blake, 1757–1827
Hand colored by William Blake, 1757–1827
Text by Edward Young, 1683–1765
Published by Richard Edwards, active 1796–1797
Title:
'Ungrateful, shall we grieve their hovering shades' (Page 55)
Part Of:

Collective Title: Young's Night Thoughts

Date:
1797
Materials & Techniques:
Etching, line engraving, and letterpress, with hand coloring in watercolor on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Dimensions:
Spine: 17 1/2 inches (44.5 cm), Sheet: 16 3/4 x 13 inches (42.5 x 33 cm), Plate: 15 5/8 x 12 3/4 inches (39.7 x 32.4 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:

Lettered inside image: "55 | Pluck'd from the wing of human vanity, | Which makes us stoop from our aerial heights, | And, damp'd with omen of our own decease, | On drooping pinions of ambition lower'd, | Just skim earth's surface, ere we break it up, | O'er putrid earth to scratch a little dust, | And save the world a nuisance: smitten friends | Are angels sent on errands full of love: | For us they languish, and for us they die: | And shall they languish, shall they die in vain? | *Ungrateful, shall we grieve their hovering shades | Which wait the revolution in our hearts? | Shall we disdain their silent soft address, | Their posthumous advice, and pious prayer? | Senseless as herds that graze their hallow'd graves, | Tread under foot their agonies and groans, | Frustrate their anguish, and destroy their deaths? | LORENZO! no; the thought of death indulge; | Give it its wholesome empire--let it reign, | That kind chastiser of thy soul in joy; | Its reign will spread thy glorious conquests far, | And still the tumults of thy ruffled breast: | Auspicious aera! golden days, begin! | The thought of death shall, like a god, inspire. | And why not think on death? is life the theme | Of every thought? and wish of every hour? | And song of every joy? Surprising truth! | The beaten spaniel's fondness not so strange. | To wave the numerous ills that seize on life | As their own property, their lawful prey;"; lower right: "inv. & s. | WB"

Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1992.8.10(27)
Classification:
Prints
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
angel | flowers (plants) | grass | grave | gravestone | literary theme | mourning | pointing | religious and mythological subject | text | thorns | tombstone | vines | women
Access:
Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details.
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:3556
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