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Creator:
William Blake, 1757–1827
Text by Thomas Gray, 1716–1771
Title:
A Genius Driving Away "Comus & his midnight-crew..." (Design 95)
Additional Title(s):

Verso: "'Twas Milton struck the deep-ton'd shell, Meek Newton's self bends from his state sublime..." (Design 96)

Ode for Music
Part Of:

Collective Title: The Poems of Thomas Gray

Date:
between 1797 and 1798
Materials & Techniques:
Watercolor with pen and black ink and graphite on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper with inlaid letterpress page
Dimensions:
Sheet: 16 1/2 x 12 3/4 inches (41.9 x 32.4 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:

Inscribed in black ink upper right: "3"; in graphite center: "X"; on verso in black ink upper left: "4"; in graphite center: "+"

Lettered on inlaid page: "ODE FOR MUSIC. | IRREGULAR. | I. | 'HENCE, avaunt, ('tis holy ground) | 'Comus, and his midnight-crew, | 'And Ignorance with looks profound, | 'And dreaming Sloth of palid hue, | 'Mad Sedition's cry profane, | 'Servitude that hugs her chain, | 'Nor in these consecrated bowers | 'Let painted Flatt'ry hide her serpent-train | 'in flowers. | 'Nor"; Lettered on verso, on inlaid page: "136 ODE FOR MUSIC. | 'Nor Envy base, nor creeping Gain | 'Dare the Muse's walk to stain, | 'While bright-eyed Science watches round: | 'Hence, away, 'tis holy ground!' | II. | From yonder realms of empyrean day | Bursts on my ear th' indignant lay: | There sit the sainted Sage, the Bard divine, | The Few, whom Genius gave to shine | Thro' every unborn age, and undiscover'd | clime. | Rapt in celestial transport they, | Yet hither oft a glance from high | They send of tender sympathy | To bless the place, where on their opening soul | First the genuine ardor stole. | 'Twas Milton struck the deep-ton'd shell, | And, as the choral warblings round him swell, | Meek"

Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1992.8.11(48)
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
angel | bodies | chains | chair | clouds | flowers (plants) | garden | lightning | literary theme | lyre | men | mythological figures | religious and mythological subject | scales | sea | serpent | sky | stars | text | vines
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:3689
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Colin Cross, Blake revealed, William Blake : Discovery of a Masterwork , Observer, vol. 12, November 21, 1971, pp. 19-23, V 1245 Detached from Observer colour magazine [ORBIS]

Arnold Fawcus, Unknown Watercolours by William Blake, Illustrated London News, vol. 259, No. 6881, December 25, 1971, pp. 45-46, 49-51, Illustrated London News Historical Archive [ORBIS]


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