Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE: THE POWER OF MUSIC, by SAMUEL LISLE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE: THE POWER OF MUSIC, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When orpheus went down to the regions below
Last Line: Such power has music in hell.
Subject(s): Music & Musicians


WHEN Orpheus went down to the regions below,
Which men are forbidden to see,
He tun'd up his lyre, as old histories shew,
To set his Eurydice free.
All hell was astonished a person so wise
Should rashly endanger his life,
And venture so far; but how vast their surprise,
When they heard that he came for his wife.

To find out a punishment due to the fault
Old Pluto long puzzled his brain;
But hell had not torments sufficient he thought,
So he gave him his wife back again.
But pity succeeding soon vanquished his heart;
And, pleased with his playing so well,
He took her again in reward of his art,
Such power has music in hell.





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