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A VISION UPON [THIS CONCEIT] OF THE FAERIE QUEENE (1), by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Methought I saw the grave, where laura lay
Last Line: And curst th' accesse of that celestiall theife.
Alternate Author Name(s): Ralegh, Walter
Variant Title(s): Of Spenser's Faery Queene;the Faerie Queen (to Spenser);of Edmund Spenser's Fairy Queen, A Vision Upon This Conceit
Subject(s): Petrarch (1304-1374); Poetry & Poets; Spenser, Edmund (1552-1599); Francesco Petrarca


Methought I saw the grave where Laura lay,
Within that temple where the vestal flame
Was wont to burn; and, passing by that way,
To see that buried dust of living fame,
Whose tomb fair Love, and fairer Virtue kept:
All suddenly I saw the Fairy Queen;
At whose approach the soul of Petrarch wept,
And, from thenceforth, those Graces were not seen:
For they this queen attended; in whose stead
Oblivion laid him down on Laura'''s hearse:
Hereat the hardest stones were seen to bleed,
And groans of buried ghosts the heavens did pierce:
Where Homer'''s spright did tremble all for grief,
And cursed the access of that celestial thief!





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