Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO HAYDN, by THOMAS HOLCROFT



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO HAYDN, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Who is the mighty master that can trace / the eternal lineaments of nature's fac
Last Line: And consonance sublime amid confusion hears.
Subject(s): Fights; Haydn, Joseph (1732-1809); Judgment Day; Thunder; War; End Of The World; Doomsday; Fall Of Man


WHO is the mighty master that can trace
Th' eternal lineaments of Nature's face?
Mid endless dissonance, what mortal ear
Could e'er her peal of perfect concord hear?
Answer, oh, Haydn! strike the magic chord!
And, as thou strik'st, reply and proof afford.
Whene'er thy genius, flashing native fire,
Bids the soul tremble with the trembling lyre,
The hunter's clatt'ring hoof, the peasant-shout,
The warrior-onset, or the battle's rout,
Din, clamour, uproar, murder's midnight knell,
Hyena-shrieks, the war-whoop, scream and yell—
All sounds, however mingled, strange, uncouth,
Resolve to fitness, system, sense and truth!
To others, noise and jangling; but to thee
'Tis one grand solemn swell of endless harmony.
When dark and unknown terrors intervene,
And men aghast survey the horrid scene;
Then, when rejoicing fiends flit, gleam and scowl,
And bid the huge tormented tempest howl;
When fire-fraught thunders roll, and whirlwinds rise,
And earthquakes bellow to the frantic skies,
Till the distracted ear, in racking gloom,
Suspects the wreck of worlds, and gen'ral doom:
Then Haydn stands, collecting Nature's tears,
And consonance sublime amid confusion hears.





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