Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PYGMALION, by WILLIAM BELL SCOTT



Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PYGMALION, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: Mistress of gods and men! I have been thine
Last Line: She sank, by two dread gifts at once oppress'd.
Subject(s): Pygmalion


MISTRESS of gods and men! I have been thine
From boy to man, and many a myrtle rod
Have I made grow upon thy sacred sod,
Nor ever have I pass'd thy white shafts nine
Without some votive offering for the shrine,
Carv'd beryl or chas'd bloodstone; -- aid me now,
And I will live to fashion for thy brow
Heart-breaking priceless things: oh, make her mine."

Venus inclin'd her ear, and through the Stone
Forthwith slid warmth like spring through sapling-stems,
And lo, the eyelid stirr'd, beneath had grown
The tremulous light of life, and all the hems
Of her zon'd peplos shook. Upon his breast
She sank, by two dread gifts at once oppress'd.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...



Home: PoetryExplorer.net