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Sonnet: If By Dull Rhymes Our English Must Be Chain'd

By John Keats

Topics: classic

If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,     And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet     Fetter'd, in spite of pained loveliness;     Let us find out, if we must be constrain'd,     Sandals more interwoven and complete     To fit the naked foot of poesy;     Let us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress     Of every chord, and see what may be gain'd     By ear industrious, and attention meet:     Misers of sound and syllable, no less     Than Midas of his coinage, let us be     Jealous of dead leaves in the bay wreath crown;     So, if we may not let the Muse be free,     She will be bound with garlands of her own.

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"If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,..."

This evocative piece by John Keats, titled "Sonnet: If By Dull Rhymes Our English Must Be Chain'd", represents a masterful exploration of classic. The lines capture a profound emotional resonance... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:John Keats

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"If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,..." by John Keats

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John Keats

About John Keats

John Keats (1795–1821) was an English Romantic poet whose odes—"Ode to a Nightingale," "Ode on a Grecian Urn," "To Autumn"—are among the most celebrated in the language. Despite dying of tuberculosis at 25, he produced work of extraordinary sensory richness and philosophical depth.

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