Anna Seward

Sonnet 64. Prais'd be the Poet, who the Sonnet's claim

TO MR. HENRY CARY,
ON THE PUBLICATION OF HIS SONNETS.

Prais'd be the Poet, who the Sonnet's claim,
    Severest of the orders that belong
    Distinct and separate to the Delphic Song,
    Shall venerate, nor its appropriate name
Lawless assume. Peculiar is its frame,
    From him deriv'd, who shunn'd the City Throng,
    And warbled sweet thy rocks and streams among,
    Lonely Valclusa!—and that Heir of Fame,
Our greater Milton, hath, by many a lay
    Form'd on that arduous model, fully shown
    That English Verse may happily display
Those strict energic measures, which alone
    Deserve the name of Sonnet, and convey
    A grandeur, grace and spirit, all their own.