Praised 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 a**ume. Peculiar is its frame From him derived who shunned 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 Formed on that arduous model, fully shown The 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.