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To William Hayley, Esq.

By William Cowper

Topics: classic

Dear architect of fine chateaux in air,     Worthier to stand for ever, if they could,     Than any built of stone or yet of wood,     For back of royal elephant to bear!     O for permission from the skies to share,     Much to my own, though little to thy good,     With thee (not subject to the jealous mood!)     A partnership of literary ware!     But I am bankrupt now; and doomd henceforth     To drudge, in descant dry, on others lays;     Bards, I acknowledge, of unequalled birth!     But what his commentators happiest praise?     That he has furnishd lights for other eyes,     Which they who need them use, and then despise.

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"Dear architect of fine chateaux in air,..."

This evocative piece by William Cowper, titled "To William Hayley, Esq.", 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:William Cowper

"Dear architect of fine chateaux in air,..." by William Cowper

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

William Cowper

About William Cowper

William Cowper (1731–1800) was an English poet and hymnodist whose work bridges the gap between the Augustan age and Romanticism. His poems "The Task" and "John Gilpin" were enormously popular, and his hymn "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" remains widely sung.

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