...Works," vii. 451. III.— A POET'S DECORATIONS. 109 *' Why did I write ? what sin to me unknown Dipp'd me in ink, my parents', or my own ? As yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame, I lisp'd in numbers, for the numbers came ; I left no calling for this idle trade, No duty broke, no...

...let me know Great Homer died three thousand years ago. Why did I write? what sin to me unknown Dipp'd me in ink, my parents', or my own? As yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame, I lisp'd in numbers, for the numbers came. I left no calling for this idle trade, No duty broke, no father...

...around the table as be recites.) Why did I write? What sin to me unknown Dipped me in ink, my parent's, or my own? As yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame, I lisped in numbers, for the numbers came I left no calling for this idle trade No duty broke, no father...

...which moves with great speed and variety. The justification of his writingWhy did I write? what sin to me unknown Dipt me in ink, my parents', or my own? which goes on to tell how Walsh, Congreve, and others encouraged him as a youngster, is done with a...

...not. The nearest approach is to try and sec how she has become what she is: Why did I write? What sin to me unknown Dipt me in ink, my parents or my own? It would seem that all writers draw heavily on their early experience but in different ways. Some directly...

...paper blurrers. Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) English poet, critic, soldier Why did 1 write? whose sin to me unknown Dipt me in ink, my parents' or my own? Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet Why did I write? Because I found life unsatisfactory. Tennessee...

...Pope acknowledges that his own poetic gift is a similarly ambiguous thing: Why did I write? what sin to me unknown Dipt me in Ink, my Parents' or my own? As yet a Child, nor yet a Fool to Fame, I lispt in Numbers, for the Numbers came. I left no Calling for this idle trade, No Duty broke, no Father...

...NOEC; NoP; OAEL-1; OBSV; OxBoLi; PoE; PoEL-3; SCV 13 Why did I write? what sin to me unknown Dipp'd ; NoP; OAEL-2; OBD; OBEY; OBNC; PoE; PoRA; PPP; TrCP; TrGrPo; WeW; WGRP; WiR lisp'd in numbers, for the numbers came. 14 The Muse but served to ease some friend, not wife, To help...

...him, so much so that he wonders whether by writing he is doing penance—"Why did I write, what sin to me unknown, / Dipt me in ink, my Parents', or my own?" 5 In much the same way, Hunt conceives his political writing as a vocation so hellish that it might...

...questions about his monstrosity in another, extraordinarily dense couplet: Why did I write? what sin to me unknown Dipt me in Ink, my Parents', or my own? (125-26) This couplet pictures Pope's entry into poetry by conflating three allusions. The first allusion...