The Bard - T. Gray

123 The Bard
The one-hundred and twenty-third poem in the collection. (* additional details below)

NOTES FROM THE BACK OF THE BOOK:

The Bard.: This Ode is founded on a fable that Edward I., after conquering Wales, put the native Poets to death. After lamenting his comrades (st. 2, 3) the Bard prophesies the fate of Edward II. and the conquests of Edward III. (4); his death and that of the Black Prince (5): of Richard II, with the wars of York and Lancaster, the murder of Henry VI. (the meek usurper), and of Edward V. and his brother (6). He turns to the glory and prosperity following the accession of the Tudors (7), through Elizabeth's reign (8): and concludes with a vision of the poetry of Shakespeare and Milton.

Glo'ster: Gilbert de Clare, son-in-law to Edward; Mortimer: one of the Lords Marchers of Wales.

Arvon: the shores of Carnarvonshire opposite Anglesey.

She-wolf: Isabel of France, adulterous Queen of Edward II.; Towers of Julius: the Tower of London, built in part, according to tradition, by Julius Caesar.

bristled boar: the badge of Richard III.

Half of thy heart: Queen Eleanor died soon after the conquest of Wales.

Arthur: Henry VII. named his eldest son thus, in deference to British feeling and legend.