William Hone, Poem: Sonnet, 1797

This sonnet first appeared over the signature "W. S. Hone," in The Monthly Visitor and Pocket Companion (London, 1797, p. 98 in the Poetry section entitled "Parnassian Garland"). If, as seems likely, the poem was written as dated, 25 August 1797, then it was one product of Hone's years spent in the vicinity of Chatham where he met his friend John Venning and where he seems to have enjoyed what little free time he had outside of the city. The sonnet itself is reminiscent of the work of Bowles or (especially) Charlotte Smith. In the original publication the sonnet has only the generic title, "Sonnet." A Huntington Library copy in Hone's hand, obviously produced much later (after 1819), bears the more extended title "Sonnet by the Author of The Political House that Jack Built". The present text is taken from the original 1797 publication. The few differences between the two are not significant (e.g. slight alterations in capitalization, and exchanging "that" for "which" in lines two and three, and "shelving" for "shelvy" in line 10.) [return]