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ReadingWillow structured literacy program for Australian students

An Occasional Prologue,

Lord Byron·1788–1824
Lines:36Movement:Romanticism
Since the refinement of this polish'd ageHas swept immoral raillery from the stage;Since taste has now expung'd licentious wit,Which stamp'd disgrace on all an author writ;Since, now, to please with purer scenes we seek,Nor dare to call the blush from Beauty's cheek;Oh! let the modest Muse some pity claim,And meet indulgence--though she find not fame.Still, not for _her_ alone, we wish respect,_Others_ appear more conscious of defect:To-night no _vet'ran Roscii_ you behold,In all the arts of scenic action old;No COOKE, no KEMBLE, can salute you here,No SIDDONS draw the sympathetic tear;To-night you throng to witness the _début_Of embryo Actors, to the Drama new:Here, then, our almost unfledg'd wings we try;Clip not our _pinions_, ere the _birds can fly_:Failing in this our first attempt to soar,Drooping, alas! we fall to rise no more.Not one poor trembler, only, fear betrays,Who hopes, yet almost dreads to meet your praise;But all our Dramatis Personæ wait,In fond suspense this crisis of their fate.No venal views our progress can retard,Your generous plaudits are our sole reward;For these, each _Hero_ all his power displays,Each timid _Heroine_ shrinks before your gaze:Surely the last will some protection find?None, to the softer sex, can prove unkind:While Youth and Beauty form the female shield,The sternest Censor to the fair must yield.Yet, should our feeble efforts nought avail,Should, _after all_, our best endeavours fail;Still, let some mercy in your bosoms live,And, if you can't applaud, at least _forgive_.