Ellen Fitzarthur: A Metrical Tale, In Five Cantos (1822)

Ellen Fitzarthur: A Metrical Tale, In Five Cantos is a poem written by the English poet Robert Southey and his wife, Caroline Bowles, in 1822. The poem tells the story of Ellen Fitzarthur, a young woman who is forced to marry a man she does not love. The poem is divided into five cantos, each of which tells a different part of Ellen's story.In the first canto, we are introduced to Ellen and her family. Ellen is a beautiful and intelligent young woman, but her family is poor and struggling. In order to save her family from financial ruin, Ellen is forced to marry a wealthy man named Sir Edward. Despite his wealth, Sir Edward is cruel and abusive, and Ellen is miserable in her marriage.In the second canto, Ellen meets a young man named Arthur, who is kind and compassionate. Ellen and Arthur fall in love, but they are unable to be together because of Ellen's marriage to Sir Edward.In the third canto, Ellen becomes seriously ill and is on the brink of death. Arthur comes to visit her and tells her that he loves her. Ellen realizes that she loves Arthur too, but she knows that they cannot be together.In the fourth canto, Ellen's health begins to improve, and she decides to leave Sir Edward and run away with Arthur. However, Sir Edward finds out about their plan and confronts them. In the ensuing struggle, Sir Edward is killed.In the final canto, Ellen and Arthur are forced to flee the country to avoid prosecution for Sir Edward's murder. They live in exile for many years, but they are happy together. In the end, Ellen dies, and Arthur is left alone to mourn her loss.Ellen Fitzarthur: A Metrical Tale, In Five Cantos is a romantic and tragic poem that explores themes of love, duty, and sacrifice. It is a beautiful and moving work of literature that is still read and appreciated today.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.