The palace of fantasy : or, the bard's imagery; with other poems by Hardy
The Palace of Fantasy; or, The Bard’s Imagery; with Other Poems by J. S. Hardy is a collection of poetry written in the mid-19th century. It centers on an extended allegorical tour in which personified Fantasy appoints a Bard to guide a crowd through a visionary palace and across the realms of Nature, Art, Learning, and Science. The aim is to delight and morally elevate the careworn, turning everyday drudgery toward wonder,
knowledge, and a nobler destiny. The opening of the work frames the design: Fantasy’s herald summons a weary populace to a hidden palace, where a page attires them and a saloon of living tapestries sets the tone for a grand imaginative voyage. Dan Fantasy addresses the crowd with compassion and assigns the Bard to lead them first through subterranean caverns and grottoes to marvels of the earth, then out to vast prospects. The path forks into four domains; beginning with Nature, the Bard swiftly paints Alpine heights, polar ice, torrents and ocean storms, basalt caves, island lakes, and deep forests, mixing awe with moral reflection and a hope of future peace. Turning to Art, the tour surveys ancient wonders and ruins, then a gallery of masters, music, and sculpture, and glimpses of Milton, Newton, and Shakespeare, before celebrating modern invention from steam power to the printing press. In Learning, the company wanders academies and libraries among the great names of philosophy and letters. In Science, they ascend a night-tower to read the heavens—moon, planets, comets, and the milky way—and the Bard closes this opening movement with reflections on cosmic order and the earth’s harmonious course. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Hardy, John Stockdale, 1793-1849 |
|---|---|
| Title | The palace of fantasy : or, the bard's imagery; with other poems |
| Original Publication | London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1845. |
| Credits | Charlene Taylor, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PR: Language and Literatures: English literature |
| Subject | English poetry -- 19th century |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 76716 |
| Release Date | Aug 22, 2025 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 315 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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