"While pensive poets painful vigils keep, Sleepless themselves to give their readers sleep."
— The Dunciad

January 1, 1970

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Added on April 10, 2026
Unverified quote
0 likes
PoetryWorks by Alexander PopeSatire in fiction
Original Language: English

Sources

Book I, line 93. Compare: "As pleasing are thy verses to us, divine Poet, as sleep is to the wearied." (Tale tuum carmen nobis, divine poeta, / Quale sopor fessis.) Virgil, Eclogues, V, 45. Meant as a compliment in the original, but sometimes also used ironically in speaking of poets who give their readers sleep.