ABSTRACT
These lines are drafted in ink in Nbk 14 on the same page as a translation of Purgatorio i 1–6 (no. 314) which is done in darker ink. Forman comments that they are an invocation, ‘[p]robably to Liberty’ (Forman 1876–7 iv 122). This suggestion is supported by the cancelled word ‘Freed’ (perhaps the start of ‘Freedom’) at the top of the page, beneath which the words ‘Brightest Offspring of Desire’ and ‘Deity’ are cancelled. Liberty is the subject of several poems S. wrote in late March and early April, including Liberty (no. 300). As such, these lines are likely to date from the same time. Given their indentation and the metre, they may well be an early attempt to address liberty in the form of an ode and thus look forward to OL (no. 322).
