Sonnet: 'If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd'

If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,

      And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet

Fetter'd, in spite of pained loveliness;

Let us find out, if we must be constrain'd,

      Sandals more interwoven and complete

To fit the naked foot of poesy;

Let us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress

Of every chord, and see what may be gain'd

      By ear industrious, and attention meet;

Misers of sound and syllable, no less

Than Midas of his coinage, let us be

      Jealous of dead leaves in the bay-wreath crown:

So, if we may not let the Muse be free,

      She will be bound with garlands of her own.