Ultimately, though, the absence of “Absence makes the heart grown fonder” from the Davison collections that I’ve seen and the absence of the phrase from the various early collection of proverbs and sayings that I’ve consulted leave me doubtful about his claim. I don’t know what to make of Stevenson’s assertion that the phrase originated in the Poetical Rhapsody several proverb researchers express respect for his scholarship. I checked several online versions of Davison's Poetical Rhapsody-which differ somewhat in the number of poems and song lyrics they contain-and couldn’t find the phrase “absence makes the heart grow fonder” in any of them. When the waves are round me breaking,/As I pace the deck alone./And my eyes in vain are seeking/Some green leaf to rest upon /What would I not give to wander/Where my old companions dwell?/Absence makes the heart grow fonder./Isle of Beauty, “fare thee well!" ![]() Bayly, appears in The New York Mirror of June 4, 1831. In fact, the full song (and piano score) for “Isle of Beauty, Fare Thee Well,” credited to T. It was Bayly who popularized the words, but Stevenson says they are not of his inspiration, being originally the first line of an anonymous poem which appeared in Davison’s POETICAL RAPSODY of 1602. This is a line from a song ISLE OF BEAUTY (before 1839) by Thomas Haynes Bayly. Linda Flavell & Roger Flavell, Dictionary of Proverbs and Their Origins (1993) offers this background on the phrase: Source of the exact phrase "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" The familiar letters of James Howell published 1907 Has anyone ever unearthed the true identity of the author of this proverb? Indeed the following line could have acted as a source of inspiration. I checked online, and this was the closest example I could find. I'm not terribly convinced, though isn't this merely the same as saying, "I miss him terribly"?Īnother theory I read said that an anonymous poem published in Francis Davison’s Poetical Rhapsody in 1602 is the origin of this proverb. Some claim that Absence makes the heart grow fonder first appeared in William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice (1596-1598): Was Howell the first British author to equate distance and absence with affection and fondness? The sentiment and nostalgia behind those words are extremely touching. I was much enamoured of this letter of friendship when I read it: it appears to be a declaration of deep affection and love addressed to a man - specifically, it was sent from Amsterdam to a certain "Dan. “Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.” In his literary work from 1650, Epistolae Ho-Elianae or Familiar Letters, the polyglot Anglo-Welsh writer James Howell observed that ![]() The history of the proverb is proving quite interesting. I would like to know more about the proverb Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
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