Impromptu single work   poetry   "I like you friend Parkes, but don't like the morality"
  • Author:agent Charles Harpur http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/harpur-charles
Issue Details: First known date: 1854... 1854 Impromptu
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

J. Normington-Rawling in Charles Harpur, An Australian (1962) describes the circumstances of this poem:

'In May 1854 Harpur delivered a public rebuke to [Henry] Parkes. The latter won the Sydney [New South Wales] seat in the [New South Wales Legislative] Council vacated by [William Charles] Wentworth when he left for England. At the declaration of the poll, Parkes in his speech of thanks to the electors, uttered two sentences that Harpur had to condemn ... He sat down and wrote some lines and a long note.' (195)

Harpur's lengthy note is separately indexed.

Notes

  • Epigraph: 'I have been elected the successor of the greatest man who ever trod this country.'

    'You have made me by our votes the most distinguished (i.e. greatest) commoner in the land.'

    Vide Mr Parkes' closing address from the Hustings.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: Impromtu
First line of verse: "I like you, friends Parkes, but don't like the morality"
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Poetical Works of Charles Harpur Charles Harpur , Elizabeth Perkins (editor), Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1984 Z459555 1984 selected work poetry satire 'This collection represents one version of almost every poem written by Charles Harpur, with the omission of some translations and paraphrases. The verse drama, "Stalwart the Bushranger", and the fragments of the dramatic poem "King Saul" are not included. ... The collection is edited from Harpur's manuscript poems held in the Mitchell Library, Sydney, and from printed copies in colonial newspapers when no manuscript version existed.' (Preface) Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1984 pg. 550
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Works about this Work

Charles Harpur (1813-1868) : Baptised into Independence Charles Harpur , 1998 selected work prose
— Appears in: Our First Republicans : John Dunmore Lang, Charles Harpur, Daniel Henry Deniehy : Selected Writings, 1840-1860 1998; (p. 57-111) Contains a selection of Harpur's prose pieces, many of which originated as notes attached to poems published in newspapers and journals.
Note C. H. (1813-1868) , 1854 single work criticism
— Appears in: The People's Advocate and New South Wales Vindicator , 13 May 1854; (p. 8) This lengthy note is published under Harpur's poem Impromtu in the People's Advocate and New South Wales Vindicator (13 May 1853): 8.
Note C. H. (1813-1868) , 1854 single work criticism
— Appears in: The People's Advocate and New South Wales Vindicator , 13 May 1854; (p. 8) This lengthy note is published under Harpur's poem Impromtu in the People's Advocate and New South Wales Vindicator (13 May 1853): 8.
Charles Harpur (1813-1868) : Baptised into Independence Charles Harpur , 1998 selected work prose
— Appears in: Our First Republicans : John Dunmore Lang, Charles Harpur, Daniel Henry Deniehy : Selected Writings, 1840-1860 1998; (p. 57-111) Contains a selection of Harpur's prose pieces, many of which originated as notes attached to poems published in newspapers and journals.
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Last amended 11 Dec 2012 08:22:33
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