Synopsis
The Sentimental Sailor, Or, St. Preux To Eloisa: An Elegy In Two Parts, With Notes by Thomas Mercer. This edition presents Mercer’s imaginative English-language elegy inspired by Rousseau’s themes. The poem traces a “sentimental sailor” who roams the globe in search of meaning after losing a beloved, Eloisa, and reflects on love, fate, and the human condition. Part I chronicles the sailor’s early youth, his failed union with Eloisa due to class constraints and parental opposition, and his subsequent plunge into wandering and philosophical lament. The voyage carries him through Europe, the Americas, and the ocean, where he witnesses war, oppression, and the consequences of empire, contrasting antique ideals with modernity. Part II broadens the perspective to political and geographic horizons: the sailor contemplates Peru, Mexico, the Andes, and the Pacific, touching on indigenous cultures, colonial cruelties, and the universal fragility of happiness. The work is accompanied by extensive notes that explain classical and literary allusions and discuss poetic form. The overall aim is a contemplative elegy blending sentiment, travel, and critique.
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