William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
London, 1802
1Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
2England hath need of thee: she is a fen
3Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
4Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
5Have forfeited their ancient English dower
6Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
7Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
8And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
9Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
10Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
11Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
12So didst thou travel on life's common way,
13In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
14The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: William Wordsworth, Poems in Two Volumes (1807). See The Manuscript of William Wordsworth's Poems, in Two Volumes (1807): A Facsimile (London: British Library, 1984). bib MASS (Massey College Library, Toronto).
RPO poem editor: J. R. MacGillivray
RP edition: 3RP 2.373.
Recent editing: 2:2002/3/15*1:2002/11/3
Form: sonnet
Rhyme: abbaabbacddece
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