October, 1803
October, 1803
Original Text
William Wordsworth, Poems in Two Volumes (1807). The Manuscript of William Wordsworth's Poems, in Two Volumes (1807): A Facsimile (London: British Library, 1984). bib MASS (Massey College Library).
2Even rich men, brave by nature, taint the air
3With words of apprehension and despair:
4While tens of thousands, thinking on the affray,
5Men unto whom sufficient for the day
6And minds not stinted or untilled are given,
7Sound, healthy, children of the God of heaven,
8Are cheerful as the rising sun in May.
9What do we gather hence but firmer faith
10That every gift of noble origin
11Is breathed upon by Hope's perpetual breath;
12That virtue and the faculties within
13Are vital,--and that riches are akin
14To fear, to change, to cowardice, and death?
Notes
1] At this date an invasion of England by the French was expected. The poem was published in 1807. Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1807
RPO poem Editors
W. J. Alexander; William Hall Clawson
RPO Edition
RP (1912), p. 112; RPO 1997.
Rhyme