Thought of a Briton on the Subjugation of Switzerland
Thought of a Briton on the Subjugation of Switzerland
Original Text
William Wordsworth, Poems, in Two Volumes (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1807): II, 138. ucb_banc:GLAD-67161759 Internet Archive
1Two Voices are there; one is of the Sea,
2One of the Mountains; each a mighty Voice:
3In both from age to age Thou didst rejoice,
4They were thy chosen Music, Liberty!
5There came a Tyrant, and with holy glee
6Thou fought'st against Him; but hast vainly striven;
7Thou from thy Alpine Holds at length art driven,
9Of one deep bliss thine ear hath been bereft:
10Then cleave, O cleave to that which still is left!
11For, high-soul'd Maid, what sorrow would it be
12That mountain Floods should thunder as before,
13And Ocean bellow from his rocky shore,
14And neither awful Voice be heard by thee!
Notes
8] France overcame Switzerland in 1802. Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1807
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
2011
Rhyme
Form