English poem
When Philoctetes In The Lemnian Isle
Composed 1827.--Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
When Philoctetes in the Lemnian isle Like a Form sculptured on a monument Lay couched; on him or his dread bow unbent Some wild Bird oft might settle and beguile The rigid features of a transient smile, Disperse the tear, or to the sigh give vent, Slackening the pains of ruthless banishment From his lov'd home, and from heroic toil. And trust that spiritual Creatures round us move, Griefs to allay which Reason cannot heal; Yea, veriest reptiles have sufficed to prove To fettered wretchedness, that no Bastile Is deep enough to exclude the light of love, Though man for brother man has ceased to feel.
More by William Wordsworth
- Weep Not, Belovèd Friends! Nor Let The Air
- What Aspect Bore The Man Who Roved Or Fled
- When Haughty Expectations Prostrate Lie
- When I Have Borne In Memory What Has Tamed
- When, To The Attractions Of The Busy World
- Whence That Low Voice?--A Whisper From The Heart
- Where Lies The Land To Which Yon Ship Must Go?
- Where Long And Deeply Hath Been Fixed The Root