Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


HEROISM by RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Poet Analysis

First Line: RUBY WINE IS DRUNK BY KNAVES
Last Line: AND HEAD-WINDS RIGHT FOR ROYAL SAILS.
Subject(s): HEROISM; HEROES; HEROINES;

Ruby wine is drunk by knaves,
Sugar spends to fatten slaves,
Rose and vine-leaf deck buffoons;
Thunder-clouds are Jove's festoons,
Drooping oft in wreaths of dread,
Lightning-knotted round his head;
The hero is not fed on sweets,
Daily his own heart he eats;
Chambers of the great are jails,
And head-winds right for royal sails.



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