A DOUBLE voice cries in the spirit of Man, As though upon a mortal stage he saw Apollo's murmuring daughter, crazed with awe, Change parts, and shout as Clytemnestra can; For in the blaze of life he turns to scan The dim ghost-haunted face of outraged law, And feels the flames rise, and the serpents gnaw Through the gilt tissue of his hope's bright plan; And thus the heavy animal part of him, -- Never at rest to ponder or rejoice, -- Sways, blindly shaken by that twofold voice; Beneath the axe of Pleasure, void and dim The dull brain reels, and the vext senses swim, Or Conscience thrills him with her piercing noise. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FIRST BOOK OF AIRS: SONG 11 by THOMAS CAMPION THE COLISEUM by EDGAR ALLAN POE IMPROMPTU TO LADY WINCHILSEA by ALEXANDER POPE HE WISHES FOR THE CLOTHS OF HEAVEN by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS A PRAYER by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) TO AN OLD SWEETHEART by HARRY RANDOLPH BLYTHE |