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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


DISINTERMENT OF THE HERMES by HERMAN MELVILLE

Poet Analysis

First Line: WHAT FORMS DIVINE IN ADAMANT FAIR
Last Line: STERILE, WITH BRIMMING HANDS.
Subject(s): ARCHEOLOGY; GREECE; PRAXITELES (370-330 B.C.); GREEKS;

What forms divine in adamant fair --
Carven demigod and god,
And hero-marbles rivalling these,
Bide under Latium's sod,
Or lost in sediment and drift
Alluvial which the Grecian rivers sift.

To dig for these, O better far
Than raking arid sands
For gold more barren meetly theirs
Sterile, with brimming hands.



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