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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ECCLESIASTICAL SONNETS: PART 2: 36. TROUBLES REFORMATION by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Poet Analysis

First Line: AID, GLORIOUS MARTYRES, FROM YOUR FIELDS OF LIGHT
Last Line: AND VICTORY SICKENS, IGNORANT WHERE TO REST!
Subject(s): REFORMATION;

AID, glorious Martyrs, from your fields of light,
Our mortal ken! Inspire a perfect trust
(While we look round) that Heaven's decrees are just:
Which few can hold committed to a fight
That shows, ev'n on its better side, the might
Of proud Self-will, Rapacity, and Lust,
'Mid clouds enveloped of polemic dust,
Which showers of blood seem rather to incite
Than to allay. Anathemas are hurled
From both sides; veteran thunders (the brute test
Of truth) are met by fulminations new --
Tartarean flags are caught at, and unfurled --
Friends strike at friends -- the flying shall pursue --
And Victory sickens, ignorant where to rest!




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