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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
SONNET (5), by GEORGE SANTAYANA Poet Analysis Poet's Biography
First Line: What worth hath man? Upon some craggy hill
Last Line: Till, seeing nothing, he beholds himself.
First Line: What worth hath man? Upon some craggy hill
Last Line: Till, seeing nothing, he beholds himself.
What worth hath man? Upon some craggy hill
Above tumultuous ocean and the din
Of hoarse contention, I will sit and spin
The pleasant wisdom of a world of ill.
I will not frown and say: Thou shalt not kill!
But ponder the inevitable sin,
Until the golden shadows, closing in,
Dissolve the vision and the murmur still.
Death is the certain goal we all shall win,
And death hath blessings that the bosom fill
Better than fickle love and anxious pelf:
Death takes from man the thought that he hath bee
And melts the phantoms that allure the will
Till, seeing nothing, he beholds himself.
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Other Poems of Interest...
ASPIRATIONS OF A COUNTRY LAD by GEORGE SANTAYANA
AT THE CHURCH DOOR by GEORGE SANTAYANA
BEFORE A STATUE OF ACHILLES by GEORGE SANTAYANA
CLASS SONG (WHICH WILL BE SUNG ON THE 22ND OF FEBRUARY) by GEORGE SANTAYANA
COLLEGE DRINKING SONG by GEORGE SANTAYANA
DEDICATION OF THE FIRST SONNETS TO A FRIEND ... by GEORGE SANTAYANA
DEDICATION TO THE LATER SONNETS TO URANIA by GEORGE SANTAYANA