Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A NATION'S POWER NOT IN ARMIES, by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: The power of armies is a visible thing Last Line: In every nook a lip that it may cheer. Subject(s): Soldiers | ||||||||
The power of Armies is a visible thing, Formal, and circumscribed in time and space; But who the limits of that power shall trace Which a brave People into light can bring Or hide, at will, -- for freedom combating By just revenge inflamed? No foot may chase, No eye can follow, to a fatal place That power, that spirit, whether on the wing Like the strong wind, or sleeping like the wind Within its awful caves. -- From year to year Springs this indigenous produce far and near; No craft this subtle element can bind, Rising like water from the soil, to find In every nook a lip that it may cheer. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ALL ARMIES ARE THE SAME by ERNEST HEMINGWAY ABSENT WITH OFFICIAL LEAVE by RANDALL JARRELL PORT OF EMBARKATION by RANDALL JARRELL THE CONFESSION OF ST. JIM-RALPH by DENIS JOHNSON OPERATION MEMORY by DAVID LEHMAN A JEWISH FAMILY; IN A SMALL VALLEY OPPOSITE ST. GOAR by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH |
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