THE virgin-mountain, wearing like a queen A brilliant crown of everlasting snow, Sheds ruin from her sides; and men below Wonder that aught of aspect so serene Can link with desolation. Smooth and green, And seeming, at a little distance, slow, The waters of the Rhine; but on they go, Fretting and whitening, keener and more keen; Till madness seizes on the whole wide flood, Turned to a fearful thing whose nostrils breathe Blasts of tempestuous smoke, -- wherewith he tries To hide himself, but only magnifies; And doth in more conspicuous torment writhe, Deafening the region in his ireful mood. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO THE RIVER CHARLES by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW NORTHERN EARTH MOOD by WILLIAM HERVEY ALLEN JR. A COMPARISON OF THE LIFE OF MAN by RICHARD BARNFIELD NIGHT AND THE MERRY MAN by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE POSITIVISTS by EDWARD JAMES MORTIMER COLLINS SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD: 2. THE OCEAN STEAMER by CHRISTOPHER PEARSE CRANCH LA VIA NUOVA: 16 by DANTE ALIGHIERI |