Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CHRIST AND ORPHEUS (1), by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CHRIST AND ORPHEUS (1), by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: What means this vain ideal of our lord
Last Line: Thy wisdom match messias with a shade?
Subject(s): Christianity; Orphism (mystic Greek Cult)


What means this vain ideal of our Lord,
With 'Orpheus' underwritten? Couldst thou see
With eyes of faith the Incarnate Deity,
That faith a nobler title would accord
Than this, whereat no Christian fancy warms;
Thou would'st not score the mythic harper's name
Beneath the fallen head and outstretched arms,
Nor seem to blink our dear Redeemer's claim
To His own cognizance and proper fame;
The sorrowing manhood of the King of kings,
The double nature, and the death of shame,
The tomb - the rising - are substantial things,
Irrelevant to Orpheus. What hath made
Thy wisdom match Messias with a shade?





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