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Heroism

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 (Boston) – 1882 (Concord)

Ruby wine is drunk by knaves,
Sugar spends to fatten slaves,
Rose and vine-leaf deck buffoons;
Thunder-clouds are Jove's festoons,
Drooping oft in wreaths of dread,
Lightning-knotted round his head;
The hero is not fed on sweets,
Daily his own heart he eats;
Chambers of the great are jails,
And head-winds right for royal sails.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 01, 2023

17 sec read
74

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAAABBCCDD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 328
Words 57
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 10
Full analysis for Heroism »

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. more…

All Ralph Waldo Emerson poems | Ralph Waldo Emerson Books

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