William Tell

William Cullen Bryant 1794 (Cummington) – 1878 (New York City)



A SONNET.

Chains may subdue the feeble spirit, but thee,
Tell, of the iron heart! they could not tame!
For thou wert of the mountains; they proclaim
The everlasting creed of liberty.
That creed is written on the untrampled snow,
Thundered by torrents which no power can hold,
Save that of God, when he sends forth his cold,
And breathed by winds that through the free heaven blow.
Thou, while thy prison walls were dark around,
Didst meditate the lesson Nature taught,
And to thy brief captivity was brought
A vision of thy Switzerland unbound.
The bitter cup they mingled, strengthened thee
For the great work to set thy country free.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

33 sec read
136

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBACDDCEFFEAA
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 629
Words 113
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. more…

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