Analysis of Poems On The Slave Trade - Sonnet III

Robert Southey 1774 (Bristol) – 1843 (London)



Oh he is worn with toil! the big drops run
 Down his dark cheek; hold--hold thy merciless hand,
 Pale tyrant! for beneath thy hard command
O'erwearied Nature sinks. The scorching Sun,
As pityless as proud Prosperity,
 Darts on him his full beams; gasping he lies
 Arraigning with his looks the patient skies,
While that inhuman trader lifts on high
 The mangling scourge. Oh ye who at your ease
 Sip the blood-sweeten'd beverage! thoughts like these
Haply ye scorn: I thank thee Gracious God!
 That I do feel upon my cheek the glow
Of indignation, when beneath the rod
 A sable brother writhes in silent woe.


Scheme ABBACDDEFFGHGH
Poetic Form
Metre 1111110111 11111111001 1101011101 11010101 11110100 1111111011 11110101 1101010111 01001111111 10110100111 111111101 1111011101 101010101 0101010101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 603
Words 107
Sentences 8
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 476
Words per stanza (avg) 105
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
92

Robert Southey

Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843. more…

All Robert Southey poems | Robert Southey Books

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