Skip to content
Linespedia

Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XLVI - Afflictions Of England

By William Wordsworth

Topics: classic

Harp! could'st thou venture, on thy boldest string, The faintest note to echo which the blast Caught from the hand of Moses as it passed O'er Sinai's top, or from the Shepherd-king, Early awake, by Siloa's brook, to sing Of dread Jehovah; then, should wood and waste Hear also of that name, and mercy cast Off to the mountains, like a covering Of which the Lord was weary. Weep, oh! weep, Weep with the good, beholding King and Priest Despised by that stern God to whom they raise Their suppliant hands; but holy is the feast He keepeth; like the firmament his ways: His statutes like the chambers of the deep.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Harp! could'st thou venture, on thy boldest string,..."

"Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XLVI - Afflictions Of England" is a quintessential example of William Wordsworth's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:William Wordsworth

Public Domain: This work is in the public domain and free to use.

"Harp! could'st thou venture, on thy boldest string..." by William Wordsworth

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"Dear to the Loves, and to the Graces vowed, The Queen drew back the wimple that she wore; And to the throng, that on the Cumbrian shore Her lan"

"INTRODUCTION AND CHORUS For thirst of power that Heaven disowns, For temples, towers, and thrones, Too long insulted by the Spoiler's shock,"

"How beautiful the Queen of Night, on high Her way pursuing among scattered clouds, Where, ever and anon, her head she shrouds Hidden from view"

"A bright-haired company of youthful slaves, Beautiful strangers, stand within the pale Of a sad market, ranged for public sale, Where Tiber's s"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

William Wordsworth

About William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) was an English Romantic poet who launched the movement with Samuel Taylor Coleridge in "Lyrical Ballads" (1798). His poems—including "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" and "Tintern Abbey"—championed nature, memory, and the language of common speech.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Dear to the Loves, and to the Graces vowed, The Q..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.