Skip to content
Linespedia

Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XXVI - Apology

By William Wordsworth

Topics: classic

Not utterly unworthy to endure Was the supremacy of crafty Rome; Age after age to the arch of Christendom Aerial keystone haughtily secure; Supremacy from Heaven transmitted pure, As many hold; and, therefore, to the tomb Pass, some through fire and by the scaffold some Like saintly Fisher, and unbending More. "Lightly for both the bosom's lord did sit "Upon his throne;" unsoftened, undismayed By aught that mingled with the tragic scene Of pity or fear: and More's gay genius played With the inoffensive sword of native wit, Than the bare axe more luminous and keen.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Not utterly unworthy to endure..."

Exploring the themes of classic, William Wordsworth delivers a powerful performance in "Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XXVI - Apology"... ### 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.

"Not utterly unworthy to endure..." 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.