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The Gods Are Dead?

By William Ernest Henley

Topics: classic

The gods are dead? Perhaps they are! Who knows?     Living at least in Lempriere undeleted,     The wise, the fair, the awful, the jocose,     Are one and all, I like to think, retreated     In some still land of lilacs and the rose.     Once high they sat, and high o'er earthly shows     With sacrificial dance and song were greeted.     Once . . . long ago. But now, the story goes,     The gods are dead.     It must be true. The world, a world of prose,     Full-crammed with facts, in science swathed and sheeted,     Nods in a stertorous after-dinner doze!     Plangent and sad, in every wind that blows     Who will may hear the sorry words repeated:-     'The Gods are Dead!'

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"The gods are dead? Perhaps they are! Who knows?..."

Exploring the themes of classic, William Ernest Henley delivers a powerful performance in "The Gods Are Dead?"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:William Ernest Henley

"The gods are dead? Perhaps they are! Who knows?..." by William Ernest Henley

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William Ernest Henley

About William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) was an English poet, critic, and editor best known for his poem "Invictus" ("I am the master of my fate / I am the captain of my soul"). Written while recovering from tuberculosis of the bone, it has become one of the most quoted poems of courage and resilience.

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"What have I done for you,     England, my England?..."

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