Skip to content
Linespedia

To Dr. John Brown - Sonnets

By Algernon Charles Swinburne

Topics: classic

Beyond the north wind lay the land of old     Where men dwelt blithe and blameless, clothed and fed     With joys bright raiment and with loves sweet bread,     The whitest flock of earths maternal fold.     None there might wear about his brows enrolled     A light of lovelier fame than rings your head,     Whose lovesome love of children and the dead     All men give thanks for: I far off behold     A dear dead hand that links us, and a light     The blithest and benignest of the night,     The night of deaths sweet sleep, wherein may be     A star to show your spirit in present sight     Some happier island in the Elysian sea     Where Rab may lick the hand of Marjorie.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Beyond the north wind lay the land of old..."

"To Dr. John Brown - Sonnets" is a quintessential example of Algernon Charles Swinburne's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:Algernon Charles Swinburne

"Beyond the north wind lay the land of old..." by Algernon Charles Swinburne

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

Related lines

"I.     Is the sound a trumpet blown, or a bell for burial tolled,     Whence the whole air vibrates now to the clash of words like swords     Let"

"Kind, wise, and true as truth's own heart,     A soul that here     Chose and held fast the better part     And cast out fear,     Has left us"

"I     Out of hell a word comes hissing, dark as doom,     Fierce as fire, and foul as plague-polluted gloom;     Out of hell wherein the sinless da"

"A faint sea without wind or sun;     A sky like flameless vapour dun;     A valley like an unsealed grave     That no man cares to weep upon,"

"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"

Algernon Charles Swinburne

About Algernon Charles Swinburne

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) was an English poet known for metrical innovation and bold themes. His "Atalanta in Calydon" and "Poems and Ballads" challenged Victorian conventions with their musical intensity and controversial subject matter.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"I.     Is the sound a trumpet blown, or a bell for..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

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