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Victor And Vanquished

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Topics: classic

As one who long hath fled with panting breath         Before his foe, bleeding and near to fall,         I turn and set my back against the wall,         And look thee in the face, triumphant Death,     I call for aid, and no one answereth;         I am alone with thee, who conquerest all;         Yet me thy threatening form doth not appall,         For thou art but a phantom and a wraith.     Wounded and weak, sword broken at the hilt,         With armor shattered, and without a shield,         I stand unmoved; do with me what thou wilt;     I can resist no more, but will not yield.         This is no tournament where cowards tilt;         The vanquished here is victor of the field.

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Author:Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"As one who long hath fled with panting breath..." by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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"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"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

About Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) was the most popular American poet of the 19th century. His narrative poems—including "Paul Revere's Ride," "Evangeline," and "The Song of Hiawatha"—made poetry accessible to a mass audience and shaped American cultural identity.

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