To William E. Channing
To William E. Channing - fact Summary
Dedicated to William Channing
Longfellow wrote this poem to honor his friend and fellow poet William Ellery Channing. He praises Channing’s bold moral voice, likening it to Luther and a prophetic command to write, and urges him to continue exposing social evils. The speaker frames Channing’s work as a righteous struggle against entrenched lies and oppression, using apocalyptic imagery to underline the urgency and moral seriousness of his testimony.
Read Complete AnalysesThe pages of thy book I read, And as I closed each one, My heart, responding, ever said, "Servant of God! well done!" Well done! Thy words are great and bold; At times they seem to me, Like Luther's, in the days of old, Half-battles for the free. Go on, until this land revokes The old and chartered Lie, The feudal curse, whose whips and yokes Insult humanity. A voice is ever at thy side Speaking in tones of might, Like the prophetic voice, that cried To John in Patmos, "Write!" Write! and tell out this bloody tale; Record this dire eclipse, This Day of Wrath, this Endless Wail, This dread Apocalypse!
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