Sonnet to George the Fourth
On The Repeal Of Lord Edward Fitzgerald’s Forfeiture
Sonnet to George the Fourth - meaning Summary
Mercy as Royal Power
Byron addresses George IV after the repeal of Lord Edward Fitzgerald’s forfeiture, urging the king to practice mercy as sovereign policy. The speaker recommends withdrawing coercive measures, trusting subjects, and raising the orphaned offspring of the disgraced to win genuine devotion. Mercy, Byron argues, would make the monarch more powerful and beloved: a ruler who rules through the heart rather than force, appearing both omnipotent and liberating to his people.
Read Complete AnalysesTo be the father of the fatherless, To stretch the hand from the throne’s height, and raise His offspring, who expired in other days To make thy sire’s sway by a kingdom less,– This is to be a monarch, and repress Envy into unutterable praise. Dismiss thy guard, and trust thee to such traits, For who would lift a hand, except to bless? Were it not easy, sir, and is’t not sweet To make thyself beloved? and to be Omnipotent by mercy’s means? for thus Thy sovereignty would grow but more complete: A despot thou, and yet thy people free, And by the heart, not hand, enslaving us.
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