Stanzas: When a Man Hath No Freedom
Stanzas: When a Man Hath No Freedom - meaning Summary
Fighting for Freedom Elsewhere
Byron mockingly urges men who lack liberty at home to seek it by fighting for foreign causes. He name-checks classical glories and frames war as a chivalrous venture, then undercuts that rhetoric with blunt outcomes: death or ceremonial reward. The stanza satirizes romantic notions of heroic warfare and the opportunism that turns noble rhetoric into a gamble where service may be repaid only by death or hollow honor.
Read Complete AnalysesWhen a man hath no freedom to fight for at home, Let him combat for that of his neighbours; Let him think of the glories of Greece and of Rome, And get knock’d on the head for his labours. To do good to mankind is the chivalrous plan, And, is always as nobly requited; Then battle for freedom wherever you can, And, if not shot or hang’d, you’ll get knighted.
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