To Time
To Time - meaning Summary
Justice Delayed, Vindication Eventual
Byron addresses Time as a moral arbiter who eventually reveals truth and rewards worth while also causing long waits and suffering. The poem praises Time’s justice but complains that vindication arrives slowly, leaving grief and lost youthful joy. In the final lines the speaker acknowledges eventual triumphs of beauty and truth yet expresses anger and defiance toward Time for its delays and the personal cost of waiting.
Read Complete AnalysesTime, Time, who choosest All in the end well; Who severely refusest Fames upon trumpets blown Loud for a day, and alone Makest truth to excel: Shadow of God, slowly Gathering words, long Scorned, to make them holy, And deeds like stars bright That none perceived in the light, Lifting the weak to be strong: Shall I not praise thee, Thou just judge? Yet O What so long stays thee? Why must thy feet halt, While our tears grow salt And our old hopes go! Beauty is throned at last; Truth rings falsehood’s knell; But our strength, our joy is past While our hearts wait thee: Time, Time, I hate thee, Hate thee, and rebel.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.