Italia
Italia - meaning Summary
Patriotic Lament and Hope
The poem mourns Italy’s moral and spiritual decline despite visible splendour and unity. Wilde contrasts military pomp, wealth, and a unified flag with the desecration of Rome and the loss of rightful rule. The speaker laments this apparent triumph of the Spoiler while asserting a prophetic hope that a divine or angelic avenger—"a flame-girt Raphael"—will come to punish wrong and restore justice.
Read Complete AnalysesITALIA! thou art fallen, though with sheen Of battle-spears thy clamorous armies stride From the north Alps to the Sicilian tide! Ay! fallen, though the nations hail thee Queen Because rich gold in every town is seen, And on thy sapphire lake in tossing pride Of wind-filled vans thy myriad galleys ride Beneath one flag of red and white and green. O Fair and Strong! O Strong and Fair in vain! Look southward where Rome's desecrated town Lies mourning for her God-anointed King! Look heaven-ward! shall God allow this thing? Nay! but some flame-girt Raphael shall come down, And smite the Spoiler with the sword of pain.
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