Is There a Power That Can Sustain and Cheer
Is There a Power That Can Sustain and Cheer - meaning Summary
Freedom, Memory, Inner Consolation
The poem asks whether a condemned leader imprisoned by a tyrant can find consolation. Isolated in a dungeon and cut off from his country’s public heroism, he nonetheless sustains serenity through inward visions and memories of earlier, open trials. The speaker suggests that recollection of past freedom and the nation’s righteous struggle can cheer and steady the captive, reflecting Wordsworth’s recurring interest in memory, liberty, and moral endurance.
Read Complete AnalysesIs there a power that can sustain and cheer The captive chieftain, by a tyrant's doom, Forced to descend into his destined tomb-- A dungeon dark! where he must waste the year, And lie cut off from all his heart holds dear; What time his injured country is a stage Whereon deliberate Valour and the rage Of righteous Vengeance side by side appear, Filling from morn to night the heroic scene With deeds of hope and everlasting praise:-- Say can he think of this with mind serene And silent fetters? Yes, if visions bright Shine on his soul, reflected from the days When he himself was tried in open light.
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