The Martial Courage of a Day Is Vain
The Martial Courage of a Day Is Vain - context Summary
After the Danube Battle
Written in response to the Battle of the Danube, the poem questions the value of fleeting martial glory. Wordsworth calls battlefield triumph an "empty noise" unless sustained by hope and fortitude. He notes the Danube bearing slain soldiers, condemns Austria as having "sold" a daughter of the throne, and mourns the murdered Tyrolean champion. The poem links military spectacle to moral failure and political betrayal.
Read Complete AnalysesTHE martial courage of a day is vain, An empty noise of death the battle's roar, If vital hope be wanting to restore, Or fortitude be wanting to sustain, Armies or kingdoms. We have heard a strain Of triumph, how the labouring Danube bore A weight of hostile corses; drenched with gore Were the wide fields, the hamlets heaped with slain. Yet see (the mighty tumult overpast) Austria a daughter of her Throne hath sold! And her Tyrolean Champion we behold Murdered, like one ashore by shipwreck cast, Murdered without relief. Oh! blind as bold, To think that such assurance can stand fast!
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