Poems On The Slave Trade - Sonnet I

Robert Southey

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Hold your mad hands! for ever on your plain
Must the gorged vulture clog his beak with blood?
For ever must your Nigers tainted flood
Roll to the ravenous shark his banquet slain?
Hold your mad hands! what daemon prompts to rear
The arm of Slaughter? on your savage shore
Can hell-sprung Glory claim the feast of gore,
With laurels water'd by the widow's tear
Wreathing his helmet crown? lift high the spear!
And like the desolating whirlwinds sweep,
Plunge ye yon bark of anguish in the deep;
For the pale fiend, cold-hearted Commerce there
Breathes his gold-gender'd pestilence afar,
And calls to share the prey his kindred Daemon War.

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Comments2
  • adriannamoney39

    Southey's imagery effectively communicates the tragedy of bloodshed and the horrors of war. The sheer intensity of emotions is astounding as he condemns the inhumanity of slave trade, exploring its devastating consequences on society and the human soul.

    • AlenaTef

      Ths poem is def a harsh critique of slaver trade. "Can hell-sprung Glory claim the feast of gore" hit hard. Makes u think bout de human cost of greed 😢💔