Victor and Vanquished
The speaker compares his confrontation with Death to a wounded fighter's last stand against a wall. Alone and unable to resist further, he refuses to yield and declares the vanquished the victor.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Sonnet, Philosophical Poetry · 175 words
First lines
As one who long hath fled with panting breath / Before his foe, bleeding and near to fall, / I turn and set my back against the wall, / And look thee in the face, triumphant Death, / I call for aid, and no one answereth; / I am alone with thee, who conquerest all; / Yet me thy threatening form doth not appall, / For thou art but a phantom and a wraith. / Wounded and weak, sword broken at the hilt, / With armor shattered, and without a shield, / I stand unmoved; do with me what thou wilt; / I can resist no more, but will not yield. / This is no tournament where cowards tilt; / The vanquished here is victor of the field.
What this Textopian page supports
Victor and Vanquished is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Sonnet, Philosophical Poetry
- Length: 175 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Victor and Vanquished by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Sonnet — Fourteen rhymed lines turn from a solitary confrontation with Death to a declaration of victory through refusal to yield.
- Philosophical Poetry — The speaker distinguishes exhausted resistance from surrender, calling the vanquished victorious in his confrontation with Death.
Tags
mortality · defiance · personified death · sonnet