
The poem is a translation of an ancient Greek lyric, exploring themes of love and desire. It describes the speaker's longing for a beloved, who has left him. The poem uses imagery and metaphor to convey the intensity of the speaker's emotions.
By Lord Byron · First published 1815 · Genre: Poetry, Romantic, Classical · 271 words
I wish to tune my quivering lyre To deed of fame and notes of fire; To echo, from its rising swell, How heroes fought and nations fell, When Atreus' sons advanced to war, Or Tyrian Cadmus roved afar; But still, to martial strains unknown, My lyre recurs to love alone.
Fired with the hope of future fame, I seek some nobler hero's name; The dying chords are strung anew, To war, to war, my harp is due.
With glowing strings, the epic strain To Jove's great son I raise again; Alcides and his glorious deeds, Beneath whose arm the Hydra bleeds.
All, all in vain; my wayward lyre Wakes silver notes of soft desire.
From Anacreon I is listed on Textopian as a poem by Lord Byron, dated 1815 CE.
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Poetry · Romanticism · Greek Revival · Classical Influence · Elegy · Lyric Poetry · Ode · Ancient Greece · Mythology · Literary Revival · Byronic Hero · Imagery