Stanza, Written at Bracknell
The speaker tells an unnamed addressee that their looks and gentle words have disturbed the only rest despair allowed. The speaker imagines having endured an unhappy lot under duty's control, with the soul corroded by its chains but not crushed.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Melancholic Poetry · 78 words
First lines
Thy dewy looks sink in my breast; / Thy gentle words stir poison there; / Thou hast disturbed the only rest / That was the portion of despair! / Subdued to Duty's hard control, / I could have borne my wayward lot: / The chains that bind this ruined soul / Had cankered then-but crushed it not.
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — A single rhymed stanza voices the speaker's distress through direct address to an unnamed person.
- Melancholic Poetry — The speaker describes despair, lost rest, and a ruined soul bound by duty.
Tags
despair · duty · emotional pain · lyric poetry
What this Textopian page supports
Stanza, Written at Bracknell is listed on Textopian as a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Melancholic Poetry
- Length: 78 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
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