Composed August, 1802.--Published 1807 [A]
Toussaint, the most unhappy man of men! [B]
Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough
Within thy hearing, or thy head be now
Pillowed in some deep dungeon's earless den;--[1]
O miserable Chieftain! where and when
Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not; do thou
Wear rather in thy bonds a cheerful brow:
Though fallen thyself, never to rise again,
Live, and take comfort. [2] Thou hast left behind
Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies;
There's not a breathing of the common wind
That will forget thee; thou hast great allies;
Thy friends are exultations, agonies,
And love, and man's unconquerable mind. [C]
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VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:1827.
Whether the rural milk-maid by her cow
Sing in thy hearing, or thou liest now
Alone in some deep dungeon's earless den, 1803.
Whether the all-cheering sun be free to shed
His beams around thee, or thou rest thy head
Pillowed in some dark dungeon's noisome den, 1815.
Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough
Within thy hearing, or Thou liest now
Buried in some deep dungeon's earless den;--1820.]
[Variant 2:1807.
... Yet die not; be thou
Life to thyself in death; with chearful brow
Live, loving death, nor let one thought in ten
Be painful to thee ... 1803.]
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FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: But previously printed in 'The Morning Post' of February 2,1803, under the signature W. L. D.--Ed.]
[Footnote B: Compare Massinger, 'The Bondman', act I. scene iii. l. 8:
'Her man of men, Timoleon.'
Ed.]
[Footnote B: Compare Rowe's 'Tamerlane', iii. 2:
'But to subdue the unconquerable mind.'
Also Gray's poem 'The Progress of Poesy', ii. 2, l. 10:
'Th' unconquerable Mind, and Freedom's holy flame.'
Ed.]
Francois Dominique Toussaint (who was surnamed L'Ouverture), the child of African slaves, was born at St. Domingo in 1743. He was a Royalist in political sympathy till 1794, when the decree of the French convention, giving liberty to the slaves, brought him over to the side of the Republic. He was made a general of division by Laveux, and succeeded in taking the whole of the north of the island from the English. In 1796 he was made chief of the French army of St. Domingo, and first the British commander, and next the Spanish, surrendered everything to him. He became governor of the island, which prospered under his rule. Napoleon,however, in 1801, issued an edict re-establishing slavery in St.Domingo. Toussaint professed obedience, but showed that he meant to resist the edict. A fleet of fifty-four vessels was sent from France to enforce it. Toussaint was proclaimed an outlaw. He surrendered, and was received with military honours, but was treacherously arrested and sent to Paris in June 1802, where he died, in April 1803, after ten months' hardship in prison. He had been two months in prison when Wordsworth addressed this sonnet to him.--Ed.
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THE POETICAL WORKS OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH - VOL. 2 (Completed)
ClassicsThe poetical works of William Wordsworth, edited by William Knight.
