History & Politics
Italia! oh, no more Italia now!
From Patriotic Effusions of the Italian Poets
Italia! oh, no more Italia now!
Scarce of her form a vestige dost thou wear:
She was a queen with glory mantled--thou,
A slave, degraded, and compell’d to bear,
Chains gird thy hands and feet; deep clouds of care
Darken thy brow, once radiant as thy skies;
And shadows, born of terror and despair--
Shadows of death have dimm’d thy glorious eyes.
Italia! oh, Italia now no more!
For thee my tears of shame and anguish flow;
And the glad strains my lyre was wont to pour
Are changed to dirge-notes: but my deepest woe
Is, that base herds of thine own sons the while
Behold thy miseries with insulting smile.
Codex Note
Translated by Felicia Hemans from Alessandro Marchetti.
Cite this poem
MLA
Hemans, Felicia. “Italia! oh, no more Italia now!” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/hemans/592/.
Chicago
Hemans, Felicia. “Italia! oh, no more Italia now!” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/hemans/592/.
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