Love
Shakespeare
A vision as of crowded city streets,
With human life in endless overflow;
Thunder of thoroughfares; trumpets that blow
To battle; clamor, in obscure retreats,
Of sailors landed from their anchored fleets;
Tolling of bells in turrets, and below
Voices of children, and bright flowers that throw
O'er garden-walls their intermingled sweets!
This vision comes to me when I unfold
The volume of the Poet paramount,
Whom all the Muses loved, not one alone;--
Into his hands they put the lyre of gold,
And, crowned with sacred laurel at their fount,
Placed him as Musagetes on their throne.
Cite this poem
MLA
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “Shakespeare.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/longfellow/121/.
Chicago
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “Shakespeare.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/longfellow/121/.
Read this poem with the Codex →