Sonnet On Approaching Italy Poem by Oscar Wilde

Sonnet On Approaching Italy

Rating: 2.9


I REACHED the Alps: the soul within me burned
Italia, my Italia, at thy name:
And when from out the mountain's heart I came
And saw the land for which my life had yearned,
I laughed as one who some great prize had earned:
And musing on the story of thy fame
I watched the day, till marked with wounds of flame
The turquoise sky to burnished gold was turned,
The pine-trees waved as waves a woman's hair,
And in the orchards every twining spray
Was breaking into flakes of blossoming foam:
But when I knew that far away at Rome
In evil bonds a second Peter lay,
I wept to see the land so very fair.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Michael Walker 08 August 2020

Quite an impressive sonnet, using the visual sense to describe Italy, then a contrast in the last three lines. A reference of some kind to the pope.

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Subhas Chandra Chakra 02 September 2016

And when from out the mountain's heart I came And saw the land for which my life had yearned, I laughed as one who some great prize had earned: And musing on the story of thy fame Beautiful poetry. Shows his deep yearning to visit Italy.

1 0 Reply
Fabrizio Frosini 17 May 2016

'' And saw the land for which my life had yearned, I laughed as one who some great prize had earned: '' expressing beautifully the desire of any great Artist to visit Italy and see its 'past glories'

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Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

Dublin / Ireland
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