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A Dead King

By Algernon Charles Swinburne

Topics: classic

Ferdinand II entered Malebolge May 22nd, 1859.     Go down to hell. This end is good to see;     The breath is lightened and the sense at ease     Because thou art not; sense nor breath there is     In what thy body was, whose soul shall be     Chief nerve of hell's pained heart eternally.     Thou art abolished from the midst of these     That are what thou wast: Pius from his knees     Blows off the dust that flecked them, bowed for thee.     Yea, now the long-tongued slack-lipped litanies     Fail, and the priest has no more prayer to sell     Now the last Jesuit found about thee is     The beast that made thy fouler flesh his cell     Time lays his finger on thee, saying, "Cease;     Here is no room for thee; go down to hell."

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"Ferdinand II entered Malebolge May 22nd, 1859...."

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Author:Algernon Charles Swinburne

"Ferdinand II entered Malebolge May 22nd, 1859...." by Algernon Charles Swinburne

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Algernon Charles Swinburne

About Algernon Charles Swinburne

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) was an English poet known for metrical innovation and bold themes. His "Atalanta in Calydon" and "Poems and Ballads" challenged Victorian conventions with their musical intensity and controversial subject matter.

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