| ITALIA! thou art fallen, though with sheen | |
| Of battle-spears thy clamorous armies stride | |
| From the north Alps to the Sicilian tide! | |
| Ay! fallen, though the nations hail thee Queen | |
| Because rich gold in every town is seen, | |
| And on thy sapphire lake in tossing pride | |
| Of wind-filled vans thy myriad galleys ride | |
| Beneath one flag of red and white and green. | |
| O Fair and Strong! O Strong and Fair in vain! | |
| Look southward where Rome’s desecrated town | |
| Lies mourning for her God-anointed King! | |
| Look heaven-ward! shall God allow this thing? | |
| Nay! but some flame-girt Raphael shall come down, | |
| And smite the Spoiler with the sword of pain.
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Though Oscar might be more well-known for his plays and
novel, his first published material was poetry. His poetry, as does his other
work, embodies his ideals of aesthetics "art for art's sake".
This poem is exhibiting the undeniable influence of the Décadentisme of the late 19th century and does the beautification
of Italy the country I love too.
I believe literature's main purpose in existence is to
induce pleasure, so I could probably never find a better writer than Oscar
Wilde in that point.
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