Tragic Fragment
Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)
All devil as I am-a damned wretch,
A hardened, stubborn, unrepenting villain,
Still my heart melts at human wretchedness;
And with sincere but unavailing sighs
I view the helpless children of distress:
With tears indignant I behold the oppressor
Rejoicing in the honest man's destruction,
Whose unsubmitting heart was all his crime. -
Ev'n you, ye hapless crew! I pity you;
Ye, whom the seeming good think sin to pity;
Ye poor, despised, abandoned vagabonds,
Whom Vice, as usual, has turn'd o'er to ruin.
Oh! but for friends and interposing Heaven,
I had been driven forth like you forlorn,
The most detested, worthless wretch among you!
O injured God! Thy goodness has endow'd me
With talents passing most of my compeers,
Which I in just proportion have abused-
As far surpassing other common villains
As Thou in natural parts has given me more.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 86 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCCCDBEFGCBBHFGCICJ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 835 |
Words | 145 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
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"Tragic Fragment" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/30601/tragic-fragment>.
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