Isles of Greece, The Analysis

The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece!

Where burning Sappho loved and sung,

Where grew the arts of war and peace,

Where Delos rose, and Phoebus

sprung!

Eternal summer gilds them yet,

But all, except their sun, is set...



The mountains look on Marathon--

And Marathon looks on the sea;

And musing there an hour alone,

I dreamed that Greece might still be free;

For standing on the Persians' grave,

I could not deem myself a slave.



A king sat on the rocky brow

Which looks o'er sea-born Salamis;

And ships, by thousands, lay below,

And men in nations--all were his!

He counted them at break of day--

And when the sun set, where were they?



And where are they? And where art thou?

My country? On thy voiceless shore

The heroic lay is tuneless now--

The heroic bosom beats no more!

And must thy lyre, so long divine,

Degenerate into hands like mine?



'Tis something, in the dearth of fame,

Though linked among a fettered race,

To feel at least a patriot's shame,

Even as I sing, suffuse my face;

For what is left the poet here?

For Greeks a blush--for Greece a tear....



Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!

Our virgins dance beneath the shade--

I see their glorious black eyes shine;

But gazing on each glowing maid,

My own the burning teardrop laves,

To think such breasts must suckle slaves.



Place me on Sunium's marbled steep,

Where nothing, save the waves and I,

May hear our mutual murmurs sweep;

There, swanlike, let me sing and die:

A land of slaves shall ne'er be mine--

Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!

.: :.

In ‘The Isles of Greece’ he writes of the culture and of the history of the Greeks, honoring their ancestry and rich heritage. A Greek reading this poem can tell that Byron had lived in Greece and experienced the country first hand, he uses historical and mythological events correctly and captures the passionate voice of the Greek people. Essentially one could say that Byron fiery temperament found its home in the angry mountains and seas of Hellas and he belonged.
From: x begins the poem with two stanzas that takes us back the past glory and valor of the ancient world: “But all, except their sun, has set”. The western world studies and treasures the products and the light shed by this lost world but “their birth place alone is mute”, no more is it at its peak. In the third stanza we have Byron’s first direct reference to the independence efforts, he writes “I dream’d that Greece might yet be free”, while standing at the locations of a tremendous battle, such as that of Marathon or that of Salamina (refer to notes below) -described in the fourth stanza-, he feels that this land cannot be enslaved. A revolt must take place.
On from the fifth stanza Byron goes on a disappointed and angry outburst about the lack of action prior to this point in history, this is a perspective he shared with the members of the Resistance. How could our ancestors have fought and died so courageously for our freedom yet we seem unable to? “The heroic bosom beats no more!”, “For Greeks a blush- for Greece a tear”. The martyrs of ancient Greece would still return to die again for the land ‘“we come, we come!” Tis but the living who are dumb.’ His anger may seem out of place when one considers the events that did occur and how heroically the Revolution was fought by men, women and children but it is important to understand that Byron wrote this poem in 1819 and it was published in 1821, the first year of the official Revolution. Byron’s poem is included in a variety of pre-war literature written to bring awareness about the issue to the world.
Over the next few stanzas Byron presents a few more arguments for the revolution. Was this nation blessed with so much culture and skill to just stay enslaved? He uses the examples of the Pyrrhic phalanx (a military formation used by the ancient Greeks) and Cadmus, who according to history was the Phoenician prince from whom the Greeks got the idea for the formation of an alphabet. Byron also speaks of the Greek tyrants of old, he refers to Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, and Miltiades, the general who lead the Athenians to the victorious Marathon battle. Byron points out “A tyrant; but our masters then/ Were still, at least, our countrymen.”
Stanza thirteen represents a change in Byron’s attitude and approach. There were examples of sacrifice equal to that of the ancient world, such is the residents of Suli (refer to notes below), and there still “exists the remnant of a line”. “Trust not for freedom to the Franks” is a very important political statement Byron is making, the Greek rebel troops waited for years on end for assistance from the major powers of Europe, but this assistance only came toward the end when political interests came into play… Byron is encouraging the Greeks to become aware of the fact that they are alone in this battle. The last three verses of the poem are an expression of determination and the birth of hope in the narrators mind. He finally puts down his glass of wine and is the witness to the fact that his country will be free again.

| Posted on 2009-05-19 | by a guest