FREEDOM : A POEM BY J.R.LOWELL

    

 

                             FREEDOM : A POEM BY J.R.LOWELL

“Freedom” is a short but significant poem written by the American romantic poet James Russell Lowell(22.2.1819-12.8.1891).

             This poet had taken his degree from the Harvard Law School in 1840. During his relatively long professional period, he was a poet, teacher, critic, editor and diplomat.

His family life was rather unfortunate. By 1853, he had four children three of whom died. His wife also passed away. These events depressed him extremely, so much so that he could not reignite his poetic fires and turned to prose.

            Lowell wrote a lot during  his lifetime and earned great reputation. But regrettably enough today he is considered as one of the  minor poets in American literature.

As a poet and editor of several magazines, his main interest was in anti-slavery subjects. “Freedom” is one of those poems where he defines slaves and freemen in his own way.

The poem ‘FREEDOM”  reads as follows:  

“THEY are slaves who fear to speak

For the fallen and the weak ;

They are slaves who will not choose

Hatred, scoffing, and abuse ;

Rather in silence shrink

From the truth they needs must think ;

They are slaves who dare not be

In the right with two or three.”

 

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7^th April 2022                                                 G.R.KANWAL