This Day in History Entry #1

February 17th, 2009 by Wordsman

There once was a state called Missouri
Whose admission drove some men to fury
Compromise to maintain
The free states added Maine
But on slav’ry still out was the jury

Posted in This Day in History | 1 Comment »

One Response

  1. A Fan Says:

    Nice. Using the apostrophe to reduce the number of syllables in “slavery” to fit the meter and increase the amount of content in the line is very Miltonian (e.g., “Above th’ Aonian mount, while it pursues
    Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.
    And chiefly thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer
    Before all temples th’ upright heart and pure,
    Instruct me, for thou know’st; thou from the first
    Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread,
    Dove-like sat’st brooding on the vast Abyss,
    And mad’st it pregnant: what in me is dark
    Illumine, what is low raise and support;
    That, to the height of this great argument,
    I may assert Eternal Providence,
    And justify the ways of God to men.”

Leave a Comment

Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.