Toussaint – the most unhappy of men! –Whether the rural milkmaid by her cowSing in thy hearing, or though liest nowAlone in some deep dungeon's earless den,Oh miserable Chieftain, where and whenWilt thou find patience? Yet die not! Do thouWear rather in thy bonds a cheerful brow;Though fallen thyself, never to rise again,Live, and take comfort! Thou hast left behindPowers that will work for thee – air, earth, and skies –There's not a breathing of the common windThat will forget thee! Thou hast great allies:Thy friends are exultations, agonies,And love, and man's unconquerable mind.Toyin Falola, You will never be forgottenRemember that in Yoruba epistemology,The Foundations of the forces of nature areair, earth and skies. I pray for your healing.Remain blessed.I amEmmanuel Babatunde
Summary
'To Toussaint L'Ouverture' by William Wordsworth is a sonnet that describes how Louverture lives in the hearts of men even after his sad demise.
Wordsworth wrote this poem just a few months before the Haitian anti-slavery and anti-colonial revolutionary, Toussaint L'Ouverture's death. The poet sees him as a part of nature. His demise means to him a process of assimilation into the air, earth, and sky. However, the poet thinks he can hear his voice. Hence, he asks him whether he can hear the song of the milkmaid. It can also be possible that he is buried inside some deep dungeon. Those who come to redeem mankind never die. So, Toussaint remains everywhere. None can forget his contribution to humanity. Lastly, the poet eulogizes him saying his friends are exultations, agonies, love, and the "unconquerable mind."
Structure
Wordsworth wrote this sonnet in praise of the revolutionary leader Louverture. This poem follows the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet form. Hence, the poet divides this poem into two parts. The first part comprising eight lines (octave) contains the ABBA ABBA rhyme scheme. While the sestet contains the CDCDDC rhyme scheme. So, the second section of the poem differs a little from the Italian model concerning the rhyme scheme. However, like any conventional sonnet, this poem is also composed in iambic pentameter. Along with that, there are some metrical variations in this poem. For example, the first line of the sonnet is in iambic tetrameter.
Literary Devices
This sonnet, 'To Toussaint L'Ouverture' begins with an apostrophe. In the beginning, invoking his spirit, the poet says he is "the most unhappy of men!" The quoted phrase contains hyperbole. Thereafter, one can find the use of alliteration in the phrase, "deep dungeon's". Here, the poet uses the repetition of the hard "d' sound for creating an internal rhythm. Along with that, the line "Alone in some deep dungeon's earless den" contains a personification. In the following line, the poet asks a rhetorical question. Moreover, the poet uses synecdoche in the "a cheerful brow." Here, "cheerful" is a transferred epithet. Thereafter, "common wind" is a metaphor for humankind and the last line contains a polysyndeton.
Detailed Analysis
Lines 1–4
Toussaint – the most unhappy of men! –
Whether the rural milkmaid by her cow
Sing in thy hearing, or thou liest now
Alone in some deep dungeon's earless den,
The first four lines of 'To Toussaint L'Ouverture' sets the tone and mood. In the first line, the poet says Toussaint is the most unhappy of humankind. The reason is that before Toussaint's death he was imprisoned by the French colonists. So, the last few days of his life were full of misery and suffering. Thereafter, the poet asks him whether he can hear the song of the rural milkmaid. Here, the poet paints a beautiful pastoral scene consisting of a milkmaid tending her cows.
However, the poet makes it clear that he is no more. His mundane body lies deep in some dungeon. The place is so marooned that none residing there can hear the rhythm of life. Moreover, the "dungeon's earless den" contains a personification.
Lines 5–8
Oh miserable Chieftain, where and when
Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not! Do thou
Wear rather in thy bonds a cheerful brow;
Though fallen thyself, never to rise again,
In the last part of the octave, the poet refers to L'Ouverture as the "miserable Chieftain." The poet thinks his soul can never find patience as the custom of slavery still exists. However, the poet quickly changes the mood of the poem by saying "Yet die not!" Here, the poet implicitly says that his contribution to the anti-slavery revolution cannot be forgotten. However, the poet is not sure whether his soul rests cheerfully or not. In the last line of this section, the poet uses an enjambment. Hence, one has to go through the first line of the next section to understand the meaning of the line.
Lines 9–14
Live, and take comfort! Thou hast left behind
Powers that will work for thee – air, earth, and skies –
There's not a breathing of the common wind
That will forget thee! Thou hast great allies:
Thy friends are exultations, agonies,
And love, and man's unconquerable mind.
Though Toussaint has fallen never to rise again, he will never die. In the last section of 'To Toussaint L'Ouverture', the poet says he will live forever. He has left behind the natural powers that work for him. Being a part of nature, he lives in the air, earth, and skies. Moreover, the "common wind" that humankind breathes, contains his essence. As long as nature exists, his existence will never be lost. Lastly, the poet says he has great allies. His friends are "exultations". The pain he has suffered is his friend. Besides, the love of mankind and his "unconquerable mind" is always with him. Hence, the hero will live forever in the hearts of men.
Historical Context
Wordsworth's poem, 'To Toussaint L'Ouverture' is dedicated to the former slave Toussaint L'Ouverture. He was an influential leader in the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to 1804. Moreover, he led the anti-slavery and anti-colonial insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue. It is now a sovereign nation of Haiti. However, L'Ouverture was imprisoned by the French and died in captivity shortly after Wordsworth wrote this poem. He penned down this piece in January 1803 and L'Ouverture died on 7 April 1803 at Fort-de-Joux in Doubs. Moreover, the opening phrase of this poem, "the most unhappy of men" appears in Louverture's memoir written during his imprisonment.
Similar Poetry
Here is a list of a few poems that similarly talk about the major themes of Wordsworth's 'To Toussaint L'Ouverture'.
- Checking Out Me History by John Agard – In this poem, John Agard also talks about Toussaint L'Ouverture who was a great source of concern for slavers and a source of hope for the slaves.
- Parsley by Rita Dove – This poem deals with the mass murder of thousands of men in the Dominican Republic in 1937. This poem taps on the themes of grief and violence.
- The Slave's Lament by Robert Burns – This poem presents a Senegalese slave's lamentation after being captured and deported to Virginia.
- Poems On The Slave Trade – Sonnet V by Robert Southey – In this poem, Southey anticipates how the slaves would revolt against the brutish men who were responsible for the degradation of their lives.
You can also read about the incredible poems on black history and empathetic poems concerning slavery.
Experts in Poetry
Our work is created by a team of talented poetry experts, to provide an in-depth look into poetry, like no other. We respond to all comments too, giving you the answers you need.
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--A piece by an outstanding colleague of mine….
I wrote two similar pieces, "Transition to Nothingness" and "Death at Dawn" I wrote my first memoir at the age of 50 in anticipation of death. Here I am, 20 years later but I was in "heaven" last February.
Opinion
My death is close at hand. But I do not think of myself as dying.
By Paul Woodruff
April 27, 2023 at 6:30 a.m. EDT
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(Jon Han for The Washington Post)
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Paul Woodruff is a philosopher, translator and poet who has taught at the University of Texas at Austin since 1973.
How often do you think about death? "Every third thought," said Shakespeare's avatar Prospero in the last line of the last speech he gives in Shakespeare's last play, "The Tempest," aside from the epilogue that follows the play. My friends say they think of death at least as often as Prospero. I do, too. If we think about death so much, we ought to know what to think about it. Philosophy is supposed to have answers, but the answers we hear most often from philosophers are not good for us. "Live every day as if it is your last," we are told. "Remember that you are on the way to death each day."
A friend recently wrote an email message with this line in it: "Paul is dying of a lung infection." He had meant it for someone else, but he had misdirected it. That sentence infuriated me. I do not have a lung infection. My death is close at hand, however, because of a lung condition called bronchiectasis, and I am on oxygen day and night. But I do not think of myself as dying. I am living each day with as much life as I can put into it. For me, that means going to bed each night planning at least one project for the next day — something worth getting out of bed and living for. As I think of dying, I make each day a time for living, for having something to live for.
What kind of project is worth living for? Not a project I could complete today. Worthwhile projects spread out over time. Writing this small essay and finding someone to print it will take at least a week, and today is only the first day. I will make sure that the last day for this essay will be the first day for something else. Thinking of death, I want to live every day as if it were the first for something.
Living as I do, with projects that continue over time, I can be sure that my death will cut me off before I finish something worth doing. I want to be cut off when I die of something I care about doing — not from thoughts of death alone. Unless I am in unbearable pain, I should be able to live right up to the last moments. Here is an inspiring (although slightly gruesome) example: Under bloody Queen Mary, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the author of the lovely Anglican prayer book, was burned at the stake for his protestant views despite signing false confessions of faith in Catholic doctrine. Even as the flames licked up around him, and his death was moments away, he was very much living (not dying) when he put his right hand into the heart of the fire to punish it for signing false confessions.
I know I will die soon. But must I be miserable about it? Why not find a cause for joy in each day? Some corner of my mind always knows that sad thoughts lurk behind my projects. But my dying will be much harder on my loved ones than it will be on me. Survivors often think they have failed to keep their loved one alive. I want my survivors to know that death is not unwelcome to me, although I want to be living each day. There's nothing wrong with dying. All the best people in history have done it. Let foolish philosophers see themselves as dying every day. Thinking of death, I choose life.
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