Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

Lines Written During the Castlereagh Administration

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Reading room

1Corpses are cold in the tomb;

2Stones on the pavement are dumb;

3Abortions are dead in the womb,

4And their mothers look pale — like the death-white shore

5Of Albion, free no more.

6Her sons are as stones in the way —

7They are masses of senseless clay —

8They are trodden, and move not away, —

9The abortion with which SHE travaileth

10Is Liberty, smitten to death.

11Then trample and dance, thou Oppressor!

12For thy victim is no redresser;

13Thou art sole lord and possessor

14Of her corpses, and clods, and abortions — they pave

15Thy path to the grave.

16Hearest thou the festival din

17Of Death, and Destruction, and Sin,

18And Wealth crying "Havoc!" within?

19'Tis the bacchanal triumph that makes Truth dumb,

20Thine Epithalamium.

21Ay, marry thy ghastly wife!

22Let Fear and Disquiet and Strife

23Spread thy couch in the chamber of Life!

24Marry Ruin, thou Tyrant! and Hell be thy guide

25To the bed of the bride!

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“Lines Written During the Castlereagh Administration” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — quilloak.com/poems/lines-written-during-the-castlereagh-administration

Quick facts

Poem: Lines Written During the Castlereagh Administration
Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length: 25 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Death & Loss

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Shape: 25 lines · 5 quintains

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Author record: Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
Source record: PoetryDBLines Written During the Castlereagh Administration by percy-bysshe-shelley, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 e903fd2779ff18ab…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Death & Loss

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