Lyric Poem · Peace
Song. Translated From the Italian
Oh! what is the gain of restless care,
And what is ambitious treasure?
And what are the joys that the modish share,
In their sickly haunts of pleasure?
My husband's repast with delight I spread,
What though 'tis but rustic fare,
May each guardian angel protect his shed,
May contentment and quiet be there.
And may I support my husband's years,
May I soothe his dying pain,
And then may I dry my fast falling tears,
And meet him in Heaven again.
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“Song. Translated From the Italian” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — quilloak.com/poems/song-translated-from-the-italian
Quick facts
- Poem
- Song. Translated From the Italian
- Poet
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Length
- 12 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Peace, Death & Loss, Sad
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 12 lines · 3 quatrains
- End rhyme
- ABAB in 67% of the stanzas — alternate rhyme. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
- Line length
- Lines run 7-10 syllables (median 9). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
- Source record
- PoetryDBSong. Translated From the Italian 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 b2931f7eb0d2ff6c…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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