To Toussaint Louverture
By William Wordsworth
TOUSSAINT, the most unhappy of men!
Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough
Within thy hearing, or thy head be now
Pillowed in some deep dungeon’s earless den; –
O 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,
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.
Summary of To Toussaint Louverture
- Popularity of “To Toussaint Louverture”: Composed by the English romantic icon William Wordsworth, the sonnet “To Toussaint Louverture” first appeared in the newspaper, The Morning Post, in February 1803. Toussaint, who died two years back, at the Fort de Joux, became the main subject of this poem. The poem extolls the Haitian chieftain and military leader for his patience and sacrifice for his cause. The popularity of the sonnet lies in the expression of unexpressed thoughts.
- “To Toussaint Louverture” As a Representative of Revolutionary Sacrifice: The sonnet presents the Haitian revolutionary military general, Francois-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, showing him a great figure in history who fought against the French domination of his homeland and showed excessive patience during his imprisonment in the fort, Fort de Joux. Using an apostrophe, the poet calls the chief the most unhappy man and “miserable Chieftain” to inquire how he found this patience. Extolling him, Wordsworth praises his death showing that he has not died but has taken comfort in this sacrifice.
Further expressing his deep emotions for the general, he states that the impacts of the death of the revolutionary have been shown by the natural elements of “air, earth, and skies.” The poet further states that no “common wind” will forget the general as he has great allies like the “exultations” the poet has shown and the love of the common people. It is because the mind stays “conquerable,” and this shows the love that the people have for their leader. - Major Themes in “To Toussaint Louverture”: Love for revolution, praise of a revolutionary, and cult worship are major themes of this sonnet. Although the poem has freely expressed that he is going to praise the Haitian revolutionary, Toussaint Louverture, which is clear from the title of the sonnet, too, he has reserved the last few lines to encourage his readers that the leader has not died uselessly and that the natural elements would work for him to clarify ambiguities about his role in the revolution against the French. The love of the romantic poets and figures of those times for freedom and revolutions is apparent from this praise. Praising this specific revolutionary, the poet highlights that the sacrifices of such heroes never go in vain; rather, they live in the public minds, which stay adamant about tyranny and dictatorship. However, in one way, it also demonstrates the cult worship of the romantics.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in To Toussaint Louverture
William Wordsworth used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices are analyzed below.
- Allusion: It means to use references from society, history, or culture to stress the main idea. The poet used the allusion of the Haitian general and also alluded to the French domination and Haitian revolution.
- Alliteration: It means to use initial consonants in successive words. The sonnet shows the use of consonant sounds, such as /w/ in “will work.”
- Apostrophe: This literary device shows the use of a call to some dead person or some abstract idea. The sonnet shows the use of an apostrophe, such as “O miserable Chieftain.”
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough” and the sound of /a/ and /o/ in “Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /w/ and /r/ in “Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies” and the sound of /g/ and /s/ in “Thy friends are exultations, agonies.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. William Wordsworth used imagery in this poem, such as “Though fallen thyself, never to rise again”, “Live, and take comfort. Thou hast left behind” and “Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies”.
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used the metaphor of a dungeon showing it as a man having no hearing power.
- Personification: It means to attribute human emotions to inanimate objects. The poet used the personification of the dungeon having hearing power.
- Rhetorical Question: It means to show or use a question not to elicit an answer but to tress upon the main theme. The sonnet shows the use of a rhetorical question, such as “Will thou find patience?
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as rustic, plough, dungeon, chieftain and agonies to demonstrate the revolutionaries and revolutions.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in To Toussaint Louverture
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and melodic diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. William Wordsworth shows the use of end rhyme, such as men/den and plough/now.
- Rhyme Scheme: This sonnet shows the rhyme scheme of ABBACDDC in its octave and EFEFEE in its sestet.
- Sonnet: This is a fourteen-lined poem. This poem is a sonnet.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas, with each in a sonnet; the first octave comprises eight verses, and the second sestet comprises six verses, as shown in Rhyme Scheme.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The sonnet shows a tragic and extolling tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about some great figures of history.
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.