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Famous Forfeited Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous Forfeited poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous forfeited poems. These examples illustrate what a famous forfeited poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

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by Dickinson, Emily
...cause his empty Plate
Was handed Nature twice --

Invigorated, waded
In all the deepest Sky
Until his little Figure
Was forfeited away --...Read more of this...



by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth
...bow and obey, and deliver the will of our monarch;
Namely, that all your lands, and dwellings, and cattle of all kinds
Forfeited be to the crown; and that you yourselves from this province
Be transported to other lands. God grant you may dwell there
Ever as faithful subjects, a happy and peaceable people!
Prisoners now I declare you; for such is his Majesty's pleasure!"
As, when the air is serene in the sultry solstice of summer,
Suddenly gathers a storm, and the deadly ...Read more of this...

by Schiller, Friedrich von
...es the nature long-lost give him back wisdom again.
If thou, happy one, never hast lost the angel that guards thee,
Forfeited never the kind warnings that instinct holds forth;
If in thy modest eye the truth is still purely depicted;
If in thine innocent breast clearly still echoes its call;
If in thy tranquil mind the struggles of doubt still are silent,
If they will surely remain silent forever as now;
If by the conflict of feelings a judge will ne'er be required;
If in...Read more of this...

by Wordsworth, William
...ed of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful g...Read more of this...

by Meredith, George
...which upbraid 
The full-waked sense; or failing that, degrade! 
'Tis morning: but no morning can restore 
What we have forfeited. I see no sin: 
The wrong is mix'd. In tragic life, God wot, 
No villain need be! Passions spin the plot: 
We are betray'd by what is false within....Read more of this...



by Meredith, George
...r>
Just heaven! can it be true that jealousy
Has decked the woman thus? and does her head
Swim somewhat for possessions forfeited?
Madam, you teach me many things that be.
I open an old book, and there I find
That "Women still may love whom they deceive."
Such love I prize not, madam: by your leave,
The game you play at is not to my mind....Read more of this...

by Meredith, George
...which upbraid 
The full-waked sense; or failing that, degrade! 
'Tis morning: but no morning can restore 
What we have forfeited. I see no sin: 
The wrong is mixed. In tragic life, God wot, 
No villain need be! Passions spin the plot: 
We are betrayed by what is false within....Read more of this...

by Meredith, George
...r>
Just heaven! can it be true that jealousy
Has decked the woman thus? and does her head
Swim somewhat for possessions forfeited?
Madam, you teach me many things that be.
I open an old book, and there I find
That "Women still may love whom they deceive."
Such love I prize not, madam: by your leave,
The game you play at is not to my mind....Read more of this...

by Killigrew, Anne
...id expel, 
Thou wert no more an Evil, but Relief; 
The Balm and Cure to ev'ry Humane Grief: 
Through thee (what Man had forfeited before) 
He now enjoys, and ne'r can loose it more. 

No subtile Serpents in the Grave betray, 
Worms on the Body there, not Soul do prey; 
No Vice there Tempts, no Terrors there afright, 
No Coz'ning Sin affords a false delight: 
No vain Contentions do that Peace annoy, 
No feirce Alarms break the lasting Joy. 

 Ah since from thee so many...Read more of this...

by Gregory, Rg
...hem is bustling
and white becomes the flavour of the slopes
and people flock invigorating hopes
seasons (they say) have forfeited effect on
one snowdrop-look and instantly dejection

is whipped (though biting winds and brooding skies)
away from the pure white cream the eyes are lapping
a frisson blooms as every bloodstream tries
to come to terms with its own natural sapping
and from the earth reorganise that mapping
that reaches out to plot those far endeavours
a spirit yearn...Read more of this...

by Kipling, Rudyard
...ws,
 Flying sea-fires in our wake:
This is the road to our Father's House,
 Whither we go for our souls' sake!

We have forfeited our birthright,
 We have forsaken all things meet;
We have forgotten the look of light,
 We have forgotten the scent of heart.

They that walk with shaded brows,
 Year by year in a shining land,
They be men of our Father's House,
 They shall receive us and understand.

We shall go back by the boltless doors,
 To the life unaltered our child...Read more of this...

by Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
...suffer not
More grief than ye can weep for. That is well--
That is light grieving ! lighter, none befell
Since Adam forfeited the primal lot.
Tears ! what are tears ? The babe weeps in its cot,
The mother singing, at her marriage-bell
The bride weeps, and before the oracle
Of high-faned hills the poet has forgot
Such moisture on his cheeks. Thank God for grace,
Ye who weep only ! If, as some have done,
Ye grope tear-blinded in a desert place

And touch but tombs,-...Read more of this...

by Seeger, Alan
...e, before thy cannon-swept plateau, 
Where like sere leaves lay strewn September's dead, 
I found for all dear things I forfeited 
A recompense I would not now forego. 


For that high fellowship was ours then 
With those who, championing another's good, 
More than dull Peace or its poor votaries could, 
Taught us the dignity of being men. 


There we drained deeper the deep cup of life, 
And on sublimer summits came to learn, 
After soft things, the terrible and ster...Read more of this...

by Brecht, Bertolt
...he 17th June
The Secretary of the Writers Union
Had leaflets distributed in the Stalinallee
Stating that the people
Had forfeited the confidence of the government
And could win it back only
By redoubled efforts. Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another?...Read more of this...

by Emerson, Ralph Waldo
...and sweet,
Oh, whither tend thy feet?
I had the right, few days ago,
Thy steps to watch, thy place to know;
How have I forfeited the right?
Hast thou forgot me in a new delight?
I hearken for thy household cheer,
O eloquent child!
Whose voice, an equal messenger,
Conveyed thy meaning mild.
What though the pains and joys
Whereof it spoke were toys
Fitting his age and ken;—
Yet fairest dames and bearded men,
Who heard the sweet request
So gentle, wise, and grave,
Bended wi...Read more of this...

by Emerson, Ralph Waldo
...d sweet, 
0, whither tend thy feet! 
I had the right, few days ago, 
Thy steps to watch, thy place to know: 
How have I forfeited the right? 
Hast thou forgot me in a new delight? 
I hearken for thy household cheer, 
O eloquent child! 
Whose voice, an equal messenger, 
Conveyed thy meaning mild. 
What though the pains and joys 
Whereof it spoke were toys 
Fitting his age and ken, 
Yet fairest dames and bearded men, 
Who heard the sweet request, 
So gentle, wise and grave,...Read more of this...

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Book: Reflection on the Important Things