Famous Slander Poems by Famous Poets

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

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280. The Kirk of Scotland's Alarm: A Ballad

...nfound the poor Doctor at ance,
Muirland Jock! 14 To confound the poor Doctor at ance.


Andro Gowk! Andro Gowk, ye may slander the Book,
 An’ the Book nought the waur, let me tell ye;
Tho’ ye’re rich, an’ look big, yet, lay by hat an’ wig,
 An’ ye’ll hae a calf’s-had o’ sma’ value,
Andro Gowk! 15 Ye’ll hae a calf’s head o’ sma value.


Daddy Auld! daddy Auld, there’a a tod in the fauld,
 A tod meikle waur than the clerk;
Tho’ ye do little skaith, ye’ll be in at the death,
 F...Read more of this...
by Burns, Robert


A Song of Brave Men

...r; and she lives to remember and lie – 
Or be true to his love and courage. But that's how brave men die. 

(I hate the slander: "Be British" – and I don't believe it, that's flat: 
No British sailor and captain would stoop to such cant as that. 
What – in the rush of cowards – of the help from before the mast – 
Of the two big Swedes and the Norse, who stood by the mate to the last? – 
In every mining disaster, in a New-World mining town, 
In one of the rescue parties an Ols...Read more of this...
by Lawson, Henry

A Song To David

...that weep: 
As you from all and each expect, 
For all and each thy love direct, 
 And render as you reap. 

 XLVII 
The slander and its bearer spurn, 
And propagating praise sojourn 
 To make thy welcome last; 
Turn from Old Adam to the New; 
By hope futurity pursue; 
 Look upwards to the past. 

 XLVIII 
Control thine eye, salute success, 
Honor the wiser, happier bless, 
 And for thy neighbor feel; 
Grutch not of Mammon and his leav'n,
Work emulation up to heav'n 
 By knowl...Read more of this...
by Smart, Christopher

Alfred Lord Tennyson - The Coming Of Arthur

...t of all his knights 
Knighted by Arthur at his crowning, spake-- 
For bold in heart and act and word was he, 
Whenever slander breathed against the King-- 

`Sir, there be many rumours on this head: 
For there be those who hate him in their hearts, 
Call him baseborn, and since his ways are sweet, 
And theirs are bestial, hold him less than man: 
And there be those who deem him more than man, 
And dream he dropt from heaven: but my belief 
In all this matter--so ye care to l...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord

Elegy On The Death Of A Young Man

...narrow house the sleep is calm;
There, with rapture sorrow leaves the breast,--
Man's afflictions there no longer harm.
Slander now may wildly rave o'er thee,
And temptation vomit poison fell,
O'er the wrangle on the Pharisee,
Murderous bigots banish thee to hell!
Rogues beneath apostle-masks may leer,
And the bastard child of justice play,
As it were with dice, with mankind here,
And so on, until the judgment day!

O'er thee fortune still may juggle on,
For her minions blind...Read more of this...
by Schiller, Friedrich von


Epistles to Several Persons: Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot

...ear!
But he, who hurts a harmless neighbour's peace,
Insults fall'n worth, or beauty in distress,
Who loves a lie, lame slander helps about,
Who writes a libel, or who copies out:
That fop, whose pride affects a patron's name,
Yet absent, wounds an author's honest fame;
Who can your merit selfishly approve,
And show the sense of it without the love;
Who has the vanity to call you friend,
Yet wants the honour, injur'd, to defend;
Who tells what'er you think, whate'er you say,
...Read more of this...
by Pope, Alexander

Fear No More

...ust 
All follow this, and come to dust. 

Fear no more the lightning-flash, 
Nor the all-dread thunder-stone; 
Fear not slander, censure rash; 
Thou hast finished joy and moan; 
All lovers young, all lovers must 
Consign to thee, and come to dust. 

No exorciser harm thee! 
Nor no witchcraft charm thee! 
Ghost unlaid forbear thee! 
Nothing ill come near thee! 
Quiet consummation have; 
And renowned be thy grave!...Read more of this...
by Shakespeare, William

Fidele

...
All follow this, and come to dust. 

Fear no more the lightning-flash, 
 Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone; 
Fear not slander, censure rash; 
 Thou hast finish'd joy and moan: 
All lovers young, all lovers must 
Consign to thee, and come to dust. 

No exorciser harm thee! 
Nor no witchcraft charm thee! 
Ghost unlaid forbear thee! 
Nothing ill come near thee! 
Quiet consummation have; 
And renowned be thy grave!...Read more of this...
by Shakespeare, William

Guinevere

...ience as their King, 
To break the heathen and uphold the Christ, 
To ride abroad redressing human wrongs, 
To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it, 
To honour his own word as if his God's, 
To lead sweet lives in purest chastity, 
To love one maiden only, cleave to her, 
And worship her by years of noble deeds, 
Until they won her; for indeed I knew 
Of no more subtle master under heaven 
Than is the maiden passion for a maid, 
Not only to keep down the base in man, 
But t...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord

In Honour of that High and Mighty Princess Queen ELIZABETH

...
2.80 But she, though dead, will vindicate our wrong. 
2.81 Let such as say our sex is void of reason 
2.82 Know 'tis a slander now, but once was treason. 
2.83 But happy England, which had such a Queen, 
2.84 O happy, happy, had those days still been, 
2.85 But happiness lies in a higher sphere. 
2.86 Then wonder not, Eliza moves not here. 
2.87 Full fraught with honour, riches, and with days, 
2.88 She set, she set, like Titan in his rays. 
2.89 No more shall rise or set su...Read more of this...
by Bradstreet, Anne

Jubilate Agno: Fragment A

...nds upon his arms continually. 

Let Nathan with the Badger bless God for his retired fame, and privacy inaccessible to slander. 

Let Joseph, who from the abundance of his blessing may spare to him, that lacketh, praise with the Crocodile, which is pleasant and pure, when he is interpreted, tho' his look is of terror and offence. 

Let Esdras bless Christ Jesus with the Rose and his people, which is a nation of living sweetness. 

Let Mephibosheth with the Cricket praise the...Read more of this...
by Smart, Christopher

MFingal - Canto III

...tune,
Brews rum no longer in his store,
Jockey and skipper now no more,
Forsakes his warehouses and docks,
And writs of slander for the pox;
And cleansed by patriotism from shame,
Grows General of the foremost name.
For in this ferment of the stream
The dregs have work'd up to the brim,
And by the rule of topsy-turvies,
The scum stands foaming on the surface.
You've caused your pyramid t' ascend,
And set it on the little end.
Like Hudibras, your empire's made,
Whose crupper h...Read more of this...
by Trumbull, John

Ode to Beauty

...t ! thy charms are vain! 
ILL-NATURE haunts thee with her sallow train, 
Mean JEALOUSY deceives thy list'ning ear, 
And SLANDER stains thy cheek with many a bitter tear. 

In calm retirement form'd to dwell, 
NATURE, thy handmaid fair and kind, 
For thee, a beauteous garland twin'd; 
The vale-nurs'd Lily's downcast bell 
Thy modest mien display'd, 
The snow-drop, April's meekest child, 
With myrtle blossoms undefil'd, 
Thy mild and spotless mind pourtray'd; 
Dear blushing mai...Read more of this...
by Emerson, Ralph Waldo

Passage to India

...ejection, poverty, death.

(Curious, in time, I stand, noting the efforts of heroes; 
Is the deferment long? bitter the slander, poverty, death? 
Lies the seed unreck’d for centuries in the ground? Lo! to God’s due occasion, 
Uprising in the night, it sprouts, blooms, 
And fills the earth with use and beauty.)

10
Passage indeed, O soul, to primal thought! 
Not lands and seas alone—thy own clear freshness, 
The young maturity of brood and bloom; 
To realms of budding bibles. ...Read more of this...
by Whitman, Walt

The Grandmother

...age, Annie, I could have wept with the best. 

VI.
For I remember a quarrel I had with your father, my dear,
All for a slanderous story, that cost me many a tear.
I mean your grandfather, Annie: it cost me a world of woe,
Seventy years ago, my darling, seventy years ago. 

VII.
For Jenny, my cousin, had come to the place, and I knew right well
That Jenny had tript in her time: I knew, but I would not tell.
And she to be coming and slandering me, the base little liar!
But the...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord

The Marriage Of Geraint

...fierce and turbulent 
Refused her to him, then his pride awoke; 
And since the proud man often is the mean, 
He sowed a slander in the common ear, 
Affirming that his father left him gold, 
And in my charge, which was not rendered to him; 
Bribed with large promises the men who served 
About my person, the more easily 
Because my means were somewhat broken into 
Through open doors and hospitality; 
Raised my own town against me in the night 
Before my Enid's birthday, sacked ...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord

The Princess (part 2)

...ow no more a fountain sealed: 
Drink deep, until the habits of the slave, 
The sins of emptiness, gossip and spite 
And slander, die. Better not be at all 
Than not be noble. Leave us: you may go: 
Today the Lady Psyche will harangue 
The fresh arrivals of the week before; 
For they press in from all the provinces, 
And fill the hive.' 
She spoke, and bowing waved 
Dismissal: back again we crost the court 
To Lady Psyche's: as we entered in, 
There sat along the forms, like m...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord

The Princess (part 6)

...
Quick while I melt; make reconcilement sure 
With one that cannot keep her mind an hour: 
Come to the hollow hear they slander so! 
Kiss and be friends, like children being chid! 
~I~ seem no more: ~I~ want forgiveness too: 
I should have had to do with none but maids, 
That have no links with men. Ah false but dear, 
Dear traitor, too much loved, why?--why?--Yet see, 
Before these kings we embrace you yet once more 
With all forgiveness, all oblivion, 
And trust, not love, ...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord

To Ladies Of A Certain Age

...il,
And whispering demons prompt the tale--
Yet hold thy hand, restrain thy passion,
Thou cankerworm of reputation;
Bid slander, rage and envy cease,
For one short interval of peace;
Let other's faults and crimes alone,
Survey thyself and view thine own;
Search the dark caverns of thy mind,
Or turn thine eyes and look behind:
For there to meet thy trembling view,
With ghastly form and grisly hue,
And shrivel'd hand, that lifts sublime
The wasting glass and scythe of Time,
A p...Read more of this...
by Trumbull, John

Venus and Adonis

...eak'd on him, invisible commander;
'Tis he, foul creature, that hath done thee wrong;
I did but act, he's author of thy slander:
Grief hath two tongues, and never woman yet
Could rule them both without ten women's wit."

Thus hoping that Adonis is alive,
Her rash suspect she doth extenuate;
And that his beauty may the better thrive,
With Death she humbly doth insinuate;
Tells him of trophies, statues, tombs, and stories
His victories, his triumphs and his glories.

"O Jove," ...Read more of this...
by Shakespeare, William

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