The picture was of hand fast joined to hand,



Both pushed from angry skies, their grasp more pledged

Under the threatened flash of a bright brand



At arm's length up, for severing action edged.

Why, then Love's Court of Honour contemplate;



And two drowned shorecasts, who, for the life esteemed

Above their lost, invoke an advocate



In Passion's purity, thereby redeemed.

Redeemed, uplifted, glimmering on a throne,



The woman stricken by an arrow falls.

His advocate she can be, not her own,



If, Traitress to thy sex! one sister calls.

Have we such scenes of drapery's mournfulness



On Beauty's revelations, witched we plant,

Over the fair shape humbled to confess,



An angel's buckler, with loud choiric chant.

IV



No knightly sword to serve, nor harp of bard,

The lady's hand in her physician's knew.



She had not hoped for them as her award,

When zig-zag on the tongue electric flew



Her charge of counter-motives, none impure:

But muteness whipped her skin. She could have said,



Her free confession was to work his cure,

Show proofs for why she could not love or wed.



Were they not shown? His muteness shook in thrall

Her body on the verge of that black pit



Sheer from the treacherousconfessional,

Demanding further, while perusing it.



Slave is the open mouth beneath the closed.

She sank; she snatched at colours; they were peel



Of fruit past savour, in derision rosed.

For the dark downward then her soul did reel.



A press of hideousimpulse urged to speak:

A novel dread of man enchained her dumb.



She felt the silence thicken, heard it shriek,

Heard Life subsiding on the eternal hum:



Welcome to women, when, between man's laws

And Nature's thirsts, they, soul from body torn,



Give suck at breast to a celestial cause,

Named by the mouth infernal, and forsworn.



Nathless her forehead twitched a sad content,

To think the cure so manifest, so frail



Her charm remaining. Was the curtain's rent

Too wide? he but a man of that herd male?



She saw him as that herd of the forked head

Butting the woman harrowed on her knees,



Clothed only in life's last devouring red.

Confession at her fearfulinstant sees



Judicial Silence write the devil fact

In letters of the skeleton: at once,



Swayed on the supplication of her act,

The rabble reading, roaring to denounce,



She joins. No longer colouring, with skips

At tangles, picture that for eyes in tears



Might swim the sequence, she addressed her lips

To do the scaffold's office at his ears.



Into the bitter judgement of that herd

On women, she, deeming it present, fell.



Her frenzy of abasement hugged the word

They stone with, and so pile their citadel



To launch at outcasts the foul levin bolt.

As had he flung it, in her breast it burned.



Face and reflect it did her hot revolt

From hardness, to the writhing rebel turned;



Because the golden buckler was withheld,

She to herself applies the powder-spark,



For joy of one wild demon burst ere quelled,

Perishing to astound the tyrant Dark.

• swallow [swɔləu] n.燕子 v.吞，咽；淹没 (初中英语单词)


• attentive [ə´tentiv] a.注意的；殷勤的 (初中英语单词)


• underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ] ad.&prep.在底下 (初中英语单词)


• challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向….挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)


• passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)


• gracious [´greiʃəs] a.和蔼可亲的；任慈的 (初中英语单词)


• breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)


• spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• marvel [´mɑ:vəl] n.令人惊异的事；奇迹 (初中英语单词)


• infant [´infənt] n.&a.婴(幼)儿 (初中英语单词)


• mystery [´mistəri] n.神秘；秘密；故弄玄虚 (初中英语单词)


• mission [´miʃən] n.代表团；使馆vt.派遣 (初中英语单词)


• victim [´viktim] n.牺牲者；受害者 (初中英语单词)


• temple [´tempəl] n.庙宇；寺院；太阳穴 (初中英语单词)


• pierce [piəs] v.刺穿；突破；洞察 (初中英语单词)


• vacant [´veikənt] a.空虚的，无表情的 (初中英语单词)


• worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)


• traitor [´treitə] n.叛徒，卖国贼 (初中英语单词)


• pressure [´preʃə] n.压榨 vt.对…施压力 (初中英语单词)


• majesty [´mædʒisti] n.壮丽；崇高；尊严 (初中英语单词)


• structure [´strʌktʃə] n.结构，构造；组织 (初中英语单词)


• scarce [skeəs, skers] a.缺乏的；稀有的 (初中英语单词)


• graceful [´greisfəl] a.优美的，流畅的 (初中英语单词)


• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)


• desperate [´despərit] a.拼死的；绝望的 (初中英语单词)


• furnace [´fə:nis] n.熔炉；火炉 (初中英语单词)


• lightning [´laitniŋ] n.闪电 a.突然的 (初中英语单词)


• funeral [´fju:nərəl] n.葬礼，丧葬；困难 (初中英语单词)


• romance [rəu´mæns] n.中世纪骑士小说 (初中英语单词)


• imperial [im´piəriəl] a.帝国的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)


• purity [´pjuəriti] n.纯净；贞洁 (初中英语单词)


• thereby [´ðeəbai] ad.因此，由此 (初中英语单词)


• advocate [´ædvəkit] n.辩护者 (初中英语单词)


• charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)


• impulse [´impʌls] n.推动(力)；冲动；刺激 (初中英语单词)


• eternal [i´tə:nəl] a.永远的；永恒的 (初中英语单词)


• forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)


• fearful [´fiəfəl] a.可怕的；担心的 (初中英语单词)


• instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)


• reading [´ri:diŋ] n.(阅)读；朗读；读物 (初中英语单词)


• judgement [´dʒʌdʒmənt] n.审判；报应；批评 (初中英语单词)


• reflect [ri´flekt] v.反射；反响；表达 (初中英语单词)


• tenderness [´tendənis] n.娇嫩；柔软；温柔 (高中英语单词)


• incense [´insens, in´sens] n.香(气) vt.激怒 (高中英语单词)


• melody [´melədi] n.悦耳的音调；乐曲 (高中英语单词)


• motion [´məuʃən] n.手势 vt.打手势 (高中英语单词)


• heavenly [´hevənli] a.天的，天空的 (高中英语单词)


• likeness [´laiknis] n.相似；肖像；外表 (高中英语单词)


• courtier [´kɔ:tiə] n.朝臣；奉承者 (高中英语单词)


• naughty [´nɔ:ti] a.顽皮的；下流的 (高中英语单词)


• pilgrim [´pilgrim] n.旅行者；香客 (高中英语单词)


• confession [kən´feʃən] n.招供；认错；交待 (高中英语单词)


• eminent [´eminənt] a.卓越的；杰出的 (高中英语单词)


• fiction [´fikʃən] n.小说；虚构；谎言 (高中英语单词)


• martyr [´mɑ:tə] n.烈士；殉难者 (高中英语单词)


• endurance [in´djuərəns] n.忍受(耐)；耐力 (高中英语单词)


• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)


• chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)


• overflow [´əuvəfləu] v.(使)泛滥 n.泛滥 (高中英语单词)


• torment [´tɔ:ment] vt.(使)痛苦，折磨 (高中英语单词)


• stricken [´strikən] strike的过去分词 (高中英语单词)


• treacherous [´tretʃərəs] a.虚伪的；不忠的 (高中英语单词)


• downward [´daunwəd] a.下降的，向下的 (高中英语单词)


• hideous [´hidiəs] a.丑陋的，可怕的 (高中英语单词)


• celestial [si´lestiəl] a.天空的，天的 (高中英语单词)


• manifest [´mænifest] a.明显的 v.表明 (高中英语单词)


• skeleton [´skelitən] n.骨骼；骷髅 (高中英语单词)


• launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)


• astound [ə´staund] vt.使震惊 (高中英语单词)


• tyrant [´taiərənt] n.暴君；霸主；专制君主 (高中英语单词)


• eclipse [i´klips] n.丧失 vt.食；蒙蔽 (英语四级单词)


• feminine [´feminin] a.女性的 (英语四级单词)


• whence [wens] ad.从何处；从那里 (英语四级单词)


• intolerable [in´tɔlərəb(ə)l] a.无法忍受的 (英语四级单词)


• utterance [´ʌtərəns] n.发音；言辞；所说的话 (英语四级单词)


• savour [´seivə] n.味道；风味 v.尝到 (英语四级单词)


• sequence [´si:kwəns] n.继续；顺序；程序 (英语四级单词)


• frenzy [´frenzi] n.&vt.(使)狂乱 (英语四级单词)


• hardness [´hɑ:dnis] n.坚硬；严厉；难度 (英语四级单词)


• arrogant [´ærəgənt] a.傲慢的；自大的 (英语六级单词)


• nuptial [´nʌpʃəl] a.婚姻的 n.婚礼 (英语六级单词)


• uprising [ʌp´raiziŋ] n.叛乱；起义，暴动 (英语六级单词)


• craving [´kreiviŋ] n.渴望，热望 (英语六级单词)


• invoke [in´vəuk] vt.调用，请求 (英语六级单词)


• knightly [´naitli] a.&ad.骑士般的(地) (英语六级单词)


• derision [di´riʒən] n.嘲笑，嘲弄 (英语六级单词)


• thicken [´θikən] vt.(使)变厚(粗，密) (英语六级单词)


• infernal [in´fə:nəl] a.地狱的，恶魔似的 (英语六级单词)


• colouring [´kʌləriŋ] n.色彩；外貌；伪装 (英语六级单词)