Algernon Charles Swinburne Quotes

A collection of quotes by Algernon Charles Swinburne.

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909) was an English poet, playwright, and critic. Renowned for his distinctive style and themes of sensuality and decadence, Swinburne played a significant role in the late-Victorian literary scene. He was a leading member of the Decadent movement and, along with his contemporaries, such as Oscar Wilde, challenged societal norms and explored forbidden desires in his work. Swinburne's notable poetic works include "Poems and Ballads" (1866), "Songs Before Sunrise" (1871), and "A Century of Roundels" (1883). His passionate and unconventional poetry contained vivid imagery and a rich musicality that had a profound influence on subsequent generations of writers.

Before the beginning of yearsThere came to the making of man

Before the beginning of yearsThere came to the making of manTime, with a gift of tears;Grief, with a glass that ran;Pleasure, with pain for leaven;Summer, with flowers that fell;Remembrance, fallen from heaven,And madness risen from hell;Strength without hands to smite;Love that endures for a breath;Night, the shadow of light,And Life, the shadow of death.

Algernon Charles Swinburne


Ah, ah, thy beauty! like a beast it bites, Stings like an ad

Ah, ah, thy beauty! like a beast it bites, Stings like an adder, like an arrow smites.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Beauty

Not from without us, only from within, Comes or can ever com

Not from without us, only from within, Comes or can ever come upon us light Whereby the soul keeps ever truth in sight. No truth, no strength, no comfort man may win, No grace for guidance, no release from sin, Save of his own soul's giving.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Truth Strength Man Grace Light

From too much love of living, From hope and fear set free, W

From too much love of living, From hope and fear set free, We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be That no life lives for ever That dead men rise up never That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to sea.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Fear

Thou has conquered, O pale Galilean.

Thou has conquered, O pale Galilean.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Christianity

We shift and bedeck and bedrape us, thou art noble and nude

We shift and bedeck and bedrape us, thou art noble and nude and antique.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Nudity

Time turns the old days to derision, our loves into corpses

Time turns the old days to derision, our loves into corpses or wives; and marriage and death and division make barren our lives.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Time

Hope thou not much, and fear thou not at all.

Hope thou not much, and fear thou not at all.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Fear