# Lines to Charles Sumner explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

## What happens

A poetic tribute to Charles Sumner, celebrating his bold and truthful words that strike against the fetters of slavery. The poem contrasts the fading hope as other allies die with Sumner's clarion call for freedom, likening his speech to battle-axes against injustice and praying that his words will grow into holy deeds.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom and Liberation

The poem celebrates Sumner's words as a clarion call for freedom and a weapon against the fetters of slavery.

### Social Injustice and Class

The poem directly confronts the 'giant wrong' of slavery and the injustice faced by the enslaved.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker expresses gratitude and hope for Charles Sumner's anti-slavery advocacy.

## Key lines

> The lightning of thy lips did smite The fetters of the slave.

Your powerful speech struck down the chains that bind enslaved people.

_Metaphor for Sumner's oratory as a force against slavery._

> Thy words rang like a clarion For freedom’s noble strife.

Your words sounded like a trumpet call for the noble fight for freedom.

_Emphasizes the inspiring and rallying quality of Sumner's speeches._

> They fell as battle-axes Upon our giant wrong.

Your words struck like axes against the immense injustice of slavery.

_Portrays Sumner's rhetoric as a direct, forceful attack on oppression._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se/chapters/lines-to-charles-sumner
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se/chapters