View source for To Toussaint Louverture - poem by Wordsworth

[[image:fort_de_joux_dungeon.jpg|right|thumb|180px|The dungeon in which Toussaint Louverture died.]] [[Image:William wordsworth.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Portrait of William Wordsworth.]] [[image:t_louverture_portrait.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Lithograph by Maurin after a lost earlier drawing.]] The sonnet, '''To Toussaint L'Ouverture''' by the British poet William Wordsworth ([[April 7]], 1770 Cockermouth, Cumberland – April 13, 1850) gives an example of how closely the Toussaint Louverture's actions and later imprisonment by the French at [[Fort de Joux]], were followed around the world.<br>
The Haitian Revolutionary [[Toussaint Louverture]], died in French captivity in the dungeon at Fort de Joux on [[April 7]], [[1803]].

Mary Persyn, in her article ''The Sublime Turn Away from Empire'', makes the argument that the Haitian Revolution - and Toussaint Louverture's role in it - heavily influenced Wordsworth during his early years. (Persyn)


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''TO TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE''<br>

TOUSSAINT, the most unhappy of men! {{fn|1}} <br>
Whether the whistling Rustic tend his plough<br>
Within thy hearing, or thy head be now<br>
Pillowed in some deep dungeon's earless den; -<br>
O miserable Chieftain! where and when<br>
Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not; do thou<br>
Wear rather in thy bonds a cheerful brow:<br>
Though fallen thyself, never to rise again,<br>
Live, and take comfort. Thou hast left behind<br>
Powers that will work for thee; air, earth, and skies;<br>
There's not a breathing of the common wind<br>
That will forget thee; thou hast great allies;<br>
Thy friends are exultations, agonies,<br>
And love, and man's unconquerable mind.<br>
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created [[1802]], ~August 1-29; published 1803, ''Morning Post'', London, February 2, [[1803]]


{{fnb|1}}  In his autobiographical text ''[[Memoir of Toussaint Louverture, Written by Himself]]'', Toussaint Louverture writes: "''...I am made the most unhappy of men; my liberty is taken from me...''" ([[Beard]] p. 325)

==See also==
* '''[[Toussaint Louverture related pages|Toussaint Louverture related pages at The Louverture Project]]'''
* [[The Last Days Of Toussaint L'Ouverture]] - account of a 1859 visit to [[Fort de Joux]]. Includes: ''[http://thelouvertureproject.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Last_Days_Of_Toussaint_L%27Ouverture#Post-mortem_Examination_of_Toussaint_L.27Ouverture Post-mortem Examination of Toussaint L'Ouverture]''.
* Theater review: [[The Lion in Captivity]] - play dealing with Toussaint Louverture's harsh imprisonment at Fort de Joux.
* [[An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti]] - excerpts portraying Toussaint Louverture.
* [[The History and Present Condition of St. Domingo (1837)]] - Excerpt of 1837 book about Toussaint Louverture and his contemporaries in the Haitian Revolution.
* [[Fort de Joux]] - French prison in which Toussaint Louverture died.
* [[Letter by the French Minister of the Marine to the Commandant at Fort de Joux]] - 1802 letter specifying the conditions under which Toussaint should be held captive.
*[[Toussaint letter to Napoléon from Fort de Joux (1802)|Toussaint letter to Napoléon from Fort de Joux]] -  1802 letter from Toussaint's cell at Fort de Joux.

==References==
* {{Toussaint L'Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography}} 
* Dietrich H. Fischer: ''[http://www.william-wordsworth.de/index.html William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) A Selection - English and German]'' [Date of access: November 9, 2005].
* Persyn, Mary. (2002) ''The Sublime Turn Away from Empire: Wordsworth's Encounter with Colonial Slavery, 1802''. RON - Romanticism on the Net.  Montréal: Université de Montréal. ([http://www.erudit.org/revue/ron/2002/v/n26/005700ar.html electronic version]) ISSN : 1467-1255 [Date of access: November 9, 2005].
* Wikipedia contributors (2006). William Wordsworth. ''Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia''. Retrieved 05:25, February 20, 2006 [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Wordsworth&oldid=38943415].
* Wordsworth, William. (1888). ''The Complete Poetical Works''. London: Macmillan and Co.. Online text: Bartleby.com, 1999. [http://www.bartleby.com/145/]. [Date of access: November 9, 2005].

==External links==
* Bartleby.com: [http://www.bartleby.com/145/wordchrono.html complete poetical works by Wordsworth]
* Persyn, Mary. (2002) ''The Sublime Turn Away from Empire: Wordsworth's Encounter with Colonial Slavery, 1802''. RON - Romanticism on the Net.  Montréal: Université de Montréal. ([http://www.erudit.org/revue/ron/2002/v/n26/005700ar.html electronic version]) ISSN : 1467-1255 

[[Category:Arts|To Toussaint Louverture]]
[[Category: Poems|To Toussaint Louverture]]