A Song of Italy was published by John Camden Hotten in 1867, dedicated to Giuseppe Mazzini — the Italian revolutionary whom Swinburne regarded as the greatest man of the age. The poem celebrates the process of Italian unification (the Risorgimento) as a triumph of liberty over tyranny, and it attacks the two forces Swinburne saw as Italy’s oppressors: the papacy and the Austrian empire.
The poem is a single sustained ode of several hundred lines, written in Swinburne’s characteristic anapestic rhythms. Its argument is both political and theological: Italian unification is not merely a political achievement but a spiritual one — the overthrow of priestly fraud and the assertion of human freedom against divine pretension. The Pope is presented not as a spiritual authority but as a temporal tyrant, and Italy’s liberation from papal rule is equated with humanity’s liberation from religious superstition.
Swinburne’s engagement with Italian politics was genuine and sustained: he corresponded with Mazzini, attended political meetings, and regarded the Italian cause as the test case for European liberty. His Italian poems are not merely topical effusions but expressions of a philosophical commitment to republican government, secular society, and the sovereignty of the people against hereditary privilege.
The poem’s reception was mixed: those who shared Swinburne’s politics praised its eloquence, while others found its anti-Catholic vehemence excessive. Its historical significance lies in marking the transition from Poems and Ballads’ personal rebellion to Songs before Sunrise’ political commitment.
Collecting A Song of Italy
First edition (John Camden Hotten, London, 1867): Cloth binding.
Market values:
- First edition, fine: $60–$150
- Very good: $25–$60