John Williams on Choriamb

“The charm of Swinburne’s ‘Choriambics’ is undeniable  Large red lilies of love, sceptral and tall, lovely for eyes to see;   Thornless blossom of love, full of the sun, fruits that were reared for thee.”

“Professor Gilbert Murray, another good poet and Grecian, has kindly sent me verses composed in the same rhythm, but in what he ... believes was Sappho’s manner.  An old eagle, a blind eagle, who waits hungry and cold and still;   He seeks nothing, he fears nothing: he stands lone on a lonely hill.”