Ode to America’s Independence

This Ode is the first written on America’s efforts to gain independence from the English. It is refreshing to read about the political, military, and human ideals of the Colonial Americans from an Italian author’s point of view, one who had already reached international fame for his acclaimed Shakespearian-type tragedies. In his Ode Alfieri matched the achievement of liberty by the Americans in their Revolution, in contrast to the Reign of Terror by the French in their own subsequent Revolution. But the theme permeating the Ode shows an oppressive English King attempting to suppress men the likes of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Lafayette. In one of his great stanza, Alfieri exhorts Washington to go on the attack against tyranny:

Go, Washington, seek
The treacherous enemies of liberty
And deal with them you must.
No other battle
Shall be memorable and great
As this one you must fight.
Already you're pursuing the enemy,
Inflicting upon it your last woes.
Oh worthy victory of your great heart!
Few are the dead
And the rest are surrounded,
Ready to lay down the arms,
The mismatched boldness,
And their honor, if ever they had any.
Mankind will be forever grateful
For what you've done, oh Washington!