''Songs before Sunrise'' is a collection of

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

s relating to Italy, and particularly its unification, by

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...

. It was published in 1871 and can be seen as an extension of his earlier long poem, " A Song of Italy". Swinburne was partly inspired to write the songs by a meeting with Italian patriot

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

in March 1867.

External links

* Full text at Project Gutenberg 1871 books English poetry collections Books about Italy 1867 in Italy 1871 in Italy Poetry by Algernon Charles Swinburne {{poetry-stub