![Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XXXV - Cranmer, By: William Wordsworth](https://i0.wp.com/poetrycatalog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Ecclesiastical-Sonnets-Part-II-XXXV-Cranmer-By-William-Wordsworth.png?resize=750%2C420&ssl=1)
Outstretching flameward his upbraided hand
(O God of mercy, may no earthly Seat
Of judgment such presumptuous doom repeat!)
Amid the shuddering throng doth Cranmer stand;
Firm as the stake to which with iron band
His frame is tied; firm from the naked feet
To the bare head. The victory is complete;
The shrouded Body to the Soul’s command
Answers with more than Indian fortitude,
Through all her nerves with finer sense endued,
Till breath departs in blissful aspiration:
Then, ‘mid the ghastly ruins of the fire,
Behold the unalterable heart entire,
Emblem of faith untouched, miraculous attestation!