I was somewhat reluctant to post it because, unlike Ramesses II, no one will remember John Kerry in three millenia, and Kerry’s power and might is entirely in his imagination.
One thing that is striking in the comparison of Horace Smith and Shelley’s poems is the subtly and imagery of Shelley compared to Smith. Smith explicitly makes the comparison of Egypt and London, Shelley never makes any mention of the present, knowing the reader will make if for himself, nor does he name Egypt, just an antique desert land. The pictures are better in Shelley’s version.
Yes, I remember memorizing poems and being tested on it, and I hated it.
Good discussion of the poems. What I like in Smith’s poem today, in 2016, is that the vision of the obliteration of London seems plausible.