Robert Browning, aboard ship in sight of Gibraltar, reflects on the momentous events in British history that have happened nearby.
In this poem from his travels in 1838, Robert Browning is aboard a ship just off Tangiers. Cape St Vincent in Portugal has faded from view, but he can see Cadiz and Cape Trafalgar clearly, and just make out Gibraltar. He thinks of the stirring events in British history that took place hereabouts, and wonders what an ordinary Englishmen can still do for his country.