How felt he when he first was told
A slave he ceased to be
How proudly beat his heart, when first
He knew that he was free!
To noblest feelings of the soul
To glow at once began,
He knelt no more, his thoughts were raised
He felt himself a man.
He looked above – The breath of heaven
Around him freshly blew;
He smiled exultingly to see
As the wild birds as they flew,
He looked upon the running stream
That ‘neath him rolled away;
Then thought on winds and birds,and floods,
And cried, I’m free as they !
Oh freedom ! there is something dear
E’en in thy very name,
That lights the altar of the soul
With everlasting flame.
Success attend the patriot sword,
That is unsheathed for thee !
And glory to the breast that bleeds,
Bleeds nobody to be free !
Blest be the generous hand that breaks
The chain a tyrrant gave,
And, feeling for degraded man,
Gives freedom to the slave.
~H.L.V. DEROZIO
THE POETIC OIKOS 
will anyone plz help me out wid the theme of this poem…….
Hi Kumud,
The basic theme of this poem is the exultation and ecstasy that one experiences when freed from the bonds of captivity. Although Derozio writes this poem from the perspective of a slave who has recently been released from the shackles of slavery by his master, it also applies to the wave of desire for freedom that the nation (India) was experiencing during his contemporary times.
It is a quite simple and straightforward poem. However, it is held on a pedestal simply for the reason that Derozio was perhaps the first Indian to write in English. He laid the building blocks of Indian poetry in English.
Hope this helps you. 🙂
What’s the theme??
Joy that comes from freedom, a desire for freedom from shackles.