🔗 Share this article

Since you've bestowed me leave to love,
What shall you respond?
Will I your joy, or passion stir,
As I commence pursue;
Will you torment, or scorn, or love me too?

Each petty charm can reject, and I
Spight of your aversion
Lacking your consent can observe, and perish;
Grant a nobler Destiny!
It is effortless to ruin, you can fashion.

Then grant me permission to cherish, & love me too
Not with design
To elevate, as Love's cursed insurgents do
As complaining Versifiers lament,
Fame to their charm, from their weeping eyes.

Sorrow is a puddle and shows not distinct
Your grace's lights;
Joys are untainted currents, your vision look
Gloomy in more sorrowful songs,
Within happy numbers they shine bright with acclaim.

What will not mention to portray you fayr
Harms, blazes, and darts,
Tempests in your countenance, nets in your locks,
Corrupting all your parts,
Or to trick, or torment ensnared souls.

I shall cause your gaze like dawn stars appear,
Like mild, and lovely;
Your countenance as glass smooth, and clear,
While your dishevelled hair
Shall drift like a calm Region of the Ayr.

Rich Nature's hoard (which is the Poet’s Treasure)
I’l use, to dress
Your charms, if your Wellspring of Delight
With matching appreciation
One but open, so we each other bless.

Exploring the Verse's Motifs

This composition explores the interplay of affection and acclaim, where the speaker speaks to a maiden who desires his love. Instead, he suggests a shared agreement of literary admiration for private favors. This language is elegant, mixing refined conventions with frank expressions of yearning.

Through the lines, the poet dismisses typical themes of unrequited affection, including sorrow and lamentation, arguing they cloud true beauty. He chooses joy and acclaim to showcase the lady's qualities, assuring to depict her gaze as shining orbs and her hair as drifting atmosphere. The technique emphasizes a pragmatic yet clever perspective on relationships.

Significant Elements of the Piece

• Mutual Exchange: The poem focuses on a suggestion of tribute in exchange for delight, emphasizing parity between the parties.
• Spurning of Traditional Ideas: The narrator condemns common artistic devices like sadness and similes of pain, preferring upbeat depictions.
• Artistic Skill: The employment of varied verse patterns and cadence demonstrates the author's mastery in verse, creating a smooth and compelling read.

Wealthy The natural world's store (which is the Poet’s Wealth)
I shall spend, to adorn
Your charms, if your Source of Joy
Through equal appreciation
Thou but unlock, so we each other grace.

The verse captures the essential deal, as the writer promises to use his inventive gifts to honor the maiden, in return for her receptiveness. This wording combines devout undertones with physical yearnings, giving complexity to the poem's meaning.