Given that you granted me leave to love,
What will you do?
Am I to your mirth, or emotion move,
When I start to woo;
Will you torment, or disdain, or love me too?
Each petty grace can scorn, and I
Despite your aversion
Absent your leave can perceive, and die;
Dispense a grander Lot!
’Tis easy to destroy, you may create.
Then give me leave to cherish, & cherish me too
Lacking design
To raise, as Love's accursed insurgents do
When whining Bards whine,
Fame to their grace, from their blubber’d eyne.
Sorrow is a pool and mirrors not clear
Thy grace's beams;
Joyes are untainted streames, your gaze look
Gloomy in sadder verses,
Through happy verses they radiate bright with prayse.
Which will not allude to express you fair
Harms, fires, and darts,
Storms in your countenance, nets in your hayr,
Bribing all your attributes,
Or else to deceive, or torment ensnared affections.
I shall make your gaze like sunrise suns seem,
As soft, and fair;
Thy forehead as glass even, and transparent,
And your tousled hair
May drift like a calm Region of the Air.
Wealthy Nature’s hoard (which is the Poet’s Treasure)
I will use, to adorn
Thy graces, if your Source of Pleasure
Through equall thankfulness
Thou but release, so we each other bless.
Examining the Verse's Ideas
The composition examines the dynamics of passion and praise, where the speaker engages with a woman who seeks his affection. Rather, he proposes a mutual arrangement of artistic praise for private favors. The language is refined, blending courtly norms with direct statements of longing.
Through the stanzas, the author rejects common motifs of one-sided affection, such as sadness and lamentation, claiming they obscure true beauty. He favors joy and acclaim to highlight the lady's features, vowing to render her vision as shining suns and her hair as streaming breeze. The method underscores a pragmatic yet clever perspective on relationships.
Important Elements of the Work
- Reciprocal Agreement: The work focuses on a suggestion of praise in trade for delight, stressing equality between the parties.
- Spurning of Standard Themes: The speaker criticizes typical literary devices like grief and similes of anguish, preferring upbeat imagery.
- Artistic Skill: The employment of diverse line measures and cadence displays the writer's proficiency in composition, creating a smooth and compelling experience.
Rich Nature’s store (which is the Writer's Wealth)
I shall use, to dress
Thy graces, if your Wellspring of Delight
With equal thankfulness
Thou but open, so we each other grace.
This stanza summarizes the essential bargain, in which the author vows to utilize his creative gifts to celebrate the woman, in return for her receptiveness. This language blends pious overtones with physical longings, giving complexity to the poem's meaning.
