🔗 Share this article

Now you have granted me consent to love,
How will you do?
Will I your joy, or ardor move,
As I begin to woo;
Do you torment, or scorn, or adore me too?

Every minor grace can disdain, and I
Despite your hate
Without your leave can observe, and die;
Bestow a nobler Lot!
It is effortless to destroy, you may form.

Thus give me permission to cherish, & love me too
Without purpose
To raise, as Affection's cursed rebels act
While whining Versifiers lament,
Fame to their beauty, from their tearful eyne.

Sadness is a pool and shows not distinct
One's grace's beams;
Delights are untainted currents, your eyes seem
Morose in more sorrowful songs,
In happy lines they shine brilliant with praise.

Which shall not mention to express you fair
Injuries, blazes, and darts,
Tempests in your countenance, nets in your hayr,
Suborning all your features,
Or else to trick, or afflict ensnared affections.

I shall render your vision like sunrise stars seem,
Just as mild, and fayr;
Your brow as glass smooth, and clear,
And your dishevelled hair
May flow like a calm Zone of the Ayr.

Wealthy Nature's store (which is the Bard's Riches)
I will use, to embellish
Thy beauties, if your Source of Delight
With equall thankfulness
You but open, so we each other grace.

Examining the Poem's Motifs

This composition explores the dynamics of love and acclaim, in which the narrator addresses a woman who seeks his love. Instead, he suggests a reciprocal arrangement of artistic admiration for private delights. This language is elegant, combining courtly conventions with frank expressions of yearning.

Through the lines, the poet rejects typical tropes of unrequited passion, such as sorrow and weeping, arguing they obscure true beauty. The speaker favors delight and admiration to emphasize the maiden's attributes, vowing to portray her eyes as radiant orbs and her locks as drifting air. The technique highlights a practical yet clever view on relationships.

Significant Components of the Piece

• Mutual Agreement: The poem centers on a proposal of admiration in trade for delight, highlighting parity between the parties.
• Dismissal of Conventional Ideas: The speaker condemns usual artistic tools like sadness and imagery of suffering, preferring upbeat depictions.
• Artistic Craftsmanship: The employment of diverse meter measures and flow demonstrates the author's mastery in composition, producing a graceful and compelling experience.

Wealthy Nature's treasury (which is the Writer's Wealth)
I’l expend, to adorn
Thy graces, if your Mine of Joy
In equal gratitude
One but unlock, so we one another grace.

This verse encapsulates the essential arrangement, where the poet promises to utilize his artistic abilities to praise the maiden, in return for her willingness. This wording mixes pious hints with worldly longings, providing complexity to the work's theme.