🔗 Share this article

Given that you freely given me leave to love,
How will you do?
Shall I your joy, or ardor arouse,
As I begin to pursue;
Shall you trouble, or disdain, or cherish me too?

All trivial beauty can reject, and I
Despite your hate
Absent your consent can perceive, and succumb;
Grant a nobler Lot!
It's simple to ruin, you can form.

Therefore grant me consent to cherish, & adore me too
Not with intent
To raise, as Loves cursed defiers behave
When complaining Poets moan,
Acclaim to their beauty, from their weeping eyes.

Sadness is a pond and shows not bright
One's grace's rayes;
Joyes are clear streams, your gaze appear
Gloomy in more sorrowful songs,
Within happy lines they gleam luminous with prayse.

What shall not allude to describe you fayr
Harms, flames, and shafts,
Gales in your brow, traps in your locks,
Bribing all your features,
Or else to deceive, or afflict ensnared hearts.

I will make your eyes like dawn suns appear,
As soft, and fair;
Thy forehead as crystal polished, and pure,
And your unkempt locks
Shall stream like a calm Region of the Air.

Wealthy Nature's hoard (which is the Poet’s Wealth)
I’l use, to dress
One's charms, if your Wellspring of Delight
With equall thankfulness
You but open, so we mutually bless.

Exploring the Work's Ideas

The composition explores the relationship of passion and praise, where the poet speaks to a maiden who desires his affection. Instead, he suggests a shared arrangement of literary praise for personal pleasures. The phraseology is refined, blending courtly traditions with frank utterances of yearning.

Through the lines, the writer rejects common themes of unreturned love, such as sadness and lamentation, stating they cloud true grace. He favors happiness and admiration to showcase the woman's qualities, promising to depict her vision as shining stars and her locks as drifting atmosphere. The technique underscores a practical yet skillful outlook on bonds.

Important Elements of the Piece

• Reciprocal Exchange: The poem focuses on a offer of admiration in trade for enjoyment, stressing equality between the persons.
• Spurning of Conventional Ideas: The narrator disparages typical poetic devices like sadness and similes of anguish, choosing optimistic imagery.
• Creative Skill: The application of diverse line lengths and cadence demonstrates the writer's mastery in poetry, creating a smooth and engaging text.

Rich The natural world's treasury (which is the Writer's Treasure)
I’l expend, to adorn
Thy beauties, if your Mine of Joy
Through equall appreciation
Thou but release, so we one another grace.

The stanza summarizes the essential deal, where the author promises to use his inventive abilities to praise the lady, in exchange for her openness. The wording mixes pious hints with physical desires, providing complexity to the poem's meaning.