Fair Iris I Love and Hourly I Die

John Dryden 1631 (Aldwincle) – 1631 (London)



Fair Iris I love and hourly I die,
   But not for a lip nor a languishing eye:
   She's fickle and false, and there I agree;
   For I am as false and as fickle as she:
   We neither believe what either can say;
   And, neither believing, we neither betray.

    'Tis civil to swear and say things, of course;
   We mean not the taking for better or worse.
   When present we love, when absent agree;
  I think not of Iris, nor Iris of me:
  The legend of love no couple can find
  So easy to part, or so equally join'd.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 13, 2023

30 sec read
179

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCC XXBBXX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 515
Words 100
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 6

John Dryden

John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made Poet Laureate in 1668. more…

All John Dryden poems | John Dryden Books

5 fans

Discuss the poem Fair Iris I Love and Hourly I Die with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Fair Iris I Love and Hourly I Die" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/22664/fair-iris-i-love-and-hourly-i-die>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    5
    hours
    52
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    To be, or not to be: that is the _______
    A answer
    B choice
    C question
    D doubt