Kissing usury

Robert Herrick 1591 (London) – 1674 (Dean Prior)



Biancha, let
Me pay the debt
I owe thee for a kiss
Thou lend'st to me;
And I to thee
Will render ten for this.

If thou wilt say,
Ten will not pay
For that so rich a one;
I'll clear the sum,
If it will come
Unto a million.

He must of right,
To th' utmost mite,
Make payment for his pleasure,
(By this I guess)
Of happiness
Who has a little measure.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

23 sec read
365

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABCCB DDEFFE GGHXXH
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 338
Words 76
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6

Robert Herrick

Robert Herrick was born in London, England, in 1591. He was apprenticed to a goldsmith (his uncle, Sir William), but went to Cambridge, at St John's, in 1613. He was ordained at Peterborough in 1623 and became chaplain to the Duke of Buckingham a few years later. "Hesperides" - a collection of 1200 lyrical poems - was published in 1648 and it remained his magnum opus. Herrick died in 1674, aged 83. more…

All Robert Herrick poems | Robert Herrick Books

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