Love (I)

George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)



Immortal love, authour of this great frame,
Sprung from that beautie which can never fade;
How hath man parcel’d out thy glorious name,
And thrown it on that dust which thou hast made,

While mortall love doth all the title gain!
Which siding with invention, they together
Bear all the sway, possessing heart and brain,
(Thy workmanship) and give thee share in neither.

Wit fancies beautie, beautie raiseth wit:
The world is theirs; they two play out the game,
Thou standing by: and though thy glorious name
Wrought our deliverance from th’ infernall pit,

Who sings thy praise? onely a skarf or glove
Doth warm our hands, and make them write of love.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 16, 2023

34 sec read
85

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EAAE FF
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 648
Words 115
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 2

George Herbert

The Very Reverend Honourable George Herbert was an Anglican priest. more…

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