The Defence

Henry King 1592 (Worminghall, Buckinghamshire) – 1669 (Chichester)



Piensan los Enamorados
Que tienen los otros, los oios quebranta dos.

Why slightest thou what I approve?
Thou art no Peer to try my love,
Nor canst discern where her form lyes,
Unless thou saw'st her with my eyes.
Say she were foul and blacker than
The Night, or Sun-burnt African,
If lik't by me, tis I alone
Can make a beauty where was none;
For rated in my fancie, she
Is so as she appears to me.
But tis not feature, or a face,
That does my free election grace,
Nor is my liking onely led
By a well temperd white and red;
Could I enamour'd grow on those,
The Lilly and the blushing Rose
United in one stalk might be
As dear unto my thoughts as she,
But I look farther, and do find
A richer beauty in her mind;
Where something is so lasting fair,
As time or age cannot impair.
Had'st thou a perspective so cleere,
Thou could'st behold my object there;
When thou her vertues should'st espy,
Theyl'd force thee to confess that I
Had cause to like her, and learn thence
To love by judgment not by sence.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:00 min read
19

Quick analysis:

Scheme AA XXAAXBXBCCAADDAACCEEFFXFCXAA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,010
Words 196
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 2, 28

Henry King

Henry King was an English poet who served as Bishop of Chichester. more…

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