Apelles' Song

John Lyly 1553 (Canterbury) – 1606 (London)



Cupid and my Campaspe played
At cards for kisses; Cupid paid:
He stakes his quiver, bow, and arrows,
His mother's doves, and team of sparrows;
Loses them too; then down he throws
The coral of his lip, the rose
Growing on's cheek (but none knows how);
With these, the crystal of his brow,
And then the dimple on his chin;
All these did my Campaspe win:
And last he set her both his eyes -
She won, and Cupid blind did rise.

O Love! has she done this to thee?
What shall, alas! become of me?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

30 sec read
106

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBBBCCDDEE FF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 484
Words 98
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 12, 2

John Lyly

John Lyly was an English writer, poet, dramatist, playwright, and politician, best known for his books Euphues, The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. more…

All John Lyly poems | John Lyly Books

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