And is love very strong where honour rules?

Lesbia Harford 1891 (Brighton) – 1927 (Australia)



And is love very strong where honour rules?
Would the world ever speak of Lancelot's love
Or Tristram's love had they put honour first?
What would you think if Guinevere had knelt
And begged for kisses and had begged in vain?
Should she be constant had she been refused
Or would she laugh and turn to love elsewhere?
But Joseph is a hero nowadays
And young Paolo, the Italian blood,
Rather too rash and uncontrollable.
Lovers who are not free should sigh and part—
Lovers, you call them—and not free to love:
They may be wives or husbands, businessmen,
Saints even: they're not lovers. After all
I'd rather be a lover than a saint.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
117

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKBLMN
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 643
Words 116
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 15

Lesbia Harford

Lesbia Harford was an Australian poet, novelist and political activist. more…

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    "And is love very strong where honour rules?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/25508/and-is-love-very-strong-where-honour-rules?>.

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