He Wonders Whether To Praise Or To Blame Her

Rupert Brooke 1887 (Rugby) – 1915 (Aegean Sea)




I have peace to weigh your worth, now all is over,
 But if to praise or blame you, cannot say.
For, who decries the loved, decries the lover;
 Yet what man lauds the thing he's thrown away?

Be you, in truth, this dull, slight, cloudy naught,
 The more fool I, so great a fool to adore;
But if you're that high goddess once I thought,
 The more your godhead is, I lose the more.

Dear fool, pity the fool who thought you clever!
 Dear wisdom, do not mock the fool that missed you!
Most fair, -- the blind has lost your face for ever!
 Most foul, -- how could I see you while I kissed you?

So . . . the poor love of fools and blind I've proved you,
For, foul or lovely, 'twas a fool that loved you.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 23, 2023

42 sec read
43

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD AEAE EE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 690
Words 139
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 2

Rupert Brooke

Rupert Chawner Brooke was an English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially "The Soldier". more…

All Rupert Brooke poems | Rupert Brooke Books

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