The Libertine
Aphra Behn 1640 – 1689
A THOUSAND martyrs I have made,
All sacrificed to my desire,
A thousand beauties have betray'd
That languish in resistless fire:
The untamed heart to hand I brought,
And fix'd the wild and wand'ring thought.
I never vow'd nor sigh'd in vain,
But both, tho' false, were well received;
The fair are pleased to give us pain,
And what they wish is soon believed:
And tho' I talk'd of wounds and smart,
Love's pleasures only touch'd my heart.
Alone the glory and the spoil
I always laughing bore away;
The triumphs without pain or toil,
Without the hell the heaven of joy;
And while I thus at random rove
Despise the fools that whine for love.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 17, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 232 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCC DEDEFF GXGXXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 664 |
Words | 118 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6 |
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"The Libertine" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/3583/the-libertine>.
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