To Fine Lady Would-Be

Ben Jonson 1572 (Westminster) – 1637 (Westminster)



Fine madam Would-Be, wherefore should you fear,
That love to make so well, a child to bear?
The world reputes you barren: but I know
Your 'pothecary, and his drug says no.
Is it the pain affrights? That's soon forgot.
Or your complexion's loss? you have a pot,
That can restore that. Will it hurt your feature?
To make amends, you are thought a wholesome creature.
What should the cause be? Oh, you live at court;
And there's both loss of time, and loss of sport,
In a great belly: Write then on thy womb,
'Of the not born, yet buried, here's the tomb.'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
78

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCCDDEEFFGG
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 550
Words 107
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson was a playwright, poet, and literary critic of the seventeenth century, whose artistry exerted a lasting impact upon English poetry and stage comedy. more…

All Ben Jonson poems | Ben Jonson Books

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