🔗 Share this article

Given that you bestowed me permission to love,
What shall you do?
Am I to your joy, or emotion arouse,
Once I commence court;
Do you trouble, or scorn, or cherish me too?

All trivial charm can reject, and I
In spite of your dislike
Lacking your consent can see, and die;
Bestow a nobler Fate!
’Tis easy to ruin, you may form.

Then give me permission to adore, & cherish me too
Lacking purpose
To elevate, as Love's accursed rebels act
When complaining Bards lament,
Acclaim to their charm, from their blubber’d eyes.

Sadness is a pool and reflects not distinct
Thy beauty’s rayes;
Delights are clear currents, your eyes look
Sullen in gloomier verses,
Through happy lines they shine bright with prayse.

Which may not allude to describe you fayr
Harms, blazes, and shafts,
Storms in your countenance, traps in your hair,
Bribing all your parts,
Or else to deceive, or torture trapped souls.

I will cause your gaze like sunrise suns appear,
Like soft, and fair;
One's forehead as glass smooth, and clear,
While your dishevelled locks
May drift like a tranquil Zone of the Atmosphere.

Abundant The natural world's store (which is the Poet’s Treasure)
I’l use, to dress
Thy charms, if your Wellspring of Pleasure
Through matching gratitude
One but open, so we each other favor.

Exploring the Poem's Motifs

The composition explores the relationship of passion and admiration, as the narrator speaks to a maiden who seeks his devotion. Conversely, he offers a reciprocal arrangement of poetic admiration for private pleasures. The phraseology is refined, combining refined conventions with direct expressions of desire.

Through the verses, the writer rejects common tropes of unreturned passion, such as grief and lamentation, arguing they cloud true grace. The speaker prefers delight and admiration to emphasize the woman's attributes, assuring to depict her eyes as shining stars and her hair as flowing breeze. The technique underscores a practical yet skillful outlook on relationships.

Important Components of the Work

• Reciprocal Exchange: The verse centers on a proposal of admiration in trade for pleasure, highlighting equality between the persons.
• Spurning of Standard Ideas: The poet criticizes typical artistic devices like sorrow and similes of anguish, preferring optimistic depictions.
• Creative Skill: The use of varied meter measures and flow displays the writer's mastery in poetry, forming a fluid and engaging text.

Wealthy Nature’s treasury (which is the Poet’s Treasure)
I’l expend, to dress
Thy beauties, if your Source of Pleasure
In equall gratitude
You but unlock, so we each other bless.

This stanza summarizes the central deal, where the author promises to use his artistic talents to honor the woman, as compensation for her receptiveness. The phraseology mixes spiritual hints with earthly longings, adding complexity to the work's theme.