🔗 Share this article

Since you've freely given me leave to love,
How will you do?
Will I your delight, or emotion move,
When I begin to woo;
Will you torment, or mock, or love me too?

Each petty beauty can reject, and I
Spight of your hate
Lacking your leave can perceive, and succumb;
Bestow a nobler Fate!
It's simple to destroy, you could fashion.

Then grant me permission to adore, & adore me too
Without intent
To elevate, as Loves cursed defiers behave
As complaining Bards whine,
Acclaim to their charm, from their tearful gaze.

Sadness is a pool and shows not clear
Thy beauty’s beams;
Joyes are untainted streames, your eyes seem
Gloomy in more sorrowful verses,
In happy numbers they gleam luminous with acclaim.

That shall not mention to portray you fair
Injuries, blazes, and shafts,
Tempests in your forehead, snares in your hair,
Suborning all your features,
Or to deceive, or torture captive souls.

I will render your vision like dawn stars appear,
As gentle, and lovely;
Thy countenance as crystal polished, and clear,
While your tousled hayr
Will stream like a serene Zone of the Ayr.

Abundant Nature's treasury (which is the Poet’s Wealth)
I’l spend, to embellish
One's charms, if your Wellspring of Delight
With equal gratitude
One but release, so we one another favor.

Examining the Work's Ideas

The composition delves the interplay of affection and acclaim, in which the speaker speaks to a maiden who seeks his devotion. Instead, he proposes a reciprocal arrangement of artistic tribute for intimate favors. This wording is graceful, combining courtly norms with direct expressions of longing.

Through the lines, the poet spurns common tropes of unrequited affection, including sadness and weeping, claiming they dim true charm. He chooses joy and praise to showcase the woman's features, assuring to portray her eyes as radiant orbs and her locks as flowing air. This approach emphasizes a pragmatic yet skillful perspective on relationships.

Significant Elements of the Composition

• Shared Arrangement: The work revolves on a suggestion of admiration in return for pleasure, highlighting equality between the parties.
• Spurning of Conventional Ideas: The poet disparages typical literary techniques like sadness and imagery of suffering, preferring positive imagery.
• Poetic Artistry: The employment of mixed meter patterns and cadence displays the writer's proficiency in composition, producing a fluid and compelling experience.

Abundant The natural world's store (which is the Bard's Treasure)
I’l expend, to dress
Your beauties, if your Wellspring of Joy
Through equall appreciation
Thou but unlock, so we mutually grace.

The stanza captures the essential bargain, in which the poet pledges to employ his inventive talents to praise the woman, in return for her receptiveness. This wording combines spiritual undertones with worldly yearnings, giving depth to the work's message.