We are presented with a libertine speaker talking of many lovers. He suggests that, though he has spoken about the pain of love, it is only ‘Love’s pleasures’ that he cares about. As such, he has ‘betrayed’ ‘a thousand beauties’. He claims to have been a callous and deceiving lover, telling ‘the fair’ about the ‘wounds and smart’ they long to hear of, then ‘laughing’ and leaving. The poem is written in three elegant septets. Notice the iambic tetrameter and consider how important form might be to the theme of this particular kind of love and betrayal.
This speaker may not be entirely honest. The final stanza begins with ‘Alone’. Is there any sense of regret here? The speaker claims to be ‘Without the hell’ of love, yet in the same line we find reference to the ‘heaven of joy’. He may even also sacrificed his joy with his promiscuous love.
- Enjambment - an idea carried from one line to the next
- Caesura - a pause in the middle of a line
- Quatrain - a stanza made up of four lines
- Stanza - a group of lines in a poem
- Couplet - a stanza made up of two lines
- Octave - a stanza made up of eight lines
- Sestet - a stanza made up of six lines
Explanation:
The given terms related to poetry have been appropriately matched to its definition above.
Enjambment is the literary device in which an idea is continued across a line break without any punctuation to mark a stop or end. It is commonly employed in poetry for continuing a rhythm/idea without any restrictions.
Caesura is demonstrated as the metrical pause in a poetic line at the end of a phrase and before the beginning of another. It is denoted by a comma, two lines, tick, etc. It allows the author to add a dramatic and emotional touch to the idea.
A Quatrain is defined as the stanza consisting of four lines. It is a very popular form employed in poetry to add structure and rhythm.
Stanza is described as the 'group of lines' with a specific rhyme and meter. It helps in giving form to the ideas in a poem.
Couplet is a couple of lines rhyming at the end which allows rhythm in poetry.
Octave and sestet are the stanzas consisting of eight and fourteen lines respectively. They together contribute to formation of petrarchan sonnet.
