Question

Can someone plzz help A thousand martyrs I have made, All sacrificed to my desire; A thousand beauties have betrayed, That languish in resistless fire. The untamed heart to hand I brought, And fixed the wild and wandering thought. I never vowed nor sighed in vain But both, though false, were well received. The fair are pleased to give us pain, And what they wish is soon believed. And though I talked of wounds and smart, Love’s pleasures only touched my heart. Alone the glory and the spoil I always laughing bore away; The triumphs, without pain or toil, Without the hell, the heav’n of joy. And while I thus at random rove Despise the fools that whine for love. How does the author’s use of stanzas affect the meaning of “A Thousand Martyrs”? Use evidence from the poem to support your response. Your response should be at least one complete paragraph.

Answer 1

The poem "A Thousand Martys" was written by Aphra Behn. Some of the themes presented are love, desire and betrayal from the point of view of a promiscuous and libertine character. It has three stanzas and each one of them is used in the following way:

The first stanza is used by the speaker to state how a "thousand martyrs" were made from a "thousand beauties," for desire purposes only.

On the second one, the reader is shown how the speaker deceived the thousand lovers by making them believe he/she was in pain. The feelings shown were always false, as only "Love's pleasures" mattered.

The third and final stanza is more introspective, and while the speaker "despises the fools that whine for love," he also implies that he has no joy and roves (wanders without direction).