The Indifferent

Francis Beaumont 1584 (Grace-Dieu) – 1616 (London)



Never more will I protest,
To love a woman but in jest:
For as they cannot be true,
So, to give each man his due,
  When the wooing fit is past
  Their affection cannot last.

Therefore, if I chance to meet
With a mistress fair and sweet,
She my service shall obtain,
Loving her for love again:
  Thus much liberty I crave,
  Not to be a constant slave.

But when we have tried each other,
If she better like another,
Let her quickly change for me,
Then to change am I as free.
  He or she that loves too long
  Sell their freedom for a song.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
83

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCC DDXXEE FFGGHH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 531
Words 108
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6

Francis Beaumont

Francis Beaumont, judge, was the eldest son of John Beaumont, sometime master of the rolls, by his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Hastings. more…

All Francis Beaumont poems | Francis Beaumont Books

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