To a Lady Upon a Looking-Glass Sent

James Shirley 1596 (London) – 1666 (London)



When this crystal shall present
Your beauty to your eye,
Think that lovely face was meant
To dress another by.
For not to make them proud,
These glasses are allowed
To those are fair,
But to compare
The inward beauty with the outward grace,
And make them fair in soul as well as face.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

16 sec read
52

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDDEEFF
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 292
Words 56
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 10

James Shirley

James Shirley (or Sherley) was an English dramatist. He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Charles Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly the same language and had a set of moral feelings and notions in common." His career of play writing extended from 1625 to the suppression of stage plays by Parliament in 1642. more…

All James Shirley poems | James Shirley Books

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