Why should a foolish marriage vow

John Dryden 1631 (Aldwincle) – 1631 (London)



Why should a foolish marriage vow,
        Which long ago was made,
    Oblige us to each other now
        When passion is decay'd?
    We lov'd, and we lov'd, as long as we could,
        Till our love was lov'd out in us both:
    But our marriage is dead, when the pleasure is fled:
        'Twas pleasure first made it an oath.

    If I have pleasures for a friend,
      And farther love in store,
  What wrong has he whose joys did end,
      And who could give no more?
  'Tis a madness that he should be jealous of me,
      Or that I should bar him of another:
  For all we can gain is to give our selves pain,
      When neither can hinder the other.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 17, 2023

37 sec read
142

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABXCXC DEDEXFXF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 655
Words 120
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8

John Dryden

John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made Poet Laureate in 1668. more…

All John Dryden poems | John Dryden Books

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