Cupid, Hymen, And Plutus.

John Gay 1685 – 1732



As Cupid, with his band of sprites,
In Paphian grove set things to rights,
And trimmed his bow and tipped his arrows,
And taught, to play with Lesbia, sparrows,
Thus Hymen said: "Your blindness makes,
O Cupid, wonderful mistakes!
You send me such ill-coupled folks:
It grieves me, now, to give them yokes.
An old chap, with his troubles laden,
You bind to a light-hearted maiden;
Or join incongruous minds together,
To squabble for a pin or feather
Until they sue for a divorce;
To which the wife assents - of course."
  
"It is your fault, and none of mine,"
Cupid replied. "I hearts combine:
You trade in settlements and deeds,
And care not for the heart that bleeds.
You couple them for gold and fee;
Complain of Plutus - not of me."
  
Then Plutus added: "What can I do? -
The settlement is what they spy to.
Say, does Belinda blame her fate? -
She only asked a great estate.
Doris was rich enough, but humble:
She got a title - does she grumble?
All men want money - not a shoe-tie
Care they for excellence or beauty.
Oh all, my boys, is right enough:
They got the money - hearts is stuff."
  
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:01 min read
12

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAAAAAAABBCCAA DDAAEE FFGGHHXEII
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,068
Words 210
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 14, 6, 10

John Gay

John Gay, a cousin of the poet John Gay, was an English philosopher, biblical scholar and Church of England clergyman. more…

All John Gay poems | John Gay Books

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