The face that launch'd a thousand ships
Christopher Marlowe 1564 (Canterbury, Kent) – 1593 (Deptford, Kent)
Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
Her lips suck forth my soul: see where it flies!
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.
Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips,
And all is dross that is not Helena.
I will be Paris, and for love of thee,
Instead of Troy, shall Wittenberg be sack'd;
And I will combat with weak Menelaus,
And wear thy colours on my plumed crest;
Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel,
And then return to Helen for a kiss.
O, thou art fairer than the evening air
Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars;
Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter
When he appear'd to hapless Semele;
More lovely than the monarch of the sky
In wanton Arethusa's azur'd arms;
And none but thou shalt be my paramour!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 124 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCDEAFGHAIJCKLMGNOK |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 805 |
Words | 158 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
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"The face that launch'd a thousand ships" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/6060/the-face-that-launch'd-a-thousand-ships>.
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