Here’s a full analysis of the poem 'Song: Love, a child, is ever crying’ by Lady Mary Wroth, tailored towards A-Level students but also suitable for those studying at a higher level.
Includes:
THE POEM
VOCABULARY
STORY / SUMMARY
SPEAKER / VOICE
LANGUAGE FEATURES
STRUCTURE / FORM
CON...
Song: Love, a child, is ever crying
Lady Mary Wroth
LOVE, a child, is ever crying;
Please him, and he straight is flying;
Give him, he the more is craving,
Never satisfied with having.
His desires have no measure;
Endless folly is his treasure;
What he promiseth he breaketh;
Trust not one word that he speaketh.
He vows nothing but false matter;
And to cozen you will flatter;
Let him gain the hand, he’ll leave you
And still glory to deceive you.
He will triumph in your wailing;
And yet cause be of your failing:
These his virtues are, and slighter
Are his gifts, his favours lighter.
, Feathers are as firm in staying;
Wolves no fiercer in their preying;
As a child then, leave him crying;
Nor seek him so given to flying.
VOCABULARY
Ever - forever / always
Folly - foolishness / stupidity
Promiseth - promises
Breaketh - breaks
Speaketh - speaks / says
Vow - promise
Matter - things
To cozen - to deceive, trick somebody into doing something
Virtues - good qualities
STORY/SUMMARY
The speaker in Stanza 1 says that love is a child, always crying. If he’s pleased he runs
off fast, the more he’s given, the more he asks for - he is never satisfied with what he
has. In Stanza 2, she says that you can’t measure how much he wants, and that he
loves foolishness, he breaks his promises so don’t trust a word he says. Stanza 3 states
that he only makes false promises, and he will flatter you to trick you, if you let him win
he’ll leave and still find glory in deceiving you. In Stanza 4, she says that love will
rejoice when you’re sad and also be the cause of your failure, even though these are
bad qualities, they are the best things you’ll manage to find about him, and he has
even fewer talents than this. Finally, in Stanza 5 the speaker concludes that love sticks
more firmly than feathers, and is fiercer than wolves, so you should leave him crying as
a child and never give your attention to him or go searching for him.
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